Wk 25 Recap: Moving from Standup to Film and TV

Описание: Com Accel Workshop Wk x25: --
(Feb 1, 2026)

Okay, week 25, we’re back inside, at the Creek and Cave (after being on zoom last week, and in the club’s open-air area the week before that)
there was some mix-up on the earlier time slot (1:30-3:30), so we had trickler-inners, but we survived
the career half hour we talked about some Austin comics who have made it into the hallowed world of either touring standups or Hollywood work. A great example of this is Martha Kelly. Originally from CA, but then a long-time Austinite, Martha was a standup for years, doing the local club scene in Austin. She had some success in standup, but never leapt into the bigger venues and such. But what she did have was a very distinct dead pan style, a likability, and a quirkiness that a lot of people really liked. One of those people was Zach Galifianakis, who out of the blue cast her for a major role on his sitcom, Baskets (co-exec produced with Louis CK), because he thought she was funny, and he wanted that character in his show so he could play off her deadpanness. From there she has been cast in a wide range of TV shows and films and animated series, as a character actor. And her style is so strong that she doesn’t exactly need to “act,” she just needs to deliver deadpan lines, which -- in her voice -- play very well in the media. The lesson? Standup has a lot of ways to make you money -- if you have strong assets that can be used by buyers. That can be your writing, your voice talent, your look, your energy -- it doesn’t even always need to be your humor. From a professional perspective, it’s about developing your entertainment assets, and being ready so that someone can see you, hear you, notice you -- and hire you for something. (* I put some links and Martha’s resume down below if you want to learn more.)
we then broke into four-person micro-writing staffs, everyone got a turn to run their one-minute prepared monologue, and the other three were tasked with upgrading the script, removing or fixing any problem areas, and being supportive. I also added in the assignment of people formally networking with each other -- exchanging social media info, and following up during the week by offering to do something for the other person (NOT asking for something to be done for you, but offering help to the other).
next we all stepped into the Upgradery, and most everyone got on stage and attempted to run their minute. I say attempted, because I interrupted people as soon as they started doing something that wasn’t working. That means not working on the Big Four areas -- script, performance, character, communication. So, if someone was just speeding through script instead of having a real conversation with the audience (communicating), I stopped them, had them start over. If someone was under-energied, or doing something distracting with their face, voice, body, hands (performance) -- I stopped them, gave them a note about the problem, gave them a direction about fixing it, then they reset and tried again.
we had new people, including two Brits, a senior deciding to launch a late life comedy career, and some workshop regulars. Good mix, and then… we were done
next week the workshop is on SATURDAY, Feb 7, from 3-5 pm.

Martha Kelly
   • How Zach Galifianakis Cast Martha Kelly In...  
   • When a Stranger Asks You Out - Martha Kelly  

Martha Kelly
Actor / Comedian

TELEVISION
Baskets (FX) — Series Regular, Martha Brooks
Euphoria (HBO) — Recurring, Laurie
American Gods (Starz) — Recurring, Zorya Utrennyaya
Carol & the End of the World (Netflix) — Lead Voice, Carol Kohl
The Great North (FOX) — Recurring Voice, Bethany
Fallout (Amazon Prime Video) — Guest Star
Hacks (HBO) — Guest Star
Gaslit (Starz) — Guest Star
Grace and Frankie (Netflix) — Guest Star
American Auto (NBC) — Guest Star
What We Do in the Shadows (FX) — Guest Star
Will & Grace (NBC) — Guest Star

FILM
Marriage Story — Supporting
Spider-Man: Homecoming — Supporting
Sitting in Bars with Cake — Supporting
Corporate Animals — Supporting
Infinity Baby — Supporting
Coyote vs. Acme — Supporting

STAND-UP / COMEDY
Comedy Central Presents: The Half Hour
Late Night with Conan O’Brien
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

SPECIAL SKILLS
Deadpan comedy • Dramatic restraint • Voice acting • Improvisation