I'm just trying to think of everything you can do with this. They attack the comic with projectiles The guards fire a warning shot after too insulting a joke: then tell him to keep going The comic's physicality... I would do it just enough to be threatening but meagre enough to be vulnerable. The comic should somehow knock someone the fuck out during his routine, but it has to be in a way you're not expecting. The comic is your adrenaline junkie fun at all costs kind of guy Someone has a snake: it becomes a part of the act
I'm curious, what is your story about, overall? By the way, the Workshop is a place for critique, not story development.
I suggest researching how prisons are run. Many have regs about wearing guns when mixing with prisoners, and I can't imagine them allowing a snake as a pet.