Pork Scotch and Comedy
Before The Gig
I'm sitting downstairs at the Legend's Bar waiting for to go on stage and perform some stand up comedy.
I'm on in second place after the break halfway through the show.
I've gone through the set and I don't think it's long enough for a 5 minute set, but I can pad it out sometimes.
The nerves haven't set in yet, but there's time to rehearse still.
In reality, it's something that I should have been practicing daily.
The Pork Scotch was delivered to the wooden table I was sitting at, by Aileen, who I believe is the venue owner but I'm not 100% sure.
She said "That looks good!", probably because she'd seen it cooked and presented for the first time, as it was a new menu item.
"It sure does!" I replied honestly, because it did.
It did taste good as well. I spoke to Nick Gooch as I ate.
Nick is someone who I saw graduate from the same comedy workshop I'd just finished, but only years earlier and he's been doing stand up ever since.
The host for the afternoon was Jackson Grant. Last week he saw me at the Rhino Room, another comedy venue, and asked me to get up today.
There was even a gag prize for his hosting.
My Gig
After the break, it was time for me to get up on stage.
I shook Jackson's hand, as is customary between host and comedian upon going up on stage and then wasted precious moments fumbling around with the microphone and the mic stand now caught up in the cord.
My set went well, despite learning afterwards from Nick Gooch that I was a little quiet, whether this was because of the dodgy mic, engineering issues or just a confidence thing I don't know. It means I need to project my voice more.
I also realised I'd dropped one of my more popular jokes because I was discussing it earlier in the day, but also because I need to rehearse the entire set in full, out loud, several times a day before the gig.
I also need to keep my head up and be in complete.control while on stage.
My plan is to go to the Rhino Room's open mic nights on Monday nights too. Time spent practicing versus, not practice.
After The Gig
After shaking the host's hand again as I left the stage, I saw a drink on the table. Aileen had replaced the drink that I'd spilled earlier in the day for free stating that I didn't get to drink the other one.
Another comedian who I had helped with his joke telling, came over and thanked me. He'd been bombing and couldn't figure out why. All I said was to get to the punchline quicker, but have the punchline envoke a clear emotion.
It was also good to get the negative / areas I need to improve on style feedback. Telling someone they did great is awesome, but there's no room to grow with positive feedback.
Later I stuck around in the city, and that will be the topic of my next post.
Thank you for reading.
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Shaidon
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