Roast Like Lisa Lampanelli
Comedian Lisa Lampanelli has both shocked and delighted fans by her caustic comic wit. A favorite at roasts, Lampanelli has shred up the likes of Chevy Chase, Pamela Anderson, William Shatner, Jeff Foxworthy and Flavor Flav. Here are some general tips on turning up the heat like Comedy's lovable Queen of Mean.
Instructions
1. Go for the jugular but have a heart. Even Mrs. Mean has her doubts about certain jokes. "If I'm next to an actress whose entire life has been built on looks and they're kind of ugly now, like a Brigitte Nielsen or Farrah Fawcett, I am really tempted usually to punk out and not do those jokes because I feel so sorry for those women who had their whole life banked on looks," she said. "But, then I see them laugh, and they know I'm kidding, and they know I have a good heart. I try to look them in the eye and blow them a kiss and say, I'm kidding."
2. Practice your comedy craft until you have the confidence to be yourself. According to the Comedy Queen, "You can't do what you were meant to do until you build up to it, and you build up the skill set that you need."
3. Know your audience. According to Mrs. Mean, there was a major difference between the roasts for Chevy Chase and Howard Stern. "On Howard, you get this bunch of crazy, nasty, creepy guys. That's the only place they can get away with every venomous thing they ever wanted to say. So the Stern ones just have this heightened level of craziness and weirdness, where you don't know who's going to do what. You always know somebody's going to piss somebody off for real."
4. Have faith in your comedy material. "For me, the roast material is stuff you can't try," Lampanelli said. "You can't go into an audience and say, I'm going to pretend you're Chevy Chase, I'm going to pretend you're Paul Shaffer, I'm going to pretend you're Pam Anderson. I did that once just to practice for the Chevy Chase roast because I was so nervous. It's untried stuff that you just have read to your friends, your manager, your agents, and go, 'God, I hope this is funny.'"
5. Be clear about your intentions. According to Lampanelli, "It's all about what the intention is. Because the underlying message with me (is) we're all the same. It's all about what you intend to get across and hopefully that comes off with me."
6. Create a simple pre-show ritual to take the edge off. "One time I got laid right before a show, and I was hilarious," said Lampanelli. "I was so loosened up. So I have to start implementing a security guard/fluffer thing in my contract."
