by Dustin Fisher

Last we left our heroes, they were introduced to the stage, decided what to do with the microphone and either talked the audience down from their applause or let the silence work its subtle, powerful magic. Not a word of the routine has been spoken. If all goes well, this is the apex of the crippling terror that you will feel.

In the delivery for both genres, you want to connect with your audience. And sure, you could get that same advice from any dime store, whatever the heck they are. But the way to do that is to look at them, lean at them and gesture to them. Don’t just pick a point on the screen in the back to stare at. The audience will know you’re talking to a screen. Read More

by Dustin Fisher
Much like babies and pizza, much of the difference between stand-up and storytelling is in the delivery. Some differences are subtle, such as cash or credit being the preferred method of payment; some are substantial, like the difference between 18 hours of indigestion and 18 years of financial and emotional responsibility over another human being. But unlike the delivery of pizza and babies, to which I have only been a spectator I have a decent amount of experience in the delivery of both stand-up and storytelling.

The first part of your story’s delivery is something you have little to no control over; your introduction. You are at the mercy of whatever the emcee’s motives are, which are largely different in stand-up and storytelling. Read More

by Dustin Fisher

I once read about an experiment (somebody else read it and told me about it) where five gorillas were placed in a metal cage with a cement platform in the middle of it. Above the platform were bananas. Any time one gorilla climbed the platform to get the bananas, the others were administered an electric shock. Soon, anytime a gorilla would head toward the platform to get a banana, the other gorillas would swoop in and give the offending gorilla a Cesar-style beatdown.

Gorillas were then replaced one at a time. Of course, the new gorilla would head toward the bananas and WHAM-O!! Welcome to the party, pal. Eventually all the original gorillas were replaced with new gorillas that hadn’t even experienced the electric shock because it had been turned off for days. Yet, they still beat up any ape who tried to take the forbidden fruit. Read More

by Dustin Fisher

First of all, it should be noted that the Three Beer Rule ONLY applies to stage performances. The formulas for talking to pretty girls, dancing at weddings and religious conversations with ex-girlfriends and/or family members are much different and constantly in flux. Read More

by Dustin Fisher

I decided to celebrate my 30^th birthday by having a panic attack and moving to the Midwest thus beginning my three-year self-imposed prison term. Upon retrospect, I should have just gone to Georgetown Cupcake.

Thankfully, while I was there, I got so bored that I took to standup comedy with moderate success. When I finally came to my senses and moved back to Maryland, I wanted to continue with my standup career. In this case, the word “career” is closely akin to the way sportscasters use the word “literally.” As in “He literally paves the way for Adrian Peterson.” Thanks, Trey Wingo. I’ll take it from here. Read More

by Dustin Fisher

When I heard Speakeasy DC was looking for blog contributors, I asked Meredith if I could whine about my insecurities surrounding my stage anxiety. “Mike Kane already does that” said the Meredith inside my head (it’s cool, Mike and I are friends. Kinda). Then I asked if I could write about what goes on inside my head during a performance. “Sure, but it’s not like anybody will read it” said the Mike Kane inside my head. And it’s not like I’m a professional storyteller or anything – will that matter? “I don’t care. Now get over here and change your daughter” said the wife inside my living room. Read More

by Vijai Nathan

When I signed up for this summer’s Capital Fringe in December, I was confident in my script for my solo-show “McGoddess.” After all, I had already performed it three times in the DMV and a full week with a director at a theatre in Ithaca, N.Y., so I knew that I had worked out all the kinks and it was perfection.

So, I put it on the back-burner of my brain, and happily dived into teaching my Speakeasy 101 students and my Story Workspace students and the same two things kept coming up for both levels:  Read More

Creativity Pep Talk by Neil Gaiman author of Coraline, Stardust, and the popular comic book series The Sandman.