Date: 18 May, 2011
Venue: The Spot Cafe
And now, the anatomy of a bomb.
"Bombing" is when you flail around on stage doing poorly, for those not in the know. Tonight wasn't a total bomb, but it was quite poor. I'd give myself a D+. And I know why it happened.
I need to keep writing jokes. I had been doing the same set over and over, so people had heard it and were bored I think. Open mics are different from rooms where there's an actual audience. It's a solid set, but I need to have the courage to try new things and to see what happens.
The other thing I need to do is preparation. I have to know what I'm going to say before I say it. Going up without any clue whatsoever about what you're saying is a recipe for disaster.
The gist of it is this: If you're doing a bit and it isn't working, see it through and then for next time have new stuff ready. At least on a sinking ship, you know where you are. Changing course mid-stream is going to throw off the people who are with you. That's all the advice I have for now. Right now, I'm just feeling like I have to earn every laugh, and I have to prove it to the world that I'm ready.
I can do this. I've got it in me. Let's laugh.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Open mic 23 (for real)
Date: 6 May, 2011
Venue: Silverlake lounge
I did pretty good. A lot of people didn't show up, so we got longer sets (4 minutes!).
However, I'm going to give a tip to all aspiring comics doing Standup for their first time.
If this is your first time on stage, you will need to learn about "The light". This is the signal given to tell you that it's nearing the end of your set, generally it means you have one minute left. Sometimes there will be a second light that means "you're done, finish up and go". Some clubs are a little lax about going over your time, some clubs are strict to the point where you won't be allowed to perform again if you go over time.
The other thing is that the stage lighting on stage is bright. Really bright. You probably won't be able to see "The light" unless you know to look for it. So if you're not careful, your first time you run the risk of going over time by a lot. Don't let this happen to you. We know you probably don't mean to be rude by going over time, but it's not something you want to do even accidentally.
Bring up a cell phone or watch: anything with a really visible time display on it. Check it periodically, if you haven't practiced your jokes before. Its okay if you go short, but its not okay if you go over time by too much. One of the best ways to get on an MCs bad side is to be known as the person who goes over time.
Venue: Silverlake lounge
I did pretty good. A lot of people didn't show up, so we got longer sets (4 minutes!).
However, I'm going to give a tip to all aspiring comics doing Standup for their first time.
If this is your first time on stage, you will need to learn about "The light". This is the signal given to tell you that it's nearing the end of your set, generally it means you have one minute left. Sometimes there will be a second light that means "you're done, finish up and go". Some clubs are a little lax about going over your time, some clubs are strict to the point where you won't be allowed to perform again if you go over time.
The other thing is that the stage lighting on stage is bright. Really bright. You probably won't be able to see "The light" unless you know to look for it. So if you're not careful, your first time you run the risk of going over time by a lot. Don't let this happen to you. We know you probably don't mean to be rude by going over time, but it's not something you want to do even accidentally.
Bring up a cell phone or watch: anything with a really visible time display on it. Check it periodically, if you haven't practiced your jokes before. Its okay if you go short, but its not okay if you go over time by too much. One of the best ways to get on an MCs bad side is to be known as the person who goes over time.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Open mic 22 (for real)
Date: 4 May, 2011
Venue: The Spot Cafe
I'm starting to get better at my material. I'm starting to have more consistency in my jokes and between my sets. I'll post a set that I feel comfortable with sharing soon.
So instead of talking about me, I'm going to share a lesson with y'all. This set, there was a performer who came out and during her set said "I'm not going to be as funny as the last guy". Big mistake.
Never plead incompetence. You can say 'this is my first time' but don't start from a position of weakness. In open mics, there is always a section of the audience that is looking for an excuse to not pay attention to you. Don't give it to them.
You have to turn everything into a position of strength. I'm awkward, skinny and I'm still not fully comfortable on stage, but I acknowledge that and turn it into a strength. You always want to acknowledge these sorts of things because it means you don't have to fight the audience. People go by first impressions, so once you accept that, you can use it.
I'm skinny. If I go out on stage saying things about how I'm not actually skinny, the audience isn't going to buy it. Which gives them a reason to not listen to me.
It gets back to "yes and". Yes, I'm a dork AND I'm so much of a dork that I can even make a leather jacket inhabited by the spirit of James Dean look uncool. Or, Yes I'm a dork AND it amazes me that the only time I'm not a dork is when I'm talking to people at taco bell. You start with ideas like that. You acknowledge something about yourself and then you either build on that idea, or you transform it and add information.
Venue: The Spot Cafe
I'm starting to get better at my material. I'm starting to have more consistency in my jokes and between my sets. I'll post a set that I feel comfortable with sharing soon.
So instead of talking about me, I'm going to share a lesson with y'all. This set, there was a performer who came out and during her set said "I'm not going to be as funny as the last guy". Big mistake.
Never plead incompetence. You can say 'this is my first time' but don't start from a position of weakness. In open mics, there is always a section of the audience that is looking for an excuse to not pay attention to you. Don't give it to them.
You have to turn everything into a position of strength. I'm awkward, skinny and I'm still not fully comfortable on stage, but I acknowledge that and turn it into a strength. You always want to acknowledge these sorts of things because it means you don't have to fight the audience. People go by first impressions, so once you accept that, you can use it.
I'm skinny. If I go out on stage saying things about how I'm not actually skinny, the audience isn't going to buy it. Which gives them a reason to not listen to me.
It gets back to "yes and". Yes, I'm a dork AND I'm so much of a dork that I can even make a leather jacket inhabited by the spirit of James Dean look uncool. Or, Yes I'm a dork AND it amazes me that the only time I'm not a dork is when I'm talking to people at taco bell. You start with ideas like that. You acknowledge something about yourself and then you either build on that idea, or you transform it and add information.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Open mic 24?
Date: 17 April, 2011
Venue: Tribal cafe.
This was my first time performing at the tribal cafe. With a name like that, yes it is a place where they talk about removing toxins on the menu and it has ads for drum circles in the board at the front. As though 4 a gallon gas didn't make me feel guilty enough for driving here by myself.
Anyways, I need to do 2 things: I need to be more social with comics and I need to get some business cards. Cause I did a damn good job tonight. It felt solid, and the FBI Intern bit worked well. I think there's a lot of material there I need to explore. Like, skipping over the urge to tell new and unproven stuff and telling the jokes that are within my wheelhouse was really what it took.
So, I'm going to re-number a couple of these. Open mics are one thing, but auditions are another and workshops are a third. So 500 open mics stand between me and what I'm going after... not 500 open mics and workshops and whatever else there is.
Venue: Tribal cafe.
This was my first time performing at the tribal cafe. With a name like that, yes it is a place where they talk about removing toxins on the menu and it has ads for drum circles in the board at the front. As though 4 a gallon gas didn't make me feel guilty enough for driving here by myself.
Anyways, I need to do 2 things: I need to be more social with comics and I need to get some business cards. Cause I did a damn good job tonight. It felt solid, and the FBI Intern bit worked well. I think there's a lot of material there I need to explore. Like, skipping over the urge to tell new and unproven stuff and telling the jokes that are within my wheelhouse was really what it took.
So, I'm going to re-number a couple of these. Open mics are one thing, but auditions are another and workshops are a third. So 500 open mics stand between me and what I'm going after... not 500 open mics and workshops and whatever else there is.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
open mic 23
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.
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.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
open mics 21 and 22
Date: 8 April 2011
Venue: Silverlake Lounge
The sad thing about this room is how life-sucking it is. And yet, I did not bad. I feel like I was able to reach beyond my normal audience. I had good material. But I would not call this a success.
I was mildly drunk. This made things bad
Here's the thing. There's a tendency to assume that a few beers will make you loosen up and become better at being conversational. The idea sounds nice, but in reality it's kind of shaky and not true. Some people really do need to lighten up but that comes with practice. You want to sound conversational, but in reality so much is practiced and rehearsed and ready for anything. It's over-preparation disguised as under-preparation.
That said, I need to practice more. I need to actually rehearse and go over my bits. I've got some funny stuff, and this time I tried and aimed for my audience. Next time, I know what I'm going for.
Open mic 22
Date: 9 April 2011
Venue: the Spot Cafe
How much is too much?
There's a question. You want variety, but not at the expense of not polishing a joke. There's something to be said for trying a joke over and over to see if it has legs. There's also something to be said for trying lots of things. I fell into the latter camp. But I think I have a solid amount of stuff now.
'FBI Intern' has legs. 'Louie Louie' doesn't. 'Job Fair' has legs. 'Wynn Hyundai' probably doesn't. That pun is a keeper.
I think future sets are going to be like this:
3 minutes:
Roommates
Job Fair
Media Buying
FBI Intern
5 minutes:
Roommates
Graduating/Living with family.
Job Fair
Media Buying
FBI Intern
Obviously, this is a work in progress. But I'll try and stick with it.
Venue: Silverlake Lounge
The sad thing about this room is how life-sucking it is. And yet, I did not bad. I feel like I was able to reach beyond my normal audience. I had good material. But I would not call this a success.
I was mildly drunk. This made things bad
Here's the thing. There's a tendency to assume that a few beers will make you loosen up and become better at being conversational. The idea sounds nice, but in reality it's kind of shaky and not true. Some people really do need to lighten up but that comes with practice. You want to sound conversational, but in reality so much is practiced and rehearsed and ready for anything. It's over-preparation disguised as under-preparation.
That said, I need to practice more. I need to actually rehearse and go over my bits. I've got some funny stuff, and this time I tried and aimed for my audience. Next time, I know what I'm going for.
Open mic 22
Date: 9 April 2011
Venue: the Spot Cafe
How much is too much?
There's a question. You want variety, but not at the expense of not polishing a joke. There's something to be said for trying a joke over and over to see if it has legs. There's also something to be said for trying lots of things. I fell into the latter camp. But I think I have a solid amount of stuff now.
'FBI Intern' has legs. 'Louie Louie' doesn't. 'Job Fair' has legs. 'Wynn Hyundai' probably doesn't. That pun is a keeper.
I think future sets are going to be like this:
3 minutes:
Roommates
Job Fair
Media Buying
FBI Intern
5 minutes:
Roommates
Graduating/Living with family.
Job Fair
Media Buying
FBI Intern
Obviously, this is a work in progress. But I'll try and stick with it.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
open mics 19 and 20
Oh man, another twofer. This brings me up to 4% of the way there.
Let's look at it.
#19:
Date: 1 April, 2011
Venue: Silverlake Lounge
Holy cow, running into the very impressive Mark Mead. And getting friends to come and see me. Two cool things in one evening. I had 3 minutes and I didn't run out of stuff. I also had a friend record my set. I'll post it on Youtube if I'm feeling generous later.
I do look a bit tense. I need to relax and tone it down a bit. I might also need to try and aim a little... older. I'm okay with being a college comedian, but I need some material that aims a bit older. If I can pull that off, I'll be good.
#20:
Date: 2 April, 2011
Venue: The Spot Cafe
This is the friendliest room in LA. It's all comics, so it's not the perfect room, but it feels good. I actually recorded myself kicking ass, so I've got that going for me. (I should mention that 'kicking ass' is a relative term. I'm not gaining laughs as hard or as strong as other comics, but they're relatively solid. Listening to the recordings is helping)
The best thing I can think of, as far as comedy goes is to be ones' self. I'm trying to have my time on stage just be me talking about stuff. Instead, I'm still amping up the energy in response to nerves, so instead of 'me', it's becoming 'hyper me'. I know 4% of your max. possible capacity is still not that much, but I figure with 20 open mics under my belt, that I should be starting to hit my stride and I should have the calmness thing figured out. I'm not worried or concerned, but it would be nice to figure it out.
On the plus side, it's been a really long time since I bombed. I can live with that.
Let's look at it.
#19:
Date: 1 April, 2011
Venue: Silverlake Lounge
Holy cow, running into the very impressive Mark Mead. And getting friends to come and see me. Two cool things in one evening. I had 3 minutes and I didn't run out of stuff. I also had a friend record my set. I'll post it on Youtube if I'm feeling generous later.
I do look a bit tense. I need to relax and tone it down a bit. I might also need to try and aim a little... older. I'm okay with being a college comedian, but I need some material that aims a bit older. If I can pull that off, I'll be good.
#20:
Date: 2 April, 2011
Venue: The Spot Cafe
This is the friendliest room in LA. It's all comics, so it's not the perfect room, but it feels good. I actually recorded myself kicking ass, so I've got that going for me. (I should mention that 'kicking ass' is a relative term. I'm not gaining laughs as hard or as strong as other comics, but they're relatively solid. Listening to the recordings is helping)
The best thing I can think of, as far as comedy goes is to be ones' self. I'm trying to have my time on stage just be me talking about stuff. Instead, I'm still amping up the energy in response to nerves, so instead of 'me', it's becoming 'hyper me'. I know 4% of your max. possible capacity is still not that much, but I figure with 20 open mics under my belt, that I should be starting to hit my stride and I should have the calmness thing figured out. I'm not worried or concerned, but it would be nice to figure it out.
On the plus side, it's been a really long time since I bombed. I can live with that.
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