It’s no secret that there is a great deal of personal mental strain that comedians go through, often self-inflicted, despite having “making people laugh” in their job description.  While self-help books are often a popular topic for jokes and I’ve surprised other comedians by not having ever entered therapy, any person legitimately doing comedy would tell you that any whisper of encouragement, even if not specifically directed at them, is more than welcome.

Over the last few months, such symbolic “pats on the back” and sincere echoes of “keep at it and believe in yourself” have popped up online and have given credence to the aforementioned claim of insecurity by comedians.  The following is a collection of those metaphorical motivational posters in the form of podcasts, quotes, videos, etc. that might make you more feel comfortable along the road to answering the question:

What the fuck am I doing trying to make strangers laugh? 

1) Marc Maron’s Just For Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival Keynote Address

2) Louis C.K. and the Joan Rivers episode of Louie

3) Dan Harmon (Creator of NBC’s Community) on meeting George Gallo, writer of Midnight Run, the dilemma of being creative, and nominations.

4) “It took me until my 40s to realize it: There’s no destination. There’s no getting anywhere. There’s just the going. The key to life is to make the going really fun. Because people that are like, “If I just get to this, then boom!” And then they get there and there’s this dawning of an afterwards. Whereas I’m just always in the going. And it’s not a frantic going like, “I gotta keep going or I’m gonna go nuts!” I can not do anything for weeks or months if I need to and just sit and read books or watch movies. I’m just as fine consuming and absorbing new art as I am trying to make it. But it’s all in the going.”

-Patton Oswalt in A.V. Club Interview

5) Ira Glass, though not strictly talking about comedy, encourages new artists.

WTF! w/Marc Maron LIVE!!! @ The Steve Allen Theater tomorrow night 8PM.  For some reason, there are still tickets for this, so go get them right now.

There are a plethora of “comedian on comedian” shows/podcasts and even a handful that are good.  Marc Maron would almost seem to be at the top of the comedy insider mountain with the WTF Podcast, especially just having been featured in the NY Times, but I would suggest that perhaps you take a listen to an insider perspective from the ground floor on the Drinking Buddies Podcast with comedians Chris Adams and Jerry Brandt.

Both hard working comics trying to come up through the ultra-competitive Los Angeles comedy scene, Chris and Jerry take advantage of the podcast format, though its broadcast live on KBeach Radio at CSULB, with a very laid back, conversational approach, apropos to the name of the show, through floating between what happened to them in the past week, which may include how hilariously trashed Jerry got at Coachella or Chris’ continuing travails of working at a coffee shop, to having in-depth discussions about the art form and industry that is stand up comedy.  

Not only do they get nationally touring comedians such as Dana Gould or even the aforementioned Marc Maron, but they also have comedians/other drinking buddies on the show that gives a wonderful contrast between people that can do as they please with comedy and people who go night in and night out performing at whatever stage that will give them 5 minutes.  From this, one gets a wonderfully visceral sense of what the process of being a comedian entails as well as the sort of constitution it takes to pursue this creative path.  On a recent episode, they interviewed nationally touring comedian Todd Glass and Los Angeles darling comedienne Abbey Londer, which combined the tales of frustrations of performing stand up comedy on the road with the dissection of the various comedy clicks that exist within the massive Los Angeles comedy scene into a great portrait of what stand up comedy is right now in a way that other “comedy insider” podcasts fall short of.

With all of that being said, it’s just as much a fun listen as it is insightful through the playful banter between Chris and Jerry who are each other’s roommate, go back and forth with each other in the vastly entertaining way that only roommates can.  So, comedians and comedians fans alike, I highly recommend tuning into the Drinking Buddies every Wednesday at 10PM PST or download episodes here when they’re available or get it off iTunes.

1) The “insider comedian interview” format has gone viral… big time.  Forget about shoddy camera work in green rooms and back alley studios that double as living spaces.  Bigger names are coming out of the woodwork.  First Marc Maron w/his “WTF Podcast”.  Recently, Dave Holmes and “A Drink with Dave”.  Most recently, Bill Maher and “12 Mile”.  Did I mention that everyone should be watching/listening to these?

2) Everyone will be live tweeting during the Oscars and I will be here in our cavernous office keeping everyone up to speed as to what’s the funniest things written during the show.  We hand pick our featured tweets here and I almost suggest that you don’t need to watch the Oscars because the Comedy Bureau Twitter feed will be almost more entertaining (only because you need to watch the telecast to put it into context).

3) In case you were wondering, the Tip of the Hat, this week, goes to Eddie Pepitone for the start of the Puddin’ Comic Strip.  Article to follow later today.

4) ON THE HORIZON
NERDIST INDUSTRIES and ARS NOVA present: Nerdist Podcast Live: BLACK DYNAMITE! @ Meltdown Comics Mon. Apr. 4th 8PM $15
The Man with F.E.E.E.T @ Downtown Independent Theater Wed. Mar. 16th 9:30PM $20
Nick Rutherford & Friends @ Hollywood Improv Lab Wed. Mar. 30th 10:30PM $5  

5) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL
Two Milk Minimum @ Flappers Burbank 11:30AM $10/2 item min.
Space Boners: Extra Boners Edition @ Silverlake Lounge 7PM FREE
The Swarm @ UCB Theatre 7PM $5 (stand by only)
Channel 101 Screening @ Downtown Independent Theater 9PM FREE
Harland Williams @ Hollywood Improv 7:30PM/9:30PM $20/2 item min. 
The Anytime Show w/Dominic Dierkes @ Smodcastle 8PM $8
Greg Proops @ Ice House 8PM/10PM $17.50/2 drink min.
Jackie Kashian @ Flappers Burbank 8PM/10PM $17/2 drink min.
The Paul F. Tompkins Show @ Largo 8:30PM $25 (sold out)
Comedy Garage @ The World Famous Comedy Garage 10PM FREE 
Magic Bag @ Smodcastle 10PM $8
The Twelve Shiny Nickels Show @ Fake Gallery 11PM $5
The Tomorrow Show w/Ron Lynch @ Steve Allen Theater MIDNIGHT $8 

6) OPEN MIC RUN
SPOT CAFE 4455 Overland Ave., Culver City, CA/Starts 2PM/people usually give feedback at end of set
SAL’S COMEDY HOLE 7356 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA/Starts 6PM/one item min.
WESTSIDE COMEDY THEATRE 1323-A 3rd St., Santa Monica, CA (in alley between 3rd and 4th St.)/Sign-Up 6PM/Starts 6:30PM
SUNSET GRILL 7439 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA/Starts 7PM/one item min.
MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA/5PM to 11PM/$5/multiple sets allowed 

7) This is the 127th Day of the Comedy Bureau and both my arms are still here.  Take that James Franco.

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