Bringer 1

Date: 29 August 2011 Venue: Comedy Store Belly Room. I thought that this would be what "making it" feels like. In one way it is, but in another it so so very very lacking. It's a step, maybe a step up, but definitely a step that isn't backwards. There's such an element of anxiety that accompanied this show that I couldn't really fully enjoy myself. Most of this is because I'm a tense person. You can tell me to relax, and I can slip into a less outwardly tense state. But full on chillin like a villain? Impossible sans copious amounts of alcohol. The first level of tense comes before the show even begins. The part of bringer that matters most is the 'bring', the root word meaning that other live bodies with wallets and vocal chords will accompany you. I did my damndest to bring people. I only needed 2. And yet, people flaked. There was a problem with calling people who could come, who then bailed. So it goes. But thanks to a friend I had not spoken to in years coming in at the last moment, all was not lost. Then began the new problem: my set. I suffer from another form of anxiety, that of the variety which sneaks into your brain and causes you to forget or fumble even the most basic of things. Two, one person to go before me, and try as best I could, I could not remember the words to my set. I truly believed that I would step on stage and nothing would come out of my mouth. How is this even possible? These are my jokes? Things that I myself have made and I can't even string them together to form a complex thought. Did it happen? No. I think my only saving grace is that I intentionally start the set with a blank stare and uncomfortable silence. That's the first joke. People laugh at that and the words come flooding back. Not all at once in the uncontrollable mental flood that I've experienced before thanks to a unique combination of antidepressants and beer. This was very deliberate, limited. Just enough of a preview. Like a highway sign: Twitter: 1 mile. Sketchy friends: 3 miles. It went over alright. I'll be invited back. But part of me thinks the tone of my set might need a bit of tweaking. I don't want to seem pathetic. I want to tell people "I had this bad experience in high school. It's totally cool to laugh about it." I actually might just say that. Comedy, tragedy + distance, etc.

open mic 38

Date: 26 August 2011
Venue: Hollywood Hotel
What happened to open mic 37? We don't talk about open mic 37.

This night was a weird one. Not comedy related, but I got a flat tire en route. And you know what? I handed it like an adult. Didn't even call my parents or anything. Little victories.

This open mic was also a little victory. I used it to try out a slightly re-worked opening. Why did I re-work the opening? Because I went through the tape from my showcase and listed how well various jokes did. I even color coded the individual punchlines. For reference, The only other thing sorted by color in my entire life is my t-shirts.

The re-worked opening also needs a little re-working. I'm probably just going to do the standard version when I perform on Monday, but getting that opening solid is on the front burner.

I'm also throwing in one new joke for Monday. Because it's a damn good joke, and it was proven both through twitter and through this open mic. Which is par for the course, actually. It's weird that if you carbon-date the jokes in my set that get the most laughs, 2 out of the top 5 are like 5 years old. Guess I need to start writing more.

Where have you been?

So much for keeping up appearances. I've been bad about going to open mics for myriad reasons (work crises keeping me at the office later, general disinclination and instruction not to) and I've been bad about keeping y'all up to date with the process.

So what's changed?
I completed a 4-week comedy class at ACME. I really needed it, even though I was loathe to admit it. It comes down to something that falls between the basics and finesse. I get the most general understanding of how a joke works, and I'm nowhere near the stage where I have to get pointers about how to appeal to producers, execs etc. What the class really provided was a way to say, "ok I'm serious about this."

Another thing that's helping is Twitter. I'm generally a 1-liner kind of guy, so Twitter is a neat little outlet for the ideas that are kicking around in my head. Being on Twitter with lots of other comics also forces me to come up with new material constantly. I can get material out into the world without doing it at open mics, which was the earlier compulsion driving me to attend.

I've moved into a different arena now: bringers. I get stage time (5-7 minutes) for bringing paying friends into seats. It's an almost perverse motivation: I have to bring my friends for their money. Also, because I have a fairly standardized set which I have to perform, the people who will see me most will hear the same jokes over and over. In a sense, I have to get them to attend not for me, but to see the other comics.

The first bringer is the end of the month. I'll be doing a couple open mics beforehand to hammer out some minor tweaks before the first big day. I'll keep y'all abreast, if only through the open mics' instrumental value. The goal is documenting the journey, so document I will. I'll try and keep things interesting though.