Don't beat yourself up!

So- tonight was my third set at the Comedy Store in the Belly Room. Every time I do this room it is a learning experience. First of all, I finally felt really confident up there and not nervous. Unfortunately, I blanked on my act after going off book, and had an embarrassing moment where I apparently just screwed the pooch visually. Someone commented I looked nervious the whole time- but I don't buy that. I was only nervous when I totally blanked, but at other times make some great brave strides in honing the levels of my persona tonight.

I smartly just called it out that I fucked up, recovered , and got back to the funny. The positive is I got the most laughs in that room tonight than I've ever gotten. I really had people going on my trip with me. I was juggling the order of my act the whole time I was up there and the net result was I connected and everyone enjoyed themselves. Every person in the group I invited had a favorite part of the set, which was also a positive.

The negative is the thing that made me fuck up was trying to call out some really hot chicks that were sitting in the front. I commented that I had had 7 bisexual girfriends and that if I would have been with one of the hot chicks that would have never happened. One of the hot chicks called back at me to "Don't be too sure." I jumped on it very weakly, but I don't have the confidence or skills yet to pounce all the way. I gave some weak jabs back but I felt like a guy trying to catch a big fish, only to have the line go from taut to dead.

I learned a lot tonight and I am still on a high. It is 1 a.m. I am especially proud of myself that I am not beating myself up, and that I'm taking this all in stride as part of the learning curve. Cathy Lewis said she wants me to do the main room next month, That will be a big challenge since it's a different venue and larger room. Everyone I brought was excited about this and they think I can do it. It's a tall stage that will make it harder to connect. I like my little Belly Room. Don't like the idea of graduating to the next level. But i never knew i would ever make it this far. Here's to jumping out of the plane from the higher height!

AVOID THE DRAGON!

So I knew this was coming. Burning the candle at both ends got me a bit of a cold, and got me to stop going up on stage for a week. And, yup, it took me out of my zone. so, this week is return to the zone time, get back up on stage with some new material, and work it, work it, work it like Jane Fonda in a spandex leotard.

I'm in the next stage of my comedy career: frustration. You get sick of going to lame open mics and having bitter comics not laugh at you or support your new material, because they don't want you to seem funnier than them. You get sick of bringer shows, where you stock the audience with your friends, who will of course laugh at you because they know you will kill them afterwards if they don't. This seems to me the point where the rubber hits the road. Do I want to do this consistently (weekly like an Oprah Winfrey book Club) or keep it as a hobby I do from time to time to whet my creative whistle?

Decisions, decisions? Do I want to put in the hard work and dedicate myself to a life of the road warrior? Do I want to eventually piss off my friends by inviting them to show after show? Do I keep wanting to zone out at work and not concentrate because I have material chomping at the bit at every second? Do I want to put in all of the hours it will take to find my persona and get to the level of paid gigs? Do I want to do sketch comedy or radio instead?

These questions and more MIGHT be answered next time when we join Wink Martindale on another thrilling episode of Tic Tac Dough!