Sean Cooper @sean-cooper - Bluesky Profile

Cleanliness When I discussed the topic of Clean Comedy in that book of mine it was in the context of the choices a fledgling comic will make in deciding what kind of comedian they plan to be. I discussed the divide between "clean" and "dirty" comedy, with the implication being that working clean is a pragmatic choice that allows appeal to the greatest possible market, but having a NSFW act might be a truer unfiltered approach to the rock'n'roll of contemporary comedy.

Cleanliness

When I discussed the topic of Clean Comedy in that book of mine it was in the context of the choices a fledgling comic will make in deciding what kind of comedian they plan to be. I discussed the divide between "clean" and "dirty" comedy, with the implication being that working clean…

28.11.2025 09:42 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The First Word Lately there's been a lot of discussion here about the writing and creative process, but today I'd like to focus on the stagecraft element of stand up comedy. In particular I'd like to share an easy tip that can turbocharge your performance and set your set up for the best possible results. In the world of competitive Chess there's a lot of emphasis on opening moves.

The First Word

Lately there's been a lot of discussion here about the writing and creative process, but today I'd like to focus on the stagecraft element of stand up comedy. In particular I'd like to share an easy tip that can turbocharge your performance and set your set up for the best possible…

14.11.2025 06:58 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Working Backwards. Plotter or Pantser? These are the main types of people who write literature. Some meticulously plan their novels (Plotters) while others like Steven King talk about the magic of writing as they go, just as delighted to see where the characters and circumstances take their stories to as the readers will be. These writers call themselves Pantsers because their process is "flying by the seat of their pants."

Working Backwards.

Plotter or Pantser? These are the main types of people who write literature. Some meticulously plan their novels (Plotters) while others like Steven King talk about the magic of writing as they go, just as delighted to see where the characters and circumstances take their…

09.11.2025 01:59 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Inspiration Earlier this week I discussed the value of ideas and how to balance originality with tropes and concepts we find relatable. The question I've heard most often since - and this is probably the most asked of all questions related to comedy - is where we can look to generate these ideas. Today I'd like to list a few ways we can get started with joke ideas.

Inspiration

Earlier this week I discussed the value of ideas and how to balance originality with tropes and concepts we find relatable. The question I've heard most often since - and this is probably the most asked of all questions related to comedy - is where we can look to generate these ideas.…

30.10.2025 06:37 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Ideas There's a notion that pervades so much of society that it seems banal. Under scrutiny, though, it feels crazy just how integral it is to every single aspect of modern life. I'm talking about the belief that an idea has the most potential value of anything in the galaxy. The widespread suspicion is that for everyone in society, one good idea is the only thing standing between them and unlimited success.

Ideas

There's a notion that pervades so much of society that it seems banal. Under scrutiny, though, it feels crazy just how integral it is to every single aspect of modern life. I'm talking about the belief that an idea has the most potential value of anything in the galaxy. The widespread…

26.10.2025 03:35 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Everything from Life I'd like to discuss another way in which stand up comedy is different from other art forms. Let's start with a statement from respected art critic Clive Bell, who said this just over a hundred years ago: The representative element in a work of artmay or may not be harmful; always it is irrelevant. For, to appreciate a work of art we need bring with us nothing from life, no knowledge of its ideas and affairs, no familiarity with its emotions."

Everything from Life

I'd like to discuss another way in which stand up comedy is different from other art forms. Let's start with a statement from respected art critic Clive Bell, who said this just over a hundred years ago: The representative element in a work of artmay or may not be harmful;…

14.10.2025 07:16 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Freedom One of my favourite comedians, Anthony Jeselnik, made some observations in a podcast I heard that got me thinking. The podcast is Gettin' Better, hosted by another awesome comedian - Ron Funches. The conversation from five years ago had me thinking about how we deliberately narrow the scope of our freedom with our project to define our identities.

Freedom

One of my favourite comedians, Anthony Jeselnik, made some observations in a podcast I heard that got me thinking. The podcast is Gettin' Better, hosted by another awesome comedian - Ron Funches. The conversation from five years ago had me thinking about how we deliberately narrow the…

05.10.2025 03:55 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Gamification One of the aspects of live comedy that surprised me the most when I started was it's flexibility of format. I'd generally regarded comedy performances as a stripped-down and straightforward minimalist process in which a performer talks while we listen and laugh. Of course I was aware of skits and sketches, comedians who present in a musical format, and the "panel show" structure adapted from TV game shows, so I have to attribute my format assumptions as a personal bias because traditional stand-up performances is what I prefer.

Gamification

One of the aspects of live comedy that surprised me the most when I started was it's flexibility of format. I'd generally regarded comedy performances as a stripped-down and straightforward minimalist process in which a performer talks while we listen and laugh. Of course I was aware…

27.09.2025 06:40 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Are You Experienced? Just as psychologists argue about whether nature (the way we are) or nurture (the effect our environment and experiences have on us) contribute more to our character, comedians have discussions about whether our comedic prowess is based more on how inherently funny we are or whether it comes from experience and learning. I've touched on this matter previously but it cannot possibly be the whole picture.

Are You Experienced?

Just as psychologists argue about whether nature (the way we are) or nurture (the effect our environment and experiences have on us) contribute more to our character, comedians have discussions about whether our comedic prowess is based more on how inherently funny we are or…

20.09.2025 01:58 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

We need to talk about AI AI. You're sick of it. I'm sick of it. We're all sick of it. When it's not being wedged into parts of our life we never needed it it in, we're being asked to get excited about it by a bunch of crypto-slinging tech-bro billionaire grifters. Either that or hearing the militant grievances from artists and other workers who's role and income it's busy stealing from.

We need to talk about AI

AI. You're sick of it. I'm sick of it. We're all sick of it. When it's not being wedged into parts of our life we never needed it it in, we're being asked to get excited about it by a bunch of crypto-slinging tech-bro billionaire grifters. Either that or hearing the…

10.09.2025 06:20 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Writing Ideas Many of my discussions with fellow comics are, like the bulk of the email I get through this site, around the actual practice of writing jokes and generating material. It seems to be the trickiest part of what we do. I rarely struggle with it but when writer's block does hit, it hits hard. I'm sharing a video that guarantees to help you with this, a YouTube video from a Channel I follow called…

Writing Ideas

Many of my discussions with fellow comics are, like the bulk of the email I get through this site, around the actual practice of writing jokes and generating material. It seems to be the trickiest part of what we do. I rarely struggle with it but when writer's block does hit, it hits…

03.09.2025 09:43 — 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

6 years, 6 lessons August 19 is my comedy birthday, the anniversary of the first time I nervously stepped up on stage and took the mic with an intent to make people smile and laugh. In 2025 that means I've hit the 6 year milestone as a comedian. Interestingly the most recent gig I did was at the Cen Ten where I did my first set.

6 years, 6 lessons

August 19 is my comedy birthday, the anniversary of the first time I nervously stepped up on stage and took the mic with an intent to make people smile and laugh. In 2025 that means I've hit the 6 year milestone as a comedian. Interestingly the most recent gig I did was at the…

28.08.2025 02:30 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The Zeigarnik Effect Talking shop with colleagues after a recent show, the topic of writing arose again. We discussed who we come up with premises, how we develop our ideas, how we find punchlines and what we do about writer's block. Writer's block. Is it a real thing? I'm not sure, but it always looms and strikes fear in our hearts. I suspect the fear and other negative symptoms that hitting a speed bump or road block induces come from a couple of different ideas, and I feel that these ideas are objectively wrong.

The Zeigarnik Effect

Talking shop with colleagues after a recent show, the topic of writing arose again. We discussed who we come up with premises, how we develop our ideas, how we find punchlines and what we do about writer's block. Writer's block. Is it a real thing? I'm not sure, but it always…

12.08.2025 08:25 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

A war against bread Once upon a time in a job I hated (and wasn't good at) my supervisor taught what he said was a brilliant strategy for delivering criticism, something he called the Feedback Sandwich. It was a strategy to deliver criticism in a way that would be received positively. "Sandwich" your negative feedback between two compliments, and your response won't be as aggressive or defensive as it could be.

A war against bread

Once upon a time in a job I hated (and wasn't good at) my supervisor taught what he said was a brilliant strategy for delivering criticism, something he called the Feedback Sandwich. It was a strategy to deliver criticism in a way that would be received positively. "Sandwich"…

27.07.2025 05:01 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Killing Our Darlings “In writing, you must kill all your darlings.” People debate who said it first but the quote is generally attributed to Faulkner, who was telling us that our material gets more powerful when we approach it without sentimentality and get ruthless about whether anything in it is earning it's keep. We comics like to think of ourselves as ruthless. After a night spent slaughtering sacred cows and roasting our interlocutors we might be tempted to view ourselves as savage comedy beasts.

Killing Our Darlings

“In writing, you must kill all your darlings.” People debate who said it first but the quote is generally attributed to Faulkner, who was telling us that our material gets more powerful when we approach it without sentimentality and get ruthless about whether anything in it is…

20.07.2025 01:06 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Dirty Tricks In my debating days, using Analogies to make our points was maybe the most popular technique. This is the technique of comparing something to something else in the hopes that you'll see the similarities and accept that what's true of our compared example is also a truth about the thing we were originally talking about. It's an inductive form of reasoning.

Dirty Tricks

In my debating days, using Analogies to make our points was maybe the most popular technique. This is the technique of comparing something to something else in the hopes that you'll see the similarities and accept that what's true of our compared example is also a truth about the…

12.07.2025 07:23 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Body Language Back in the early eighties there were a few trends that the entire world seemed to be obsessed with, and seem to have a lasting fascination today. The Rubik's Cube was one of these, and so was the book Body Language by Allan Pease. I'm not sure whether it was the first acknowledgement of communication that's not verbal, but it sure felt like it.

Body Language

Back in the early eighties there were a few trends that the entire world seemed to be obsessed with, and seem to have a lasting fascination today. The Rubik's Cube was one of these, and so was the book Body Language by Allan Pease. I'm not sure whether it was the first…

18.06.2025 10:51 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Mixology, and Formulas of Funny Whatever you do, from vocation to lifestyle choice, there's probably some kind of underlying philosophy or point of view that informs it. This can encompass processes and approaches to problem solving as well as a general attitude. I've been fortunate enough to learn and understand many of these, and it's occurred to me that they all have something to learn from that can be applied in other disciplines and areas of life.

Mixology, and Formulas of Funny

Whatever you do, from vocation to lifestyle choice, there's probably some kind of underlying philosophy or point of view that informs it. This can encompass processes and approaches to problem solving as well as a general attitude. I've been fortunate enough to…

14.05.2025 04:53 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

10,000 Hours NOTE: This is a chapter from my exciting new book The Self Made Stand-Up, which you can purchase in Australia at Amazon or through Amazon in the US, or from Barnes and Noble, or Books.By – or lots of other places that I can’t keep track of. It’s a whopping book with 68 Chapters so I don’t feel bad about previewing one of them here.

10,000 Hours

NOTE: This is a chapter from my exciting new book The Self Made Stand-Up, which you can purchase in Australia at Amazon or through Amazon in the US, or from Barnes and Noble, or Books.By – or lots of other places that I can’t keep track of. It’s a whopping book with 68 Chapters so I…

11.05.2025 07:25 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Edgy Comedy NOTE: This is a chapter from my exciting new book The Self Made Stand-Up, which you can purchase in Australia at Amazon or through Amazon in the US, or from Barnes and Noble, or Books.By - or lots of other places that I can't keep track of. It's a whopping book with 68 Chapters so I don't feel bad about previewing one of them here.

Edgy Comedy

NOTE: This is a chapter from my exciting new book The Self Made Stand-Up, which you can purchase in Australia at Amazon or through Amazon in the US, or from Barnes and Noble, or Books.By - or lots of other places that I can't keep track of. It's a whopping book with 68 Chapters so I…

07.05.2025 00:43 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The elephant…. It's weird when comedians give each other tips and advice. I'm not against it, but I take all of it with a massive dose of salt. What makes sense to you might make sense for your act, not mine. The thing you think I should do might be very off-brand for me. It's surprising how often newer comedians hit me up for advice or request feedback.

The elephant….

It's weird when comedians give each other tips and advice. I'm not against it, but I take all of it with a massive dose of salt. What makes sense to you might make sense for your act, not mine. The thing you think I should do might be very off-brand for me. It's surprising how often…

06.04.2025 10:19 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Truth and Illusion Last night in the green room of Osk Bar, where I was part of another excellent Cocktail Comedy show, the other comics and I were chatting as backstage comics often do. My friend Liam, who is fast approaching his first anniversary as a comedian, reflected on an observation that might be attributed to Bill Hicks but has become something that all comics observe.

Truth and Illusion

Last night in the green room of Osk Bar, where I was part of another excellent Cocktail Comedy show, the other comics and I were chatting as backstage comics often do. My friend Liam, who is fast approaching his first anniversary as a comedian, reflected on an observation that…

26.03.2025 09:55 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The Covenant One of the important elements that makes a stand-up comedy work is an invisible unspoken contract between the performer and their audience. Observing the conditions of this contract, this covenant, makes all the difference. It determines whether we'll have a successful set or an unpleasant experience that negatively impacts our reputation. So where is this contract? Why doesn't anyone remember signing it?

The Covenant

One of the important elements that makes a stand-up comedy work is an invisible unspoken contract between the performer and their audience. Observing the conditions of this contract, this covenant, makes all the difference. It determines whether we'll have a successful set or an…

19.02.2025 21:39 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Converse like a comic In my first year as a comedian I heard a comedian tell another comic on a podcast that in their 4th or 5th year they discovered that they no longer enjoyed conversations with "civilians" (people who aren't comedians), that they found these discussions tedious and difficult. Even though they explained what they meant I still thought this was a pretty snotty and condescending thing to say.

Converse like a comic

In my first year as a comedian I heard a comedian tell another comic on a podcast that in their 4th or 5th year they discovered that they no longer enjoyed conversations with "civilians" (people who aren't comedians), that they found these discussions tedious and difficult.…

15.02.2025 06:04 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

It’s Here! My book, The Self Made Stand-Up: Your guide to mastering stand up comedy. And life is finally available today. I just received my paperback copies and the book is now available on Amazon and Amazon for Aussies. Well, it's a big deal for me anyway. My copies came fast - I was advised not to expect them until the 14th, so I'm pleasantly surprised with how quickly this went to press and got delivered.

It’s Here!

My book, The Self Made Stand-Up: Your guide to mastering stand up comedy. And life is finally available today. I just received my paperback copies and the book is now available on Amazon and Amazon for Aussies. Well, it's a big deal for me anyway. My copies came fast - I was advised not…

06.02.2025 02:58 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Terror, Horror and Comedy A long time ago I read a book about "Terror Movies" which I'm assuming, because I borrowed it from my high school library, isn't available anymore. It was about what we know as Horror Movies but it made a distinction between "Horror" and "Terror." Terror, they argued, is what we feel about an impending threat. It's based in fear and is the basic driver for what a think of as horror movies.

Terror, Horror and Comedy

A long time ago I read a book about "Terror Movies" which I'm assuming, because I borrowed it from my high school library, isn't available anymore. It was about what we know as Horror Movies but it made a distinction between "Horror" and "Terror." Terror, they argued, is…

15.01.2025 06:48 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

09.01.2025 23:38 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

07.01.2025 23:08 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Speed Limits When referring to stand-up comedy people talk a lot about timing, but what they mean by that could be almost anything. Frequently they're talking about cadence, the rhythm and intonation of a comedian's speech. This is a form of vocal musicality that's used to place emphasis on certain syllables and deploy strategic pauses that increase the effectiveness of punchlines and give comedians their unique voice.

Speed Limits

When referring to stand-up comedy people talk a lot about timing, but what they mean by that could be almost anything. Frequently they're talking about cadence, the rhythm and intonation of a comedian's speech. This is a form of vocal musicality that's used to place emphasis on…

07.01.2025 02:42 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

06.01.2025 23:41 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Sean Cooper

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