Riley Smith 3/10/24 Riley Smith 3/10/24

The Comedy Credibility Problem

Guest post from writer & producer Aaron Garrett.

Comedy? That is not meant for something so important.

This opinion lays bare an idea which for the purposes of catchy titles I’m going to call the Comedy Credibility Problem.

Riley Smith 6/16/22 Riley Smith 6/16/22

6 Books to Improve Your Acting Skills

If you want to achieve maximum success as an actor, taking time to read about the craft will help you improve, especially if you can't afford taking classes constantly or afford to take every kind of class in every method available (and who can?).

These books were recommended to us by Network Member Juan Sebastian Cruz, Houston actor as the best books to start with.

Riley Smith 7/9/21 Riley Smith 7/9/21

How to be funny at your first open mic night

My name is Riley E. Smith, I’m a comedy writer, and I’ve done stand up in Houston, Los Angeles, and the UK. I’ve even gotten paid for some of those gigs (gasp!).

I’ve seen a number of open mics, and I’ve noticed a couple of patterns. It seems like every new comedian who totally fails behind the mic does the same sort of thing.

I wanted to share these tips with you, so you can avoid their mistakes and when you try an open mic (and you totally should), you’ll be set up to make ‘em laugh, instead of make ‘em stare and worry about you.

Riley Smith 4/14/21 Riley Smith 4/14/21

5 comedy books that show you how to be funny

You might not know this yet, but I’m a comedy writer. I’ve done comedy in the US and the UK. I’ve done stand-up, I’ve written sketch comedy, and I’ve done improv.

I’ve even taught both sketch and improv. I’ve been doing comedy in some capacity for over a decade.

So I’m excited to share with you today five books that are close to my heart. These are the books that taught me everything I know about comedy writing and being funny in person.