Breaking The Comedy Drought

In an earlier post here, I mentioned a split second decision to attend the Laugh Lounge comedy venue and see some comedians perform. I knew that if I didn't, that I would go home and nothing in my life would ever change for the better.

Two sayings come to mind:

"If you're not moving forward, you're moving backwards!"
"Your comfort zone is killing you!"

I was never really one for positive attitude platitudes, but these two are ones that have come to the forefront of late.

The Resistance

Before I made the decision, there was a mental resistance.

Resistance, procrastination, and self sabotage are just forms of fear. These are things I am learning to challenge and overcome more and more on a daily basis.

When people say "Adulting is hard!", my initial mental image is that of someone whining because they have to pay bills, but in reality it's our minds having to confront the nonsense that adults do to each other, and our inner childs really wanting to do anything other than what we need to.

This form of resistance is internal, subconscious and very powerful. It tells lies, creates imaginary fears and scenarios that just aren't true. Anything to preserve the safety of the status quo if we listen to it.

Real growth comes from challenging these ideas, these long held beliefs from childhood that at worst are self destructive, and at best self denial. Either way, they aren't helpful in the slightest.

An overprotective amygdila great for protecting us against genuine threats, not so much for imagined threats.

Legends Bar

The Legends Bar is situated downstairs at 21 Pultney Street in the city of Adelaide. The stairs are right at the entrance, there is no front door and you're greeted by a large flat screen television, usually displaying some of sport.

The stairwell is wide, and spirals down, opening up to a larger area, separated by different seating areas. There's a pool table, and currently a modern Elvis Presley themed pinball machine. There's a room for gambling machines called "pokies", a stage area and there's also a kitchen which makes a wide variety of pub meals, from burgers to schnitzels to pizzas.

Grilled Chicken Pizza

The Gig

Every two weeks there is an open mic for comedians to perform stand up. The idea is to get there early (before 2pm) and ask the booker for a spot.

A booker is the person who determines who gets the stage time, and they are the ones who make the real money, not comedians unless you're a headliner or feature act.

Because of the resistance mentioned above, I hadn't prepared or even rehearse my material, something I will fix for next time. I did a quick read through of my material amd picked out the best jokes for a set list.

A set list is usually just list of single words as a reminder of the entire routine. The best routines string jokes together in the form of a narrative or a story. My original set had that, but it has changed so much since then so I will need to rewrite it.

There was some resistance from the booker this time, but she put me on the list in the fourth spot. I was shocked she remembered my surname.

The host was a guy by the name of Matt Moss and he was energetic and clearly had a lot more stage time than I have.
Stage time is really important within comedy circles as it helps to keep your anxiety levels under control, eventually they fade completely and you can just have fun. After all, that's what comedy is about.

I applauded as each act before me was called up, and I counted down until my own name was called.
I semi jogged from my position, some distance from the stage and thanked Matt and shook his hand, which is customary upon standing on the stage.

I pulled the microphone out of it's stand, and started telling jokes, occasionally looking down at the set list as a reminder.
The light is somewhat blinding, and the audience is barely visible. It removes a lot of the fear of public speaking.

I was on stage for maybe 3 minutes, but I wasn't timing myself. I got laughs at the end of each of my jokes, which meant that I didn't bomb.

I finished my set, put the microphone back in its and then shook Matt's hand again as he invited people to cheer me off.

As I walked off, there was a sense of relief as I did a mental checklist or what worked and what could be improved.
I got congratulated a lot too and afterwards we sat around disecting each other's jokes.

More stage time is definitely the key, and to challenge the desire to stay home when I could be bringing people laughs.

Adulting is hard, but the price you pay for not doing it makes life a lot harder.

Thank you for reading.

Until next time, challenge your resistance.

Shaidon

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