Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things 17. Mark Normand
Jan 24, 2024
Mark Normand, a rapid-fire New Orleans stand-up with Netflix specials, shares wild travel tales and culture shocks. He recounts a Berlin Kit Kat Club adventure and contrasts European life with New York comedy grind. Conversations jump from skateboarding’s lessons to humbling travel in Guinea and a memorable Seinfeld nod.
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Berlin Kit Kat Club Experience
- Mark Normand and his wife researched and attended Berlin's Kit Kat Club and dressed in leather gear to experience the sex-club scene.
- They had sex on a massage table, he panicked when another man tapped him and a man masturbated nearby, which ruined the moment.
Use Small Sets To Practice Rapidly
- Use frequent low-stakes performance opportunities to fail and refine material, like the NYC clubs where comics can do multiple short sets nightly.
- Mark says five years in New York equals many more years elsewhere because of those daily stage reps.
Skateboarding Mirrors Stand-Up Craft
- Mark compares skateboarding to stand-up: both require repeated failure, muscle memory and practice to make difficult tricks appear effortless.
- He notes skate videos and sets look fluid but are built from meticulous fundamentals and repetition.