Date: 15 April 2011
Venue: Silverlake Lounge
I'm feeling really good. I opened with a pun that the audience adored. Things went a bit downhill from there, but I know that I have a solid joke that kills. This is promising.
A lot of it comes in getting people's attention. If you lose them at the start, nobody's going to pay attention because why bother? You haven't established yourself as someone worthy of attention. It's very harsh, but it's how things are: first impressions matter.
I tried to stick to the schtick I'd set up in my last post. FBI Intern hit a bit of a snag, but I think with sticking to my guns, I can make it funny again. I also tried to throw in some new material, which didn't go over as well as I'd hoped. There's a big gap between 'this is funny' and 'this is something I think is amusing' and that difference is that an idea that has potential isn't enough... I have to say what that potential is and define it. Once you claim the idea, it's yours.
That aside, I think I've got a little less work ahead of me. I've got some solid premises, and I really need to hit up more venues. Tomorrow I'm going to Tsunamedy. This should be fun.
Also, I have a fan! Phil, a guy who's been here for 3 weeks came up after my set and said he thought I was funny. Knowing that makes things a lot easier. I really need to start reaching out to other comics though.
I like the idea about opening with an attention-grabber.
ReplyDeleteObviously, you write all this stuff after the fact, but trying to judge a bit while performing it and then stay on track for the rest of the performance must be tricky.