Monday, August 2, 2010

Let me tell you about 7/29/2010

For those of you following this blog and my "career" in general, you'd know that 7/29 was a big day for me. It was my first appearance at an actual comedy club, and it was in an open mic competition. Now, I would have been really happy to just do my routine and get laughs. Things went much better for me; I took second place of all the comedians there, and many thought I should have taken first, most especially the audience member who stood up and yelled "that's fuckin' BULLSHIT" after the decision had been made.

After I did my set I was offered work by a showroom owner at Magooby's. All in all, a very successful night. Now to get critical...

What worked:

-Stuff about being dumped
-Taking any possible opportunity to interact with audience. Meet hecklers without attacking back. Best defense against a heckler is to turn their interruption into a joke that does not focus on them.
-Facebook jokes owned here, the audience loved them. The "I wouldn't have a dad" line needs to follow several examples of what would happen had I stabbed my bullies, because while not initially intended to be the big punchline of the joke, it was.
-Stuff about kids worked well.
-Always play off other comics, and always reference the past. It makes the audience feel a part of the act and helped in all kinds of ways.

What didn't work:

-Dad calling me fat thing was unnecessary. People laughed but not as much as expected.
-When interacting with audience, get one laugh and move on. Its great to joke with an audience member, but keep it brief.
-Need to be more aware of posture and direction I look. Oftentimes there was "energy" more in one direction than another. I need to learn to focus on the laughter.
-Fix timing on "punch in the dick" joke. It was good, but it could be better; something is missing.

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