Eric Schwartz (@ericschwartz) is a quadruple-threat entertainer with multiple albums of original comedic anthems, dozens of videos that you’ll want to watch again and again, a one-hour special that might make you pee your pants, and a live standup show worthy of Carnegie Hall. He writes sketches. He writes comedy. He writes music. He performs live. He’s on tour constantly. But I caught up with him for an hour and we chopped it up into bite sized pieces.

I met Eric for the first time 5 years ago at YouTube Studios Los Angeles during a special event for YouTube creators and from the moment I saw him, I knew he was someone to watch. He invited me to see his standup show and (unlike many folks) I surprised him by actually showing up. I’m so glad I did. I was right about my suspicions; I watched him on stage through my tears as he brought the house down to ashes. The guy is hilarious.

But it ain’t all jokes. Creating material worthy of your audience’s hard-earned dollars isn’t something even a talented performer can just pull out of a hat.

So how do we consistently move toward excellence in our vehicle of intentional creativity? How do we go from what’s now to what’s next? We all have ambitions, and the people who look like they’re at the top have their eyes set on some goal beyond their peak too.

We know that waiting for someone else to recognize our talent and give us a ‘break’ is a delusion that we could use to con ourselves out of valuable years of our creative lives.

What to do?

We all have heard countless times (I hope) that we each have within us what it takes to do, be, and have whatever it is that we desire. Beyond desire how can we facilitate forward momentum in the direction we want to go?

Eric has some suggestions.

Eric offers an emotionally intelligent perspective on creating art, and what it took for him to move from posting his comedy videos on YouTube and performing at comedy clubs to booking roles in films by invitation on the merit of self-produced works already seen (no audition).

If you are an actor, writer—any kind of performing artist or creator, you can benefit from Eric Schwartz’s roadmap to getting on stage, developing and tightening your own standup comedy routine, and building an audience that appreciates your unique brand of standup comedy.

Do you know a performing artist you’d like to encourage?

Share this with all the performing artists you know—you don’t have to be an actor or comedian to benefit from listening to this episode.

Though comedy is Eric’s currency, his concepts transcend vocation.

A quote from the show — Eric says, “Amazing things have been done by people that just wanted to do it [who said,] ‘You know what? I’m going to do it and I don’t care what it takes. I’m going to ask as many people as I need to, and I’m going to do this.’ That’s the spirit you have to have. And Your passion will take you [the rest of] the way there.”

Actor-Comedian Eric Schwartz shares helpful perspectives on:

Upholding personal integrity in the face of an awkward moment
Your Roadmap to starting your career in standup comedy—no kidding!
The book that has shifted his art to a new higher level (and how he uses it)
How to get started doing standup comedy at comedy clubs (and everywhere)
Why you have a good chance of success asking to perform at live venues (both comedy and non-comedy venues)
Pitfalls to avoid in selecting performance material
How to hone your routine to its highest potential
How to get noticed in Hollywood
How to get on stage (literally what to say) and what to do before you get up there
and more… (of course there’s more!)

Join us for this very special episode of Maxximillian Presents: THEMATIC, a podcast about topics interesting to creative people—best practices and helpful habits plus personal shares from creatives who are achieving success and want to share their experiences wrapped up in music to tickle your pleasure center.

If it’s the first time we’re meeting, I’m Maxximillian Dafoe an award-nominated audio dramatist, director, screenwriter, songwriter, actress, performer and host of the THEMATIC podcast, author of three books (AFTERLIFE, MOLLYVILLE, DAUGHTER AND THE SNAKE), screenwriter and performer who has worked/performed with Michael Chiklis, David Fincher, James Franco, Bruce Willis, Jay Z, Justin Timberlake, and Dr. Dre as well as collaborations with many other widely appreciated notable artists.

Mentioned in this episode:

Props Given:

Visit the podcast episode page for full show notes including episode extras and helpful links to take you to where you want to be (amongst the books and all the precious videos and things)!

Here it is… Maxximillian Presents: THEMATIC – Show Notes & All Episodes

Did you enjoy this episode? Help spread the word about this brand new podcast by spreading the word with your positive iTunes review of this podcast! Have a suggestion? Drop me a line on my podcasts homepage.

Visit the episode page for full show notes including episode extras and helpful links to take you to where you want to be (amongst the books and all the precious videos and things)!

Here it is… Maxximillian Presents: THEMATIC – Show Notes & All Episodes

Did you enjoy this episode? Help spread the word about this brand new podcast by telling a friend you think may appreciate this podcast AND with your positive iTunes review. (Hint: There’s no time like the present!) Have a suggestion? Drop me a line on my podcasts homepage.

Places to find me… Instagram | Twitter — My blog and Where my podcasts live

EPISODE CREDITS