Getting Started With Stand-Up Comedy: A Practical Guide

Get Started In Stand Up Comedy Logan Murray Approach

Logan Murray is an Australian stand-up comedian and content creator who has put together guidance for people wanting to enter comedy. His approach centers on the same thing every working comic will tell you: get on stage, bomb, learn, repeat. The material he shares covers finding open mic nights, writing your first routines, handling hecklers, and building a setlist that actually works. I went through a similar process myself, years before I ever heard of Logan Murray. The core principle hasn't changed since I started doing open mics in cramped pubs. You sign up for a time slot, you walk on stage, you talk into a microphone, and you find out very quickly whether your jokes land. It sounds obvious but most people spend more time watching other comics than actually performing themselves. One thing Logan emphasizes that I wish someone had told me earlier: film every single set. Not because you're going to become famous on YouTube immediately, but because watching yourself bomb is the fastest way to improve. I spent months thinking my timing was solid until I reviewed footage and realized I was pausing for three seconds after punchlines instead of one. That one observation fixed half my issues.

The open mic landscape varies significantly depending on where you live. In major cities you'll have multiple options weekly. Smaller towns require more effort and sometimes creative solutions like hosting your own night or partnering with local cafes and bookshops. I once drove ninety minutes each way to a city show because the local venue had a three-month waiting list. You do what you need to do. Writing material follows a different pattern than most people expect. Logan's method involves writing down observations and experiences, then refining them through stage testing rather than trying to craft perfect jokes on paper. A joke that looks great in your notebook might die instantly on stage, and a throwaway line you mentioned offhand might get the biggest laugh of the night. This unpredictability is why stage time matters more than writing volume. There is a common pitfall with the Logan Murray approach that beginners miss. The heavy emphasis on relentless stage time can make people neglect material quality. I watched a comic do twenty open mics in a month and still bomb consistently because he was recycling the same five minutes of content. Fresh material written specifically for each venue or audience type makes a measurable difference.

Another counter-intuitive point: shorter sets at open mics are often more valuable than longer ones for early development. A five-minute slot forces you to write tightly and identify exactly what works. Extended ten or fifteen-minute spots let you hide weak transitions and rambling setups that would collapse under scrutiny. When it comes to finding resources, Logan Murray's paid courses and YouTube content cover the fundamentals adequately. The YouTube channel has substantial free material including routine breakdowns and backstage vlogs that show the unglamorous reality of gig life. His courses go deeper into business aspects like booking tours, managing social media presence, and dealing with agent relationships. A specific edge case I ran into that isn't covered in most guides: performing at venues where the audience is there primarily for drinks rather than comedy. I booked a gig at a pub where the regulars were older and clearly not interested in watching someone tell jokes about dating. My prepared set about modern relationships got exactly two laughs. I abandoned the material mid-set and talked about something else entirely. The crowd warmed up significantly after that pivot. This taught me that reading the room matters more than sticking to your script, something no course can fully prepare you for.

Get the Full Details

Get Started in Stand-Up Comedy (Teach Yourself): Murray, Logan: 9781473607187: Amazon.com: Books
Get Started in Stand-Up Comedy (Teach Yourself): Murray, Logan: 9781473607187: Amazon.com: Books

The biggest limitation of following any structured comedy course, Logan Murray's included, is that comedy is inherently personal. His approach works well for certain comedic styles and personalities but may not suit everyone. If your humor is more observational and dry rather than high-energy and self-deprecating, some of the techniques will feel misaligned with your natural voice. Another honest drawback: the comedy landscape has shifted considerably with TikTok and short-form video. Traditional open-mic-to-club pipeline that worked decades ago now competes with algorithms and viral content. Logan addresses this in his newer material but the balance between live performance and online presence requires careful navigation that beginners often underestimate. If you're serious about this, the practical path is straightforward. Find your nearest open mic, sign up for a slot, write five minutes of material beforehand, film it on your phone, watch the footage, identify what didn't work, rewrite, and do it again next week. Repeat until you have twenty minutes of tested material. Then look into half-hour slots and eventually booked gigs.

The timeline varies wildly. Some people get comfortable on stage within three months. Others take two years and never quite get there, and that's genuinely okay. Stand-up comedy has a high attrition rate by design. The ones who stay usually do it because they enjoy the process itself rather than chasing fame or a career outcome. There's also no substitute for finding a community of local comedians. The Open Mic network in Logan Murray's content is useful but connecting with comics in your actual city gives you better feedback, potential collaborations, and shared knowledge about which venues pay decently and which ones are dead ends. I learned more from a casual conversation with a comic at a bar after my set than from any tutorial I'd watched. The physical and mental demands are also underappreciated. Performing regularly means late nights, drinking crowds, unpredictable travel, and dealing with rejection as a normal part of the job. The comedy community supports this through shared experience but you should enter it with clear eyes about what the lifestyle actually involves versus the highlight reel version you see online.

For those who want to explore Logan Murray's specific programs, searching his official website and verified social channels will lead to current offerings. His content occasionally gets updated with new material reflecting changes in the industry, so checking for the latest version is worthwhile rather than relying on older tutorials that may reference outdated booking platforms or venue types. Ultimately the question isn't whether a particular course or method will make you a comedian. Anyone can become competent on stage with enough repetition and honest self-review. The question is whether you enjoy doing it enough to keep showing up when nothing is going right, which is most of the time.

LOGAN MURRAY | Teach Yourself: Get started in stand-up comedy – La Llama Store
LOGAN MURRAY | Teach Yourself: Get started in stand-up comedy – La Llama Store