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.
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