Comedian Brad Upton

A magician and a comedian do a podcast– on a cruise ship.  I don’t have a punchline but we’re probably both bloated.  Enjoy.

Being an entertainer who works cruise shops a lot you meet interesting people.  Or at least your chances are higher.  Working on ships is very competitive right now and the quality of the acts is showing that.  Cruise lines are actively trying to becoming more hip.  The chances of meeting interesting people who are a little more unique, fun or down right weird — it’s just greatly intensified at sea.

The way I see it there are the following 4 stages of the shiplife:

1. The Occasionals or the Newbs (newbs is the short form for newbies– which used to be a short form for something) opportunity feels great to this group– It’s exciting times.
2. Fulltimers — they work ships full time. Most of their years income gets served with a plated breakfast and and a bathrobe.  Unless your work Carnival.  Apparently, I dunno that’s what I’ve been told. After the full timers we get
3. Kickassers– this is the acts or groups that have a little extra sparkle, or in some cases extra pat on the back from the cruise line bookers, aka agents.
4. Legends — the acts who have trampled over the ocassionalists and the newbs to earn the wisdom of fulltimers and keep their kickassers nametag– these are the full time ass kicking legends.

I said I’m in walking in Fulltimer Ass Kisser territory or at least I’m stepping in patches of it and Brad is walking with legends.

Brad gives several nuggets and wisdom for performers through stories about his career– and we both discuss some of the oddities of ship life.

You’ll hear:

• Get To the Funny Part– how he writes the funniest possible joke.
• An entertainers   career at really difficult times of life
• The complexities of adding new material.
• What comes first? The better you get the better your own standards get.
• Confidence the real secret to being a good performer? When confidence is most important.
• Wanna be a comedian– A logical action to take for an ideal first step

If you are listening for the first time Touring Tricks is also the name of my weekly webseries which you should check out– http://www.youtube.com/ryanjoycemagic or http://www.facebook.com/ryanjoycemagic.

Listen to more episodes: www.ryanjoyce.com

How to write gooder.

Writing comedy for magicians & artists.

If you want to improve the quality of your show, then you must spend time scripting and writing. There is no avoiding it.  But how?  Every professional performer has honed their writing skills and if you want to take your show to the next level this podcast is for you.  Ryan Joyce talks with comedian, writer and performer Michael Paul about comedy writing and how to get started.

My guest on the podcast is Michael Paul Ziegfeld who has written for comedians including David Lettermen, Bill Maher, Chelsey Handler and Ellen DeGeneres.  He has television credits on The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live and has lent his voice to Pixar and Jim Henson Productions.  He has acted alongside Katherine Heigl in the movie 27 Dresses and coached Kevin Spacey in the movie The Ventriloquist.  The heart and soul of his work is his own performances that have taken him around the globe, headlining theatre tours, comedy clubs, cruise ships and opening for names like Lisa Lampanelli, James Brown and Joan Rivers. 

If you have been thinking about writing new material for your show or improving existing scripts—this podcast is for you

In this podcast we discuss the following:

• How the most successful performers write material
• How to write material for yourself, by yourself.
• The 3 questions you must ask yourself when writing comedy.
• Who you should avoid when collaborating with others.
• What every performer fears and how to avoid making these mistakes
• Where to get inspiration for your writing material
• Why we mimic other performers and how to avoid becoming a “hack”
• What to do after every show to accelerate your growth as a performer
• And more…

Plus Ryan shares 8 ideas for a better writing mindset and how to optimize the time you spend creating scripts and content.

This Touring Tricks Podcast is jam packed with valuable information from working professionals with the goal of trying to help out other performers.  Don’t miss this episode.

Penn & Teller's Fool Us is now on Season 3!! It is the best showcase for magicians on television.  I appeared on Season 3 episode 2  (watch here http://www.ryanjoyce.com) but this podcast is all about the behind the scenes insight information-- good, bad and ugly

• Why we had to tape our segment three times?
• If that wasn't my illusion, whose was it?
• What Penn said about my Tshirt that didn't make it to air
• Why I threw out Teller's signature
• Why a hamster shocked the control room

Plus three things I learned from the entire Las Vegas experience

1. What I learned from Teller's handshake
2. What to swipe across your eyes if you wear stage makeup
3. What detail came from magic legend Johnny Thompson

I'm joined with Peter Mennie who flew down to Las Vegas to be part of the taping-- with a degree in Television Production, Peter gives a unique perspective of magic and television.