Working Stuff Out

Last night I had a decent show – and I hated it.

For all intent and purpose, I had an alright set. Some rockiness in other places but I was trying some new stuff, and doing things a bit out of order to shake things up. When I got to the venue, I knew I had been working on a ton of stuff, and Sunday is as good as any other day to unveil what I have – get a response, and tinker on stage.

Things were not going to go extremely well, and I accepted that. Even so, I took the worst spot in the show (first), set down my recorder, and started up my process. I opened up going over my initial feelings (my stomach hurt – another reason why I wanted to leave early) and just went in with my new stuff. Some worked, some didn’t, but they laughed and I ended strong.

Even so, I didn’t like what I did. There was something missing from it, there was a piece of the puzzle I realized I am not getting. I don’t know if I mentally grew as a comedian during the set, or I just had a crazy moment of clarity as it happened, but either way – I didn’t feel great after I got off.

I think I have gotten too dirty. There isn’t enough cleanliness in my act. I need some sort of balance to get me to be versatile. I need to get on the right tack – If that makes any sense.I don’t curse a lot, but my subject matters sort of paint themselves into a few corners, and my biggest laughs come from dick jokes,man rape, and reality TV.

I want to be able to get a little deeper with my material, have something that the world can’t take away. I want to find out how to share my frame of mind with the world on stage, and do it funny. I would like for the dirty stuff to be the aside, instead of the main show. Used in a spot to add some bite in a show.

I understand that you have to be able to be funny first. And trust me, I know how difficult that is. I am happy to actually have some material that works in most places, and I can rely on something to get the audience laughing. Something to that. People would want that at the level I am at. So, by no means am I sneezing at it.

I am even working on the soft skills for stand up comedy. For those who don’t know, doing stand up is a bunch of skills tangled together in making things work. You have to figure out how to deliver the joke, which means a lot more than saying it. You have to figure out sound, cadence, pauses, facial expressions, and act outs, and then tailor that to the crowd you are in.

It sounds like a lot, and it is. Any time I have a chance to work on those things, to become better at them, is an opportunity I cherish. And I have to say where I open mic at helps a lot.

What does this all mean? Well, I think I have to work a lot more at my pen game. Jokes have to be more structured and cover more things. Maybe a little more topical. Maybe a little more punch. Whatever it is, I want to make a few changes because I want what I have in the back pocket.

I want to be able to do 20 minutes with my eyes closed – with some balance, instead of relying on the easy stuff to make it work. Lets see how it goes.

16/8 done.
3 Things Written
not done: todo | wrap up | water.