6 months in comedy. mini self review

Sunday 2^nd September 2012, its another Sunday i’m sat in my living room watching the Paralympics. In 2 weeks time i will be moving house but my mind is not on that, my mind is on tomorrow because tomorrow i have a gig that will be exactly 6 months since my 1^st gig. I will film it tomorrow, i should film every gig but i still hate my material, the sound of my own voice and my face! Perhaps i have the wrong hobby? More on that in a moment but the reason i will film tomorrows gig is to see where i compare to 6 months ago. I’m still very much a newbie and learning often from much younger people as at 32 i’m no spring chicken. I only have 2 jokes that have survived from my 1^st gig but i’m not a strong or clever writer so the newer jokes aren’t that much better. What is my performance like? I need to know as i’m not a confident person generally which is another reason why comedy is not a great choice for me. So why do i do it? Well as hobbies go it is one of the most rewarding, i play a lot of football and spend most of my time on the pitch moaning at team mates opponents and the ref, i love football but yet i seem to not be enjoying it, comedy is different from a sporting hobby. You stand on a stage with a light in your eyes, blank faces fixed on you all waiting to hear what you have to say and judging you ability to make them laugh, and why not? You are up on stage essentially telling them you can be funny and when this works and they laugh the feeling is better than a sporting success, its kind of euphoric. But before you even step foot on stage you need to write a set, this does not mean go on sickipedia take your favourite jokes from there change a word here and there and then add a few personalisation’s..... that is not writing. Writing is taking you own ideas and making your own jokes, structuring a set from these ideas, they may not all be funny and you may have to work hard at them but they are your own and with work you can find the funny in any idea. So what have i written? Well i mentioned earlier that i hate my set and this is true but i’m, not going to be Bill Hicks overnight so i have jokes that i at least trust and know work even if i’m not a fan of my own comedy. I am always writing and have been described by fellow open acts as a man with a plan, i guess i do have a plan. The plan is to keep performing the set i have, my best 10 if you like. Add to that best 10 and keep tweaking and tightening. Build stage craft and learn how to get the most from any audience, never pre judge an audience or even a gig, some look awful but are great and vice verse. All the time keep seeking gigs and learn from other acts, i might not make it in comedy but i need to be able to understand why if i don’t and be self aware, i’m not gods gift to comedy i have no right to assume i will do well with a certain crown i should never outstay my welcome if i’m bombing and things like this need to register in my head. While i’m gigging with my current set i’m writing, i mentioned i’m not a strong writer so i will learn how to write better materiel as i go. I’m in the funny’s funny camp and have no idea what is alternative comedy but i do believe there needs to be more intelligence in my comedy although people tell me i have clever stuff i don’t see it as clever though. The funny’s funny point being that things that make people laugh however cheap a joke are still achieving the goal of comedy, if your goal is to tell a political message then become a politician, otherwise learn the rules of comedy 1^st then when you know the rules off by heart you can break them, so this statement alone tells why i perform a set i don’t really like. I don’t have a political agenda however, my agenda is selfish as all i simply want is my time in the spotlight and to be liked for doing it, is there any shame in wanting to be liked? I’m not sure but this is why i do it. I have no secrets on my plans, i am fairly transparent in where i’m going or at least trying to go.

So tomorrow i will stand on a stage at the 6 months land mark, i will do my best to be funny and i will enjoy all the other acts doing their thing too. i will go home review the video and hope that i deliver each line properly, remember the flow of the set, deal with any interaction or heckles (heckles are rare to be honest) and then hope i compare favourable to my 1^st gig so that i can keep going as if i have not progressed at 6 months i should probably give up and let the real comedians have a my stage time. But if i have progressed properly then maybe i will give it another 6 months before i review myself again and have a new idea on my plan, maybe some new jokes and maybe i will be past 100 gigs by then too which will be a nice landmark albeit one that has little relevance in the grand scheme of things.