TalkingComedy.com Standup Profile: Dave Schwensen

DAVE SCHWENSEN:
An Insider's Guide to
Making Money at
Being Funny

by J.C. Johnson / Comedy Profiles Editor
T a l k i n g C o m e d y . c o m

“Nothing is better for business than being GOOD,” advises Ray Romano in the forward of Dave Schwensen's book, How to Be a Working Comic. And Romano is right … to a point. But if you can't earn any money performing stand-up comedy you may find yourself giving up on a career in comedy before you get the chance to even find out … if you are any GOOD.

There are basically three areas of concentration when trying to become a professional comic … the first is perfecting your performing talent – delivery, timing, stage presence. The second is creating/writing material for your act. And the third is mastering the business end of things. There are many books on the market that give tips on how to become a standup comic as well as workshops in most major cities across the USA. But although those may be of some help when writing comedy material or perfecting your delivery on stage none, up until Dave Schwensen came along, taught how to handle the business side of comedy.

Dave Schwensen can teach aspiring stand-up comics the business side of comedy because he comes from the business side of comedy. “I come at it from both sides … I've been onstage and I've also been behind the scenes. I have this insight of what goes on behind the cameras. What goes on behind these closed doors that a lot of comics don't know.”

Originally Dave Schwensen had come to New York City from his hometown in Ohio to pursue a career as an actor. But the frustration of having to sometimes go months between acting jobs was getting to him. Then a comic friend of his, Chris Murphy, suggested he try stand-up comedy. “Chris was on stage every night where I had to audition for a show and it could be 6 months between things. So I took a workshop in New York and started doing sets at the open mike places.” It didn’t take long for Schwensen to realize how important getting stage time is to improving as a stand-up comic. “So I started my own comedy club on 20th street and 3rd Avenue,” recalls Schwensen. As a beginning comic you need another source of income. While many comics work as waiters in the early days of their careers Schwensen was able to find work as a restaurant manager because of a degree he held in business. In order to have the stage time he needed to improve his skills as a comic he turned the restaurant into a comedy club on the weekends. “It was pretty successful,” adds Schwensen, who made himself the MC of these weekend shows.

It was at this time that he met the owner of the NY Improv who hired him to be her club’s assistant manager. But two weeks into the new job the owner of the Improv got mad at the manager, fired him and moved Dave Schwensen up into the position of manager. Schwensen has always felt his business degree played a big part in his getting that job. And once he had the job … “the first thing I did was book myself,” adds Schwensen with a laugh.

“I can remember my first set at the Improv,” relates Schwensen. “I was just terrified. I'd only been dong it for 6 months of mostly open mikes. I wasn't that good yet. And I remember going up on stage, I think it was after Rodney Dangerfield, and it was just terrified.” He continued to perform at the Improv after that first night but soon found himself feeling more at home working behind the scenes putting shows together and auditioning comics. Schwensen eventually wound up at the Improv in LA as the assistant to Bud Freidman, the man who started the whole thing.

At the Hollywood Improv, on Melrose Avenue, Schwensen served as talent coordinator for the club. Eventually he took over the duties of talent coordinator for A&E’s Evening at the Improv TV show. For each show he had to book fifty percent brand new talent that had never been seen on the show before. The other half could be returning comics and there always had to be a proven talent like Booby Collins or Dom Irrera. He began being called on by other TV show and networks to coordinate stand-up talent for them … The Tonight Show, Letterman, HBO, Comedy Central and others.

Eventually Schwensen decided to leave LA and return home to Ohio with his wife and family. In Ohio Dave Schwensen became the man all the local stand-up comics went to with their questions … How do I get an agent? … How do I get myself booked on the road? … How do I get into a certain club? … How do I promote myself? “No one had my experience,” said Schwensen of the Ohio comedy landscape when he returned, “you have to get that experience in New York and LA.”

After several months back home he felt there was a need for him to start a comedy workshop in the area. But Schwensen wanted to offer something different then all the other comedy workshops out there. His would include a strong focus on the business side of comedy. “When I was in New York, and especially in LA, I would be asked to be a guest speaker at different comedy workshops,” relates Schwensen. “They would say Dave Schwensen from the Improv is going to come in and talk and give some pointers about what the people who book talent are looking for.” But Dave Schwensen saw that other than what he said during his one day at these workshops no other advice on the business side of comedy was ever given. “I realized when the comics got out they had a 5 minute act but they didn't know where to go with it. That's why I wanted to offer something different.”

“The days are over where you can sit on a bar stool and be funny and someone is going to discover you. The competition is too tough,” emphasizes Schwensen. “It’s amazing how someone can consider themselves a professional and not know the BUSINESS.” So Schwensen set out to teach the business side of comedy. How to try out material … get experience onstage … market your act to bookers, agents, and managers … get booked on TV. “It’s not brain surgery … it’s fun. But you need to understand certain techniques to get yourself noticed,” admits Schwensen, but he admits that in the beginning “when you're just starting out you don't need to worry so much about the business of getting together your picture resume and your promo package. You've got to get GOOD first. And that takes time. It's not an overnight thing.” So it’s not all business, business, business in Schwensen’s book … there are also tips on writing comedy material and how to discover your comedy persona and develop it onstage.

Much like the stand-up comedian’s audience tells the stand-up how to create a successful comedy routine, if he learns how to listen to their feedback of his act, Dave Schwensen’s comedy workshop classes, over the past several years, ‘told’ him how to create a successful book on the How tos of becoming a professional comic. "This book is all full of all the stuff they wanted to know," says Schwensen. To give students of his class more than one view on things Schwensen made sure he also talked with headlining comics, whenever they came through town, getting their take on different aspects of the business.

So if you know of anyone who ever dreamed of stepping out in front of an audience and trying to make them laugh but never had the nerve to try, it this may be the perfect book for them this holiday season. And even if you don’t know anyone who dreams of a career in stand-up comedy the book is fun reading for comedy lovers in general. It features enjoyable interviews with Drew Carey, Carrot Top, Bobby Collins, Jeff Dunham, Jeff Foxworthy, Rene Hicks, Reggie McFadden, Tom Rhodes, Rhonda Shear, Rondell Sheridan, Tommy Smothers … and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees. What is an interview with a member of a musical group doing in a book about how to make a living as a comic, you ask? Well Micky Dolenz landed a starring role in a sit com … now isn’t that what many a stand-up comic’s ultimate goal is?