July open mics post-mortem

Another busy month with 6 gigs, including a surprise return to the Comedy Chest, 4 years after I first performed there. I think I’m still on target to hit 50 gigs this year.

2nd July – G&B Comedy (38th Gig)

I’m trying to back-burner the Mario Kart story and work on some different material this month. So I revived my old 2019 material about my daughter swearing. Write up.

17th July – G&B Comedy (39th Gig)

The audience were in a great mood, we had a bunch of actors in and this is one of those gigs that was so much fun to do. A lot of the time I felt like I didn’t deserve that much laughter but, it is what it is, I didn’t pay them!

19th July – We Are Funny Project (40th Gig)

This ended up being more of a workshop session as there were no audience members in, probably due to the nice weather. I did surprise introduce myself to Leslie Gold who I knew independently of comedy through mutual friends.

23rd July – G&B Comedy (41st Gig)

I did the “Everything But the Gags” workshop before the show which was really good. Lots of little tips that will hopefully add up to make me more confident on stage. It’s given me a lot to think about regarding my wardrobe too.

There were some hilarious performers on this show that I’ve never seen before. Vic Blunt, Maria Teresa, Jim Hooker and Kim Hope. Everyone did well but those 4 were new to me and completely blew me away that night.

24th July – Jester Jesters (42nd Gig)

I didn’t do particularly well. However I realised two important things.

I was now able to power through when my jokes got no laughs. Usually my performance starts to go downhill but I didn’t let it affect me tonight.

Secondly, I had got it into my head that If the ‘alpha male’ old boys at the front laughed at my jokes then it was a success. They sort of laughed but as the night wore on I realised they weren’t laughing at anyone, and I found them a bit annoying and sad. And then I didn’t care if they laughed.

And it made me think more about who am I trying to impress? Or get approval from in the audience.

Then when I was at the bar at the interval another comedian who hadn’t gone up yet complimented me, which I thanked him for. And then when he did go up in the second half he was amazing! So suddenly I felt like that one comment outweighed all the other reactions that night.

Javier Costhales is hilarious.

27th July – Comedy Chest (43rd Gig)

Wednesday night I was sat at home and I saw a Facebook post asking if anyone wanted to take a cancellation spot for the Comedy Chest the following evening. I emailed Sam and I got it!

I last did the Comedy Chest back in 2019. Their new venue is amazing, it’s a big pub/hall type space with a bar, it kind of reminds me of inside a circus tent. And even cooler for the acts, it has a Green room! It’s like being back at the Comedy Store 😀

I had a great night, I met some really cool people and the crowd were awesome. I hope I get a chance to go back again soon.