Do You Need a Director?
Writing and performing a stand-up show can be a strange process. Knowing where to start, where to finish, how to shape the material and make the whole thing feel cohesive can often feel overwhelming when you’re trying to do it entirely on your own.
That’s where a director can help.
I work collaboratively with comedians to help shape stronger, more emotionally connected and structurally cohesive shows — regardless of style or experience level.
What I Can Help With
Every comedian and every show is different, but these are some of the areas I commonly help performers work through when shaping a stand-up hour:
- Show concept development
- Story structure
- Narrative shaping
- Editing and trimming
- Punching up jokes
- Incorporating themes and throughlines organically
- Emotional arcs, callbacks and thematic payoffs
- Pacing and transitions
- Helping performers stay emotionally present
- Helping find the emotional truth in the material
My Philosophy
My approach to directing isn’t about forcing comedians into a formula or imposing a structure onto their material. I’m far more interested in helping performers discover what they want to say, what kind of show they want to create and the most natural way to express that on stage. I believe the strongest stand-up shows grow organically from the themes, emotions and perspectives already present in the material, rather than having a shape imposed onto them from the outside.
Ultimately, I’m interested in helping comedians create shows that feel fully alive in the room. Whether that comes through emotional presence, pacing, callbacks, thematic cohesion or transitions, I think audiences instinctively respond when a show feels connected, emotionally honest and intentionally shaped — even if they can’t quite explain why.
Background
My years performing stand-up, combined with over a decade working in screenwriting, ghostwriting, script consultancy and story development, have given me the skills and insight to help shape shows that feel emotionally connected, structurally cohesive and uniquely suited to the performer.
Across my own solo shows, audiences and fellow comedians have consistently responded to the way material connects, builds and pays off across the course of an hour.
Book a Free Consultation
If any of this sounds interesting — or even if you just want to have a chat about the process — feel free to get in touch.
I offer a free 30-minute online consultation where we can chat properly, get to know each other a little bit, talk through what you’re working on and see whether I might be able to help.
Hopefully we can make some magic together.