Beyond a Joke 4: Stop Laughing

Class was postponed until yesterday, so quit thinking this is a late update. It's a postponed update. It was a particularly intense class this week. We had to present 5 minutes of material, and then present it again after Klare Murray and comedian Steve Graston critiqued us. I don't feel I did so well this week - I wrote most of my stuff on Wednesday and Thursday morning; consequently it was very hard to memorize.

My first gig is just 11 days from now, and I'm so glad I did this course. If I had to go on stage 5 weeks ago totally raw I think I'd never do it again, which would be a real shame - I might be good at this. Looking back on what I've learned about my mannerisms so far, I think it would have taken six months of gigging to recognize my strengths and weaknesses on my own. I don't think I would have had the willpower for six months going "Why didn't they laugh! Why is it only funny when I think it up in the shower!" 

Whenever I imagine myself on stage I seem cool, and chilled out, and almost deadpan; in reality I'm high energy and weird (I guess that explains why I'm exhausted after every class). I don't really like high energy. I don't like any high energy comedians. But I'm not going to try to override a natural talent with some bullshit deadpan façade, especially since I can't stop laughing at my own jokes. 

The rest of the comedy virgins are finding their own style of clown shoes, too, and frankly being told I'm high energy isn't remotely embarrassing. After giving us his five minute set yesterday one guy was informed that he sounds camp and makes slightly effeminate gestures. Considering he's a family man in a profession traditionally considered as dominated by straight men, he took it really well. In fact, when Klare asked us to do our sets again he played up the campness and was funnier for it - it felt slightly uncomfortable before, when he didn't know about this side of himself. 

And here I've been fretting that eventually Klare and the others would notice how much I sound like Kathy Griffin. 

On my second go I did a bit worse without the panic to fuel my performance. Still, I've got the majority of my seven minute set worked out, and like I said I am SO GLAD I've done the course. Klare pointed out to us that we should think of the 5 classes before the gig as the first 5 gigs. None of us have been great every time, but we had Klare and Steve there to tell us why. In a proper gig the audience would just not laugh - I don't know about the others but I would fall apart more and more for every laughless minute that passed. Ironically, since it's a small class we've sort of gotten used to not getting many laughs. While waiting for my turn to go up I pay almost no attention to whoever is doing their stuff at the moment, and the others are the same. At this stage I'll most likely be completely thrown when I get 60 people laughing all at once. But at least I'm confident that they will all laugh - I definitely didn't feel that 5 weeks ago.