Let's Talk About Sets! Episode 053 CLEAN (1 of 2) – Steven Rogers: “It’s a safe bet”
Aug 23, 2019
Steven Rogers, a clean observational comic who has opened for Brian Regan and appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, joins to discuss clean stand-up. He talks about adapting to theater crowds, following a headliner’s tone, why clean comedy reaches wider audiences, and how constraints can sharpen writing.
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Open Jokes With 'I Wish' Framing
- Use the "I wish" framing to open a playground of imaginative possibilities in a joke.
- It lets you invent scenarios and keep the audience with you while avoiding mean-spirited targets.
Clean Is Contextual
- Clean means different things in different rooms and reflects the moral majority's values at that place.
- Always ask producers about audience age and expectations instead of assuming your definition of clean.
Mom Covered Kid's Ears During A Pot Joke
- Steven recounts a Boston show where a mother covered her son's ears at a pot joke, making him doubt his cleanliness as an opener.
- Brian Regan later reassured him the joke was fine and laughed about it.