You have to have a thick skin, yes. If you're going to do something as foolhardy as standup, you've got to be able to take it on the chin if someone has a go at you.
Interpretation
To succeed in stand-up comedy, one must be resilient to criticism and tough enough to handle challenges.
This quote by Bill Bailey emphasizes the importance of resilience in the field of stand-up comedy. It suggests that performing in front of an audience comes with risks, including potential heckling and criticism. A comedian must develop a 'thick skin' to endure negative remarks and continue thriving in such a competitive environment, highlighting the need for psychological toughness in artistic endeavors.
In practice
Use this quote during a comedy workshop to encourage new comedians.
It's a lovely moment when everyone's part of something greater than the sum of its parts. That encapsulates what a comedy gig should be, with the comic as the lightning rod, the Norse mischief god, getting the audience to do something they wouldn't necessarily do.
Like other parties of the kind, it was first silent, then talky, then argumentative, then disputatious, then unintelligible, then altogether, then inarticulate, and then drunk. When we had reached the last step of this glorious ladder, it was difficult to get down again without stumbling.
Let's face it: a date is a job-interview, that lasts all night. The only difference between a date and a job interview is: not many job-interviews is there a chance you'll end up naked at the end of it.
Do you know what prepares you for the mental hospital? Being a prime minister's wife.
More and more, as I get older, people come up to me and say, 'Thank you for all the laughter.' And my standard answer is, 'It was my pleasure.' But that's the truth.
I have rooms full of little dongly things and don't want any more. Half the little dongly things I've got, I don't even know what gizmo they're for. More importantly, half the gizmos I've got, I don't know where their little dongly thing is.
SYCOPHANT- One who approaches Greatness on his belly so that he may not be commanded to turn and be kicked. He is sometimes an editor.
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