Who Knew The Hardest Part Would Be The Standing Up?
Quite a while ago I mentioned to Travis, sort of off-handedly, that I thought I’d like to try doing stand-up comedy. I think I’m a fairly funny guy and I’ve always really loved watching stand-up (the first channel I turn to when I turn on the TV is Comedy Central) and I figured I might give it a go. Eventually, Travis came around to the idea that he too might like to give stand-up a try. He’s been immersing himself in the world of popular comedy and has come to the realization that pretty much anyone who’s successful in the comedy world, from writing to acting to directing, has tried their hand at stand-up, so while it’s something I just kind of want to do and think I might be good at, eh’s actually looking at it with a calculated reason and an eye to the future. This pretty much describes the way the two of us approach everything.
We searched around and found a few open mic nights in the area (actually it turns out there’s one almost every night) and decided to check out Wednesday nights at 37th and Zen in Norfolk near the ODU campus. The plan was originally to go to one and check it out then try it ourselves the next week. But, I got impatient and was ready to get the first time over with, so I went ahead and gave it a go last night. I signed up late, well after the show had started, so Tim Loulies, the guy who runs the thing, told me he could slot me in, but only for three or four minutes. I told him that was fine with me because I had no idea how long anything would run for anyway. I decided to go with what I thought was my funniest bit and Travis was cool enough to video it for me with my digital still camera. So here it is:
So first thing you notice is the quality of the video isn’t great, but it was just my movie function on my still camera. I think Travis didn’t realize that he could zoom before he started and the zooming after he started lowered the quality, but hey, he’s never used my camera. (If you don’t believe the guy can use a camera check out his Recognition short.)
Of course, the lack of quality in the video is fine by me because you can’t see how bad my legs were shaking. I’m glad I did it but man was it nerve wracking. I’ve always had this weird thing with stuff like this where I’m put on the spot where I’m really relaxed and fine before I start and it’s not until just after I’ve started that the nervousness hit me. I was cool walking up to the mic and the first few things I said and then just as I was about to start into the bit I could feel my legs turn into jello. I took this weird three quarters stance to try to keep my balance. I’m glad I opted against taking the mic off the stand because my hand would have been shaking so bad the sound would have been awful.
All in all though, I think I did pretty good. Folks laughed, I didn’t get booed, and I didn’t actually lose my balance, or vomit, so that’s a start. I think I’m gonna do this again next week and Travis says he’s going to give it a go for the first time then too. The lovely JoAnna Lynne came out to support me and decided she could go up and be funny too, so maybe she’ll take the stage next Wednesday as well.
I actually posted this without adding this last part but I have to mention that the other guys who were doing the stand-up, some of them for a while, some of them only starting recently themselves, were amazingly great guys. Tim Loulies was more than happy to fit me into the schedule and encouraged me to come out next week. Derek Williams went out of his way to introduce himself and talk to me for a bit about the whole thing. It’s pretty great to see the people in what could be a very insular environment be so open and encouraging and that’s definitely a huge part of what makes me want to come back and do it next week.
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