We recently connected with Dean Lewis and have shared our conversation below.
Dean, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
Stand up comedy is all about structure. It’s important to be emotionally involved with your work and material, but without understanding and knowing the structures of writing and performing, you’ll just be guessing. And that can lead to bad performances and trying anything to get a response. That leads to being very bland or very dirty, both of which are big reasons you’ll never get booked to work, and get paid!
Knowing structures of jokes and approaching stand up as a performance art instead of just being a person who tells misguided jokes is what keeps me creatively active!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a stand up comic. I perform at many different comedy venues, like the Improv and at corporate events. For corporate events I offer a corporate clean show and I work on customizing material unique to each client.
I also teach stand up workshops. I offer individual coaching and a 6 week course at The Addison Improv which ends with a showcase at the Improv where each performer gets a 6 minute set built from exercises completed in the class.
I’ve been a stand up for 30+ years! It’s been an amazing journey, and one of my proudest moments is winning an Emmy for writing! I also have worked with awesome people and many heroes, all who inspired me and taught me the great secrets of comedy!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
It’s all about doing the work. Too often it’s easy to get lazy or discouraged and not pursue getting better. A huge part of what makes a comedian grow is getting lots of stage time. Writing is important, but too much of what holds a person back is getting over stage fright and trusting their instincts.
It also about learning how comedy works. There is a structure and psychology present in everything a successful comedian does while onstage. It took time an experimenting, but by sticking with it and having good mentors, the secrets will eventually become revealed!
It’s also about understanding it’s not just about what you as a performer want to express, it’s also understanding how audiences need to be treated. Stand up is a dialogue between you and the audiences, and once you learn how to let them be a part of the show instead of just talking at them, you’ll find it all gets easier…and much more fun!
So, the three qualities that had the most impact is learning structure, overcoming the fear of performing, and understanding that a good comedian communicates with audiences instead of just talking at them.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
I love any one who wants to get into stand up comedy. In many ways it’s the hardest job in entertainment, and whenever a person has the courage to get onstage in front of a room full of strangers and be funny, I admire them with all my heart!
My ideal client is a person who is funny, or who wants to get onstage and get in the adventure of being a stand up! Age, nationality, or any other category doesn’t matter. Everyone has a unique voice and I love to help bring out each person’s artistic side.
Contact Info:
- Website: deanlewiscomedy.com
