#830 - Crowd Work Comedy
Serious Circus
Serious Circus, Inc
4.3 • 998 Ratings
🗓️ 13 May 2026
⏱️ 72 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
David C. Smalley, J. Mandyam, Jeff Horste, and Jason Collings dive into the real debates happening inside stand-up comedy right now:
– Is crowd work authentic… or strategically prepped?
– Are comics writing full hour specials anymore?
– Is everyone just chasing viral 60-second clips?
– What happens when a comic breaks down after being heckled?
– And what were the worst day jobs before making it in comedy?
This is the real behind-the-scenes conversation comedians have after the show. No crowd. No filter. Just comics talking shop.
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Serious Circus Podcast
Follow the comics:
David C. Smalley
https://www.instagram.com/davidcsmalley/
J. Mandyam
https://www.instagram.com/godhatesj/
Jeff Horste
https://www.instagram.com/jeffhorste
Jason Collings
https://www.instagram.com/jasoncollings/
If you love stand-up comedy, behind-the-scenes debates, and comedians roasting each other — stay tuned
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Because to me the best crowd work is when the audience is not expecting. It's either that or it's quasi crowdwork where it feels organic to the audience. But when you watch that person, you see that they've got four or five slotted answers. Jeff Garcia was great at crowdwork. But I remember going, oh, he had that locked in love. It's like a magic trick. Yeah, it is. Like they have stock answers and then they pull them out when it's appropriate. |
| 0:22.6 | I don't agree with any of this. |
| 0:24.6 | I'm sorry, we haven't met. I'm Jeff. What's your name? |
| 0:36.6 | Holy shit. I didn't know that. I was just taken for granted. I thought y'all knew each other. My bad. |
| 0:41.5 | I don't go out or no. Oh, yeah. I just assume it's my fault. |
| 0:44.9 | Oh, yeah. Jay mandiam. Jay Mandium. |
| 0:47.5 | Cool. Gay handy man. |
| 0:50.8 | All right. |
| 0:51.7 | We need to cheer this guy up. He's not his usual cheerful self. This is, no, no, this is happy Jay right here. You're kidding. Nah, there's no way. You ever go on car rides with him? Yeah, I have been in one. Never a word spoken to the entire. Yeah, it's pretty bad. Let's just, I hope we're recording. Here's my least favorite thing about Jay Mandy. Let's go over in the room, talk about our least favorite things about Jane Mady. Let's go, I mean to say my least favorite thing about j mandy let's go around the room talk about our least favorite things about jimandy yes yes that he exists |
| 1:17.1 | is that what you yeah you got it you got him i don't even know if i have one yet but i that i feel |
| 1:22.1 | like it'd be more hurtful coming for me i just met him it It's just... But the funny story. |
| 1:28.3 | All you have is I just don't like the way the guy looked. |
| 1:30.3 | I showed up. |
| 1:31.4 | I got five. |
| 1:33.0 | I had to learn this guy's name now. |
| 1:35.9 | Is name... |
| 1:36.7 | No, Jay's thing... |
| 1:40.3 | Jay's thing is you... |
| 1:42.5 | Anytime I ever show him anything, I'm like I'm like oh dude my special's not out yet |
| 1:45.8 | but there's a clip that just came out and I'm like watch this like boom and I've worked |
| 1:50.9 | weeks and months on and I show him the clip and he goes yep I wish I got a yep he just goes |
| 2:00.0 | no I'm saying yeah that's that's about right and I'm like you know what fuck me like Yep. I wish I got a yep. He just goes. |
... |
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