I ended up with an unexpected day off Saturday, comedy wise. It was nice having a night off to hang out with my friends, but sometimes all it takes is that one day to completely stop my momentum. The next day, I have a hard time getting back into my rhythm, especially when I've been on a long run of getting on stage every night.
And I hadn't had a night away from comedy in quite a while. So I took Saturday off, and then the next day I had a spot booked at an open mic, and on my way there I just felt like I hadn't been on stage for weeks. I don't know if other comedians have this issue, but when I get on a run where I'm getting up every single night, I get in the groove and just feel looser on stage. I'm more confident in new bits, the old bits feel tight and polished; I get that momentum.
But then I skip one day, and I feel like I've fallen all the way back to square one. I don't believe in any of my new jokes, and feel like I can't remember how to tell my old ones. Luckily, the crowd at Empress (the mic I was at last night) was hot and they picked me up, but I felt rusty as hell. I feel like stand up comedy is really one of those things you need be doing every single day to get better at it. A day off once and a while is fine, but every time I take one, I feel like I'm taking three steps back.
Different strokes for different folks, but I just don't get how comedians can get on stage once or twice a week and stay loose and in "game shape". Maybe that comes with time, or not everyone feels like I do. It's a good and a bad thing, because my fear of getting rusty keeps me motivated to get up every night and work out on stage, but sometimes I have a hard time enjoying my nights off, because I feel like I'm losing any progress I made have been making over the last couple weeks.
I compare it to when you workout every day for a couple months, and then go away for a weekend, eat garbage food and drink beer, and then try to get back on the treadmill Monday. It can be pure hell. But the longer you wait to get back into routine, the harder it is.
Fucking comedy.
Adam
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