Quote

At the Sahara, the seats are banked and most of the audience is looking down at the stage. Everybody in the business knows: Up for singers, down for comics. The people want to idealize a singer. They want to feel superior to a comic. You're trying to make them laugh. They can't laugh at someone they're looking up to.

— Buddy Hackett

Sentiment: NEGATIVE

←Previous Next→

✓Similar Perspectives

What's great about having an audience is they can let you know what they don't think is funny, and you can just cut that out and keep trying.

— Maggie Carey

And the goal really is to make the audience laugh, to bring them some joy.

— Todd Barry

Anybody with a sharp brain and a mic can become a comedian, but there's a need to move beyond it. The audience wants to witness the marriage of theatre, comedy and something more.

— Vir Das

Comedians do movies and TV so that when they tour, they sell out. That's the goal: To get popular enough so the place is packed.

— Gabriel Iglesias

Comedians sometimes forget that there's an audience. You gotta be conscious that you're performing for other human beings.

— Jeff Garlin

Being onstage is like being rock star. Whereas if you're doing a movie, it's such a confined space. You know, you do a comedy, it's so hard, too, 'cause with a comedy, there's no vocal reaction, there's no energy that you get back that spurs you on to be funnier because everyone has to be quiet.

— Matthew Lillard

They want to let the audience figure things out and let the reaction shot get the laugh.

— Barry Sonnenfeld

✗Opposing Perspectives

The basic function of a comic is stand-up because it's so straightforward and simple. If the audience don't laugh, you didn't do your job. I've had some audiences where I didn't care if they laughed or not because they were either too drunk or stupid.

— Marcus Brigstocke

When I walk out on stage, I don't know who's in the audience. To me, in my little fat skull, the laugh is just the widest demographic you can get.

— Dave Coulier

People don't know what it's like standing up there onstage, when you have a wall of people smiling at you.

— Dave Chappelle