Jon Leverson talks about working in comedy – B1 English Reading Test

Jon Leverson talks about working in comedy

At school I was always the one with the funny comment, the class clown who never took things too seriously. I enjoyed making my friends laugh, and to be honest, I seemed to be quite good at it. This was why, at university, I decided to join a comedy club, a small group of people who wanted to practise their joke-telling in front of a live audience. Once a week I would go on stage in front of a small group of people and tell my jokes. This was my introduction to becoming a comedian.

Over the past few years I’ve continued with my hobby. Instead of jokes I like to talk about things that I experience in life that I find amusing. I’m a dad to a young son and a lot of my act is about some of the funny things he does or about being a father. The events I perform at only attract small audiences, but you get a lot of support and people do at least try to laugh, even if they don’t like your act.

I work in an office 9-5 and I perform at the weekend. But don’t think for one minute that it’s just a few hours· work. Thinking of ideas is difficult. And you need to test these ideas and see what makes people laugh and what doesn’t. You then throw some things out completely or change them a bit and try again the next week. In addition to the content it’s about finding your style -what makes you special – and that only comes with practice.

Some people say doing what I do must be quite scary. I’m not sure about scary, but it’s certainly true that standing in front of an audience and trying to make them laugh is quite a challenge. But it’s worth it when you ‘re successful. It’s great to make people feel happy and to know that all the time you’ve spent in preparation has worked. This will always be a hobby rather than a career for me, but one that will hopefully give me a great deal of pleasure for years to come.

1   What does Jon say about his time at university?

      A   It was where he discovered he could make people laugh.

      B   He started a comedy club.

      C   He performed in front of people.

      D   He enjoyed watching other people tell jokes.

2   At the events he performs at

      A   the audience think he is funny.

      B   people laugh even if they don’t find him funny.

      C   he gets support from other fathers.

      D   he tells jokes.

3   Jon explains that

      A   his act doesn’t last very long.

      B   he often repeats his act but with changes.

      C   the audience make him feel special.

      D   he sometimes feels he has failed a test.

4   What does Jon say about performing?

      A   He finds it very scary.

      B   He’s not good enough to make a career out of comedy.

      C   Making people laugh isn’t easy.

      D   It means he spends less time at work.

5   What would be a good introduction to this article?

      A   In this article, Jon Leverson explains the difficulties of trying to make a career out of comedy.

      B   Do you think you’re funny? Jon Leverson tells us the steps to take to become a comedian.

      C   In this week’s personal story, Jon Leverson tells us about his unusual hobby – making people laugh.

      D   Life doesn’t always go as planned, and Jon Leverson explains how he took a career change at university.