HA HA HARVEST COMEDY

virginia jones poster ha ha harvest

This Turkey Day, I return to my comedy home of Portland, OR to perform at the Ha Ha Harvest comedy festival! It’s three days of shows, short films, and laughs! Here’s a sampling of the shows on which I am scheduled to appear! Passes for all three days are available here.

virginia jones on poster comedy cornucopia

Opening the festival in the Show Bar in Revolutionary Hall is this “OOPS, ALL HEADLINERS” lineup, with my hilarious friends Lizzy Cooperman, Ron Lynch, Mav Viola, Janae Burris, and Adam Cayton-Holland. This show is like a taste-test for what’s coming the rest of the weekend. Tickets for this show here!

virginia jones on play along

This show features a band and audience sing-along and play-along, I’m bringing my guitar and I’m ready to rock! Grab an instrument and let’s make noise! This is an early show, and again, a nice warm-up to other shows over the weekend! Tickets here!

virginia jones on crapshoot

Chaos reigns supreme on Ron Lynch’s CRAPSHOOT, where random selection determines what happens all night! This show usually happens at midnight, so Portland is really lucking out with this show! Tickets here!

virginia jones on last supper

This is a loverly little closing show. The very funny and very lovely Riley McCarthy hosts hilarious friends Stephen Agyei, Mav Viola, and Geoff Tate! Tickets here!

I may be stuck onto another odd little show here or there, but rest assured I’ll be on these and I’d love to see you!

LA WOMAN- A Love Letter To The 90’s

L.A. WOMAN is back with a brand new show, A LOVE LETTER TO THE 90’s. Join us as we celebrate the decade that gave us everything we love: Spice Girls, Clueless, and Britney Spears.

This is a night of music, comedy, dance, and performance art, all brought to you by L.A.’s finest femme performers.

So put on your butterfly clips, blast your Backstreet Boys CD, and get ready to relive the 90’s at L.A. WOMAN!

I’m doing a special extended interpretation of one of my favorite songs- did you know I play guitar? I sort of do! This will be a special perfomance exclusive to this show. This thing sells out- buy your tickets now!

If you know me, hit me up for a special friends discount! Tickets HERE!

LA WOMAN ALL FEMME REVUE A LOVE LETTER TO THE 90'S

Comedy at Harlowe!

It’s a very good night with some REALLY funny comics. I’m headlining, because everyone else wants to leave early. That’s OK. My friends Valerie Tosi and Jeff May will be there, Canadian sweetheart Debra Digiovanni, the amazing Subhah Agarwahl, and the lovely and hilarious Fizaa Dosani. What would you pay for a show like this, with headliner Virginia Jones? A million Ape Coin? Well, would you believe this show is FREE at Harlowe? My God, what a beautiful world it is!

Unsolicited Comedy Advice

unsolicited comedy advice smart rabbit in glasses ai image

It’s unsolicited comedy advice time! As near as I can tell, everyone on earth is either a comedian or a DJ, and some of those people have gotta need advice. These are theories, or ideas really, that have brought me some comfort in a difficult world.

1. Festival Bookers aren’t funnier than you are

They don’t have to be. They’ve organized a festival. They are, for the most part, lazy, burrito-eating pieces of shit, living on their friend’s couches. That’s how I imagine them, anyway. They aren’t better than you are, they just run a festival in Pig’s Snout, Arkansas.

Except for the festival bookers who have booked me before. They are connoisseurs and the true arbiters of taste.

2. Squeaky Wheels Suck at Comedy

You’ll run into people in this world who are aggressive about booking. Aggressive aggressive aggressive. That’s how they have found success.

You do have to ask for bookings, don’t get me wrong, but there’s people whose whole life is bugging other people. That’s how they survive and pretend they have a career.

3. Show Bookers Are Not Funnier Than You

I’ve done it a thousand times, I do a show with someone who books a comedy show and I absolutely wipe the floor with them and then think, how dare they not book me?

They don’t have to. They got it together to run a show. They’ll book the people they like, or the people they want to ingratiate themselves to. It’s not *really* a meritocracy. Sorry!

4. Some People Are Just Never Gonna Book You

This is the best unsolicited advice. There are some people, some shows, some festivals even, that just won’t like you. Once you’ve politely reached out a half dozen times, you don’t have to keep torturing yourself. Put your energy, your support, your time into shows that like you.

5. Comedy Doesn’t Have To Pay Your Bills

There’s people who will tell you that if you don’t make a living from comedy, you’re not a real comedian. Here’s the thing. Loving comedy and being funny, truly loving the artform, doesn’t mean that you’ll make much money at it.

Your art doesn’t owe you a living. You can be a genius and never make a dime. You can be a hack and make a good living. As far as I can tell, being funny and making money at comedy are only tangentially related.

The fact is that not depending on comedy to pay your rent frees you. You don’t have to take gigs you don’t enjoy, and you don’t have to do things you don’t want to do.

6. “I run a comedy show. How can I tell if I’m funny?”

Do you ever do any shows that aren’t yours? Once your comedy show ends, do you keep getting booked? No? Congratulations, you’re a producer, baybee!

7. Remember that success is not a straight line

One day, you’re jealous as shit because your friend got a speaking role in a Disney show. The next minute, you’re helping them pack their bags to move home. One day, you’re playing a huge theatre supporting another friend. The next, you’re bumped on an open mic in the fucking Valley. You’ll have big and little successes, and big and little failures. That doesn’t mean you’re not making progress. If you love it, keep going. If you don’t, find a better way to spend your time.

How To Do Stand Up Comedy

how to do standup a standup comedian at an open mic
This could be you, and it probably is

You’ve always wondered: How do I do standup comedy?

I can barely even leave the house anymore. There’s all these people lining up, demanding how to do I standup comedy. So I’m telling you now. for once and for all.

Step One: Comedy Preparation

Find a comedy open mic. i found my first open mic in the free weekly in the town that I lived in, the one that was full of missed romantic connections and rock show previews.

Open mic is spelled open mic. I think it should be open mike, because that is short for microphone, and mic is not short for microphone. I have lost this battle. It’s open mic.

Write down every funny bit you do, every story you tell, you know, everything that makes you funny. Try to edit these things down to their essence.

If you can, read your jokes to a friend and see if they can give you notes.

There are a lot of classes that teach you how to write standup comedy about your background and your family. I think they make everyone sound kind of the same. It’s never been what I like to do, personally.

Up top, do a joke introducing yourself. This can be as basic as “I’m a Mormon from Las Vegas, and nobody thinks I exist,” to, “I’m mostly carbon-based and fun at funerals.”

Most standup open mics are three minutes in big cities with big scenes, but they can be five in smaller scenes. It depends on how many comics usually show up. Prepare what you perceive to be three minutes. Practice it.

Read your little script several times. Memorize it, even. You’re going to get better at memorizing things in the future, so start working on it now.

Step Two: The First Set As A Standup Comic

Show up at the open mic, a little early. See what the other comics are doing. Are they writing their names on a notepad? Putting little slips of paper in a bucket? Do what they do.

Watch other comics. When you’re new, you’ll learn a lot about what to do, and what not to do, by watching other people do standup.

Look for the light. Someone, usually the host, will raise a phone to indicate that your time is about up. Wrap it up, it’s usually a minute.

If you’ve done all the jokes you wanted to do, thank the host and get offstage. This is called “giving the time back to the room.” You will look like a hero.

Record your set on your phone. Do this as much as you can. When I was coming up, I had to buy a little voice recorder and remember to bring it. Now it’s pretty easy to even take video of every set you do.

When it’s your turn, take the microphone out of the stand, and put the stand to your left and a little behind you. When you’re wrapping up, put the microphone stand back in front of you and put the mic in it. This looks professional.

Did you do super well? Probably not. You don’t really have any of the skills you need to do well. Did you do OK? If so, statistically you’ll probably keep going. Feel that rush of endorphins? Enjoy it. One day that will pass, and whether you shine or suck, all sets will leave you feeling empty inside.

Step Three: The Review

Listen to your tape. I know it’s painful. Listen to it. What jokes worked? Mark them on your notes. Can they improve? Can you remove any words and make them work better?

You’ll try a lot of things, a lot of joke forms, but for now, try to write things in this pattern: Setup/punchline. Here’s the setup. It’s the observation or the beginning of the story. Then there’s the punchline, it’s a misdirect or absurd point. Circle the part of your joke that is the setup and the part that is the punchline. Are they in the wrong order? Fix it. Anything that you say after the punchline is a tag. If the joke didn’t work, don’t do the tags.

Now that you’ve done a set, put your funniest joke at the end and your second funniest joke at the start. Now, keep writing jokes.

Step Four: What’s Next, Comedian?

What’s next is you keep writing jokes, you keep going up, you make friends, you get booked on your friend’s shitty shows, you keep writing and going up. After you’ve been onstage a thousand times, you’ll be consistent. You’ll know what you’re doing. You’ll be able to get laughs. People will start asking YOU: How do I do standup comedy?

When people ask, how do you do standup, this is never the answer they want. They want to hear the shortcut, the backdoor, the easy way to get good and be successful!

There is no easy way to do standup comedy. It’s gonna be three years before you’re competent, and maybe another five to get anything resembling “good.”

Is that what you wanted to hear? No? Sorry. Nobody does. I thought I was done as a comic at six years in, but I see now that I’d just begun. I’m starting to get pretty good now, at seventeen years in. If you want to do something that doesn’t take as much time, be a doctor.

GENERALLY GOOD COMEDY ADVICE

Don’t punch down. Don’t make fun of the disabled, the less fortunate, people who don’t have your advantages. There’s plenty of rich, powerful idiots. Make fun of them.

Don’t tell a story about a funny thing your friend did. That’s your friend being funny, not you.

Don’t try to get laughs from what you’re wearing. Everyone seems to go through a phase with this. It’s low key prop comedy.

Don’t worry too much about sounding like your comedy heroes. This happens and you’ll grow out of it.

Don’t just be the yelling person. We’re covered on that.

This time when you’re learning standup comedy is the time to try everything you’re interested in. Guitar comedy? Sure! Observational comedy? Why not? Impressions? Go for it. When you’re not getting paid is the time to do exactly what you want, when you want. It’s no-stakes. Go for it!

So, You’re Going To A Comedy Festival!

So, you’re going to a comedy festival! Congratulations!

It’s so exciting for a new comic to be accepted into a comedy festival! You’re going to travel, meet other comics, do shows, and have fun!

My Credentials

Who am I to tell you this stuff? I’ve done festivals like Sketchfest, Altercation, Bridgetown, LAFF, WICW in Boston, All Jane in Portland, Palm Springs Comedy Festival, Santa Cruz Comedy Festival, Big Pine Comedy Festival, NW Women’s Comedy Festival, Funny Women Festival, Chico Comedy Festival, and best of all, the Antelope Valley Comedy Festival.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Should I drive or fly?

A: If the festival is within a day’s drive of your home, many comics will drive their own car because this affords the opportunity to bring all the weed they need. You can also save some scratch by sleeping in it!

Q: How many times can I expect to perform?

A: In some festivals, you’ll get 3 shows! These are great festivals! Sometimes, you’ll pay to fly yourself across the country to do one show in a small room for twenty people. These are “Festivals Virginia Jones doesn’t give a shit about returning to”

Q: What will I get in my swag bag?

A: Your festival swag bag is a Shroedinger’s box of mysteries. It could contain valuable merchandise and secret information! What it is likely to contain is coupons and small items the sponsors didn’t want, as well as the booker’s 2010 CD and a map to find the afterparty.

If you get a t-shirt, that’s pretty good!

The one thing ALL swag bags will contain is a laminate. The laminate will have your name on it and it is your key to parties, your shows, and any other shows that aren’t too popular.

If your comedy festival doesn’t have a laminate, it’s not a real festival, and it might be a human trafficking ring. Go home.

Q: Will I meet famous people?

A: No. Famous comics don’t go to the afterparties, so you’ll be likeliest to meet comedy celebrities if they happen to be on a show with you, and are not going up too far ahead or after their slot. Don’t worry, you can still add “Opened for (famous comic)” to your bio right away!

Q: Will the festival bookers be super funny people who can help me in the industry?

A: In most cases, the people you are sending your thirty bucks and tape to, the people you are throwing yourself open to for judgement, are no funnier or more successful than you are. They’re just the people who got it together to throw a festival. Your thirty bucks bought them a couple days of burritos and weed.

Q: Will I get DISCOVERED at a festival?

A: There are a couple festivals that can be really good for your career! They are in Montreal and Edinburgh! Most other festivals will really just expose you to local comedy fans and other festival comics.

Q: If I’m not going to mix with the headliners, the bookers are just some dudes who live here, and I won’t get discovered, what am I doing the festival for?

A: Good question! There are three great reasons to go to festivals.

The Credit

At the start of your comedy career, being one of the 85 top applicants to the Pig’s Snout, Arkansas Crawdad Bake and Comedy Festival is a flex! Let everyone know. All the time.

The Shows

Especially if you are from a small scene, these festivals are an opportunity to do some big shows in front of people you don’t know! If you do well, it can feel really good, and if you don’t, it will be educational!

The Other Comics

Seeing the acts of comics from other places is really good for your development. Watching only the acts of the comics in your scene can limit your growth. Maybe you’ll learn that your scene really is the funniest there is! Maybe not! But connecting and networking with comics at or near your own level will give you opportunities to perform in their towns, and visit their scenes! This is, in my opinion, the most important thing about a festival. You’ll run into many of these people again and again through your life, and you can have a laugh and remember, years later, how excited you were to get the t-shirts with the little pig snout and crawdad on it.