Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/arts/sammy-obeid-on-his-1000th-comedy-show.html
In this article, Sammy Obeid a rising comedian comments on the comedy industry and reflects on his own personal journey performing stand-up for 1,000 days consecutively.
Sammy describes his approach to comedy as very systematic, an approach we don’t usually consider used in comedy. But more and more we see that comedy and even entrainment can be a game about numbers. With a near perfect GPA at UC Berkley and a major in applied mathematics and business, Sammy was more than aware of this perspective, utilizing it in his own routines.
Sammy gave his jokes grade letters based on their performance on a scale of A-A+++. I actually found it quite funny that he lowest grade on his grade scale was A, and then he just added plusses for the best jokes. Treating his jokes and routines like an equation, Sammy discovered that sometimes you just have to change a variable here or a number there to get the right response from the audience.
The second part of the article and the primary reason behind Sammy’s 1,000 day tour is the 10,000-hour rule. This rule was popularized by a writer named Malcolm Gladwell. Basically what it says is that even though natural talent is important in mastering a skill (in this example stand-up comedy), what’s even more important is an extensive amount of practice. We’ve all heard the phrase “practice makes perfect”, and this rule is somewhat similar. Although it does not literally mean 10,000 hours, the rule is an extrapolation of data. According to Gladwell, examined masters in respective fields show that a small amount of innate talent plus a large numbers of hours dedicated to practice is required to master a “cognitively demanding pursuit” most notably: forms of art.
I remember my freshman year of high school, our art teacher told us that everyone in the room is an artist, and that you have to pump out at least 10,000 ugly drawings before you start drawing well. He didn’t exactly mean that all the drawings we were going to draw or have drawn were ugly, but rather I think he meant before we can even begin to mastering drawing, we have to pump out a enormously large number of drawings.
Personally, I find this is the case with many things I’m involved in. I consider myself a graphic designer but not an artist. I’ve been interested in print design since elementary school, and have been pursuing it for more than 6 or 7 years now. Although I can’t draw, sketch or even illustrate, once I get on a computer and open up Illustrator or Photoshop, I can produce some pretty intricate designs. I believe that I have a very small amount of talent but I’ve hit my 10,000 hours years ago. I’m definitely not a master, but the sentiment of the rule still applies.
What do you guys think? Do you agree or disagree with the rule? Is it all talent, all practice, or a little bit of both. Also, what do you think of Sammy’s systematic approach of comedy, and is this approach talent or practice? Feel free to comment on any aspect of the article or my post.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/arts/sammy-obeid-on-his-1000th-comedy-show.html
I definitely agree that practice makes perfect and even more that thousands of hour are needed for this to occur. Sammy’s systematic approach makes total sense for his business idea that to become good at his job he must 1. get exposure to different crowds and 2. test out all of his possible jokes. In my personal life, I have realized that although I think I’m an expert, this is often not the case. The effects of too little practice and overconfidence can be seen here: http://rt.com/usa/san-francisco-boeing-asiana-crash-786/ where the pilots who flew the Boeing 777 had very little experience flying that specific type of vehicle. Therefore it is important to have thousands of hours of expertise doing exactly what you want to do professionally.
Like a lot of things in life, I think the answer is never one extreme or the other (all talent or all practice in this setting), but a happy medium between both. There may be special cases, like a prodigy, but not for most of us. It takes work to develop raw natural talent, and there’s always room for improvement. Personally, I know I have a natural inclination towards music, but without hours of practice I just wouldn’t be good.
This article portrayed comedy as an art, and a very carefully practiced one at that, which was really interesting to me because I’ve never connected the two. I always observe how effortless stand-up is and never put more thought into anything behind the scenes; I just figure they’re funny people. But now that I think of it I do remember hearing that one of the really popular late night show hosts spends hours of his day rehearsing for the real thing.
Obeid’s methodic strategy is similar to how artists such as painters and musicians may practice and learn techniques for years. It’s cool that things I would never have considered to be art (food, video games, comedy) actually are, it shows that art is more than just paintings. Its scope is kind of limitless, and therefore can relate to anybody, whereas most people tend to stereotype themselves as “an art person” or “not an art person.”
One interesting question this article could bring up is whether this type of strategizing/marketing can make art comparable, or at least strongly linked to, business. Obeid, as you mentioned, used skills he learned from his business major to succeed as a comedian. He uses these learned skills to develop a natural talent. I definitely see a connection there.
I found this post extremely interesting especially since I love comedy myself-both observing and performing but also coincidentally I am reading Gladwell’s book, Outliers, for my sociology class. I find it particular gripping. I agree with the 10,000 hours rule in principle not so much in practice. It’s basically saying to get good at something it takes a substantial amount of time commitment. Agreed. However, he doesn’t take into account how you practice ( “perfect practice makes perfect” ) which I agree with as well. There is a certain aspect of natural talent and upbringing as well that Gladwell’s speaks to in the text. I personally look forward to taking in some of Obeid’s comedy routines and learn a little bit more about his story. This article also shows me that there are smart comedians! This is important, because I think anyone can be funny, but it takes someone smart to do it for a living. That’s just my opinion. I have a rather good GPA, I’m in Macaulay obviously, I’d like to think I’m funny, but ill just have to wait and see if my practice at it and my intellect add up to a career in comedy or the performing arts in general.
Go Smart Funny People!
Ralph S.
I found this post extremely interesting especially since I love comedy myself-both observing and performing but also coincidentally I am reading Gladwell’s book, Outliers, for my sociology class. I find it particular gripping. I agree with the 10,000 hours rule in principle not so much in practice. It’s basically saying to get good at something it takes a substantial amount of time commitment. Agreed. However, he doesn’t take into account how you practice ( “perfect practice makes perfect” ) which I agree with as well. There is a certain aspect of natural talent and upbringing as well that Gladwell’s speaks to in the text. I personally look forward to taking in some of Obeid’s comedy routines and learn a little bit more about his story. This article also shows me that there are smart comedians! This is important, because I think anyone can be funny, but it takes someone smart to do it for a living. That’s just my opinion. I have a rather good GPA, I’m in Macaulay obviously, I’d like to think I’m funny, but ill just have to wait and see if my practice at it and my intellect add up to a career in comedy or the performing arts in general.
Go Smart Funny People!
Ralph S.
I agree with that practice makes perfect. Some people are not comfortable speaking in front of large groups. A possible solution that I learned from my Speech Communications class is to practice. After practicing in front of a mirror, practice in front of a group of friends, gradually increasing the “difficulty.” This method is not fool-proof, but it should provide a very stable foundation. I find that stand up comedy can be very pressuring. For instance, the audience may not like the joke or the comedian may not have executed the joke well. So practice is extremely important.
The overall dilemma in this article is quite perplexing and probably has no definite answer. With dozens of talent shows across the world and playing on our TV sets, we observe a similar phenomenon as to what is presented in this article. Are the singers amazing because they have a natural gift or because they’ve been taking lessons for many years? Is that kid in your class super smart because he is a natural genius or because he studies all the time?
Generally, I think a mix of talent and drive create a person who is truly amazing at an activity. The key is definitely the presence of motivation, will power and desire for someone to be really successful at something. Comedy is thus no exception from this rule. I do very much agree with this 10,000 rule because the more someone repeats an action the more engraved it becomes in their persona. To close off, I watched the video of Sammy Obeid performing. I’m surprised that I have never heard of him before because he was quite funny. I also appreciated that he didn’t throw out a bunch of curses just for laughs. In addition, he seamlessly incorporated history into his jokes which is very cool and takes a lot of work. Props to Sammy, he knows how to earn a good career because like many mentioned above me, it appears to us that stand-up or talks shows are so much easier than they are, but if we were up there on the stage many of us would probably draw a blank. Thus, Sammy is quite a good performer and with a work ethic like that he has a good head on his shoulders.
I don’t think success should be approached as a formula, something that has a sole purpose of being accomplish and since accomplished, thus deserving acclaim. The way Sam Obeid kicked off a karaoke set just so he can ‘get his five minutes’ was completely disrespectful of his audience, the people he is suppose to be sharing to. Having a good work ethic like Mariya wrote, is one thing- but to have to push yourself to that extreme just for a NYTimes article and a few minutes on ‘Conan’ is just a ploy for attention and a way of presenting your insecurities as a performer. I agree with the comic in the article who said that to write good comedy, you have to first live a life worth living. Because otherwise, your content is worthless.
If you really practice anything results will eventually show. For me when I first started playing soccer I could barley move the ball forward. It took years of practicing and practicing after team practice with my dad to get to the level of skill I m at now. Natural talent can take you so far, if you want to be great at what you do you must practice alot. After watching the video you posted I can tell that Sammy practiced his routine many times and knew when to make adjustments when needed, that comes from experience and trial and error. I completely agree with the saying practice makes perfect and it comes up in my life numerous times, like with sports and school.Professional athletes use this idea even more than we do her is an article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/sports/golf/with-hours-of-practice-and-a-little-flour-on-her-face-park-grew-into-a-star.html?pagewanted=all
I believe that the amount of work needed to hone a craft depends on the person. In the case of Sammy Obeid, he believes that he must do 1000 performances in a row to master his skills at stand-up comedy. Coming from a musical background, I can tell you that you must put time into practicing to better your skills. I know that if I practiced playing my instruments more consistently, I would be a lot better than I am now. The amount of time a musician needs varies: it can range from a couple years like a young Mozart or twenty years like Joe Satriani and the Steve Morse Band. Ina review , Buffalo News reporter Jeff Miers wrote about how the virtuosic guitar playing of Joe Satriani was a result of twenty years of playing rock professionally. i guess you can say that my main point is that practice is necessary, but depends on the person as everyone is different.
http://blogs.buffalonews.com/gusto/2013/10/jeff-miers-satriani-morse-offer-jaw-dropping-display-of-virtuosity-at-ub.html
This article is very interesting. I would have never thought this comedian had such academic success. After watching that video I find Sammy very funny. His delivery is on point and his material is great. There is a formula for success in every occupation, and he seemed to have figured it out. The thing is, as stated in that article, it takes years and years to figure out the formula. Additionally one will never become perfect, but one can definitely master an art, such as comedy.
Atlanta Falcons tight end, Tony Gonzalaz, is undoubtedly one of the greatest of all time at his position. He is currently 37 years old and in his 17th season, but admits he is still learning and improving. His mindset is perfect. He puts everything he has into the task at hand and makes sure he will do whatever it takes to succeed. How can one who broke so many records say there is still so much to learn? He achieved just about everything a tight end can possible achieve in the NFL, but still forces himself to train harder and improve. This shows you can never get enough practice. Each day there is more to improve on, and more to learn. I do not believe one is born a star. Tony grew up as the clumsy and uncoordinated kid, but now any ball thrown in his vicinity is usually caught.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/sports/football/for-falcons-tony-gonzalez-catches-keep-coming.html?pagewanted=all
I really like the debate between comedians in determining the kinds of comedy that are “funnier” or what makes a comedian “skillful.” Some say it takes years of practice to perfect a set and others prefer comedy straight up improvised on the spot. This reminds me of a conversation I had the other night with one of my friends, who didn’t believe there were people out there who could actually do stand up comedy without rehearsing what they’re going to say first. And I disagreed with that completely, because I’ve even seen people do stand up comedy on the spot and they’re hysterical.
I think what Sammy is able to come up with is talent. I think we’re all gifted in some way and have a talent, whether or not it’s in the arts and I think he’s certainly found his niche. Likewise I noticed another form of rare talent in an article about a flight attendant who broke a traditional Chinese instrument – by accident of course – (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/arts/music/wu-man-set-for-debut-with-her-new-pipa-at-hartford-symphony.html?ref=music&_r=0). Wu Man is a musician who plays an instrument called the pipa. Her instrument defines her talent just like Sammy’s instrument, his jokes, defines who he is as well and he openly admit to that. He even claims he’s like a “robot”.