Blog III (The one where he fights Mr. T)

*NOTE - I just read this back, and Jesus, it's long. TL:DR version: I like comedy*

You've been warned. 

It's Tuesday night. I've worked back to back 12 hour days at work (5-5), and performed comedy each of the last two nights (twice Sunday, and again Monday night). I think I've gotten maybe 7 hours of sleep since Saturday night. So if this blog doesn't make a lot of sense, well, bah.

Still loving comedy. I can't think of another thing that I enjoy doing so much that I'd be willing to give up that much sleep for. That alarm hits at 3:30 every morning, and it's midnight before I get to bed some nights. It's a boring old cliche, but I really feel like this is something I was born to do. Maybe not in a "get rich and famous sense" (although I wouldn't turn it down), but just in a "it feels right" type of way. My work weeks fly by, because almost every night from Sunday-Thursday I'm either getting on stage, trying to get on stage (more comedians than there are spots on shows means a lot of random draws), or writing and annoying Shaley by testing stupid jokes on her. Friday and Saturday are my catch up on sleep/do other stuff days. They save the weekend spots for the bigger fish in the comedy sea. Someday....

When I started going to these open mics, I would get really anxious before I got to the venue. Not because I was about to get on stage in front of a room full of strangers and make an ass out of myself, that really doesn't bother me, but because I wanted to fit in so badly with the other comedians. As in any other walk of life, there are some people that just don't get along, but as a whole the Edmonton comedy scene seems like a very tight knit group. You spend several nights a week together, facing down rooms of random people that expect you to entertain them. And I would always try to be polite and respectful, but above that, I would try to.....stay out of the way, I guess? I worried that that show would be the show where I pissed someone off, said the wrong thing, and would never get invited back.

Like I said, the comedians here are generally really nice. They don't turn new comics away, I think it's just more of a 'wait and see' approach. Which I get now. In just 4 months, I've probably seen 15 people come out, try comedy, and never come back. Maybe they bombed and were devastated, or just decided it wasn't their cup of tea. Some of them probably quickly realized what I did on my first night, that it really is harder than it looks, and decided it wasn't worth the effort to get good. The point is, I understand now why the veteran comics don't take every newcomer under their wing and start giving them advice every show. Not because they're snobs or jerks, but because they'd be starting over again every other week. 

I just kept going back, keeping my head down, and trying not to bug people. One of the first pieces of advice I read when I decided to get into this was something like "don't worry about what the other comics think. Just go out every night trying to be a little funnier than the last time. If you put the effort in, people will notice it". It's worked for me. I don't feel like I'm 'in the way' anymore. I'm proud to call many of the comedians here my friends now. And it makes doing something you love that much more awesome when you can do it with your friends. 

Some of them have gone out of their way to give me some really helpful advice, too. I listen to everything more experienced comics tell me, but a couple things in particular have stood out. I'm paraphrasing here;

"The problem isn't bombing. It's when you can't admit to yourself that you bombed. Learn from it."

I have bombed. Fuckinggggg hard. I absolutely sucked at a show recently, and when I got off the stage, the first thing I said was how bad of set it was. And someone came up to me and said the fact that you know that, and you can admit it, is a huge benefit to you. Go back, listen to it (the same comic suggested I keep recording my sets, which is a practice I've, grudgingly, practiced since day one), figure out what went wrong and work on it. 

Makes sense. Like they say in sports, you learn more from losing than you do winning. *Insert Oilers/geniuses joke here*

 

"Don't take this the wrong way, but in your first year, nobody cares if your jokes are hacky. Just worry about figuring out how to be comfortable on stage. The jokes will come."

I made a comment to a comedian that I like and respect very much (he won't believe it, but it's true) that one of my problems is I'm afraid any joke I come up with is going to be considered hacky (easy jokes anyone can come up with), and he told me to not worry about it. Writing jokes is really fucking hard. Figure out how to get on stage in front of a room full of people and not look like a deer in the headlights. Then worry about your jokes. It really helped me relax and not worry about my material as much. I don't have to write a good joke for like, 8 more months!

And finally, "It's important to be humble and respect the comedians that came before you, but it's just as important to recognize your own natural abilities."

I didn't post this one to be all like "see? People think I'm good!". This comment really spoke to me. I absolutely believe in showing respect for the people that came before you, I expect it from new people at work, and I give it in situations that call for it, away from comedy included. But hearing this from someone held in very high regard throughout the Edmonton comedy world really felt good. There's nothing wrong with believing in yourself, and I think everyone can tell when they find something just feels natural. This just reminded me that it was ok to admit it. Yesterday, I was on my buddy Ryan Short's show at The Comic Strip (he hosts a joke battle there every Monday. Check it out, it's a good time!), and the lineup for it was just stacked. Headliners, finalists from Funniest Person With a Day Job, comedians like Alex Fortin, Dan Clarke, Ken Hicks, William Hannigan. Really funny guys. Established comedians. And I felt like belonged there. Not that I was better than any of them, because frankly, I'm not. But I didn't feel like I was out of place, or I'd bring the quality of the show down. I felt like I deserved my seat at the table. I have the advice above to thank for that. 

I'm certainly not stealing every show that I appear on. But I feel at this point I'm confident I can bring something to the team when I get lucky enough to get booked on a show. I'm the Edmonton comedy scene's 4th line grinder. Suits me just fine. To every comic that has gone out of their way to give me any advice, or especially, offer me a spot on their show that they could fill with 100 other comics, thank you very much. I'm very proud to be part of this incredible community. I've said it a million times in the last few months, but giving stand up comedy a chance was one of the best decisions I've ever made. 

If there's something out there you want to try, go for it. Worst case, you hate it and you don't have to wonder anymore. Best case, it becomes one of the greatest things that ever happened to you. 

Adam

PS - I have a lot of friends and family from out of town asking if I have any video they can watch. Simon, a local comic, was nice enough to record my set from a couple weeks ago and send it to me. I haven't posted any video on YouTube because I don't think I've had a set worth posting. So for those of you asking for a video, know that I really appreciate your support, but I'm taking this really seriously. And it's not there yet. When I have a set that I feel is good enough, I will share the hell out of it like an egomaniac, trust me! 

10 weeks later....

My last (only) blog post was a couple months ago, and it was a look back at my first 10 days as a comedian. I was inexperienced and naive when I wrote it. I'm a grizzled vet with 10 WEEKS of experience now!

I've done 16 sets in the last 2 months and change. I know it isn't a lot, but it's 16 more than I preformed in the 32 years previous. I mentioned in my first post how much I'd enjoyed my first few trips up to the mic, and I'm happy to say that a couple months later, that love for getting on stage has only grown stronger.  Exponentially.

While I certainly don't think I'm the best comedian in the city, (or on a single show I've performed on for that matter), I do think I'm better than I was in January. I've spent countless hours writing and re-writing jokes and listening to my earlier sets; which can be a painful, painful experience. And I feel like that work is slowly paying off. Stand up comedy is something that can humble anybody in 5 minutes, a lesson I've learned the hard way, repeatedly. But I've never gone into any show or open mic with the mentality that I was a lock to kill it that night. I've gone into each show with the mentality that I just want to be a little bit better than I was last time. I'd say I'm batting about .500 on that goal. It's a start....

While I'm not prepared to say I'm a good comedian, I am confident when I say that I think I can become a good comedian. I'm happy with my efforts away from the shows, writing, rehearsing, etc. I am, however, not happy with my stage time, and my efforts at obtaining more of it. Part of that is out of my hands; there are a lot of very passionate and talented comedians in this city, and only so many opportunities to get on stage. 

But part of it is me either convincing myself that I'm too tired to go out that night, or my work hours not allowing me to make it to a show. I made the decision that I was going to change both of those things. My job has recently moved me to a 5am-2pm shift. Which means I won't get as much sleep, but the door is wide open to go to just about any show I want to. That means it just comes down to me and how passionate I am about this. (Surviving those Sunday night Druid shows - 4 am Monday alarms will be a great way to prove to myself I want this as bad as I think I do).

I've made a list of goals that I'm determined to accomplish in comedy. I truly believe I'll reach them, it's just going to take hard work. And when you're passionate enough about something, hard work becomes pretty tolerable. Some of those goals include:

Headline a show.

Travel to perform comedy. 

Finish a second project (comedy related) that I've been working on for a few months. 

These, among several other personal objectives, will hopefully, potentially, lead me to my ultimate goal:

Have the opportunity to leave my job and tell jokes instead.

I don't think I'll achieve all this tomorrow, or this Summer, or in a year. I don't know how long it'll take. But I'm bound and determined to make them happen. You want something bad enough, and you're willing to work for it, there's nothing you can't do. 

Like I said, this city is full of awesome comedians, and having the chance to get to know some of them has been fantastic. The way they support each other, and their willingness to help and work with the new comedians like me, has been invaluable. I'm happy to be able to call them peers, and more importantly friends, and I hope that list grows over time. 

Thanks a lot to all my friends, and particularly my family for coming to my shows and supporting me. Shaley, you've been incredible, putting up with me and hearing my jokes over and over again. And getting to perform stand up in front of my Mom and Dad for the first time was one of the biggest thrills of my life. 

The say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I've taken 16 steps. So....what is that? Like, 999.9 miles to go!

Adam _____

Belly flopping into the stand up comedy pool

Eleven days ago, I attempted stand up comedy for the first time in my life. Including that night, I've been in front of a microphone 4 times, for a grand total of 20:00 of experience as a comedian. It's not a lot of time, but it's been more than enough to teach me 2 things:

1) Being a comedian is A LOT harder than it looks. 

B) I fucking love doing stand up. 

I've wanted to try stand up for a long time, probably since high school (fifteen years.....I'm an old man), but I didn't get around to it until a couple weeks ago. Why did it take so long? I'd like to say I was too scared to try it, and finally worked up the nerve. But the truth is I was just too lazy to get off my ass and go to an open mic. We'd go to comedy shows, and every time, I'd walk out talking about how much I want to try that. But it was one of many things that I kept taking about trying. And then I'd go home and play video games.

Finally, a couple years ago, I decided to start trying all those things I talked about doing, but just kept putting off. I got involved with Big Brothers/Big Sisters (which is fantastic, I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about it). I took up golf, which 5 or 6 broken clubs and 300 lost balls later, I can call one of my hobbies. And I started taking French lessons. I found that the more I started trying new things, the more new things I wanted to to try. And that mentality eventually found me on a stage, in a room full of (almost entirely) strangers, attempting to be funny. 

And I was funny. Kinda. I didn't get booed anyway. I made it through my 5 minutes, and had one of the best experiences of my life. 

One of the best, and one of the most nerve wracking. I worked so hard to get ready for that night. I wrote and wrote. I drove around on my forklift at work practicing every day. Shaley (my substantially better half) knew my set as well as I did, she had heard me rehearse it so many times. When you go watch a comedian, they make it look so natural and easy, like they're just coming up with jokes off the top of their head. But when you're the person that has to go up there and tell the jokes, you realize just how hard a comedian works to prepare for a performance. It's crazy. I respected them before, but that level of respect has been multiplied by 10 now that I've been on that side of those bright lights. 

I was so nervous that night. But I wasn't worried about getting on stage. I didn't know if my set would get any laughs, but that wasn't a huge deal to me. I knew I had worked hard enough, that if I bombed, it wouldn't be due to a lack of effort. I was going in trying my best. What scared me was the thought of getting up there, and not liking it as much as I always dreamed I would. That it wouldn't be as fun as I had always it looked like it would be. Luckily, it turned out to be even better than I could have hoped. By no stretch of the imagination did I kill it that night (honestly, I've listened to recordings of all of my sets so far, and I hate them all), but that doesn't matter to me. What matters is that from the first time I got the crowd to laugh, I knew I loved going up there, I feel like it's something I've been preparing for my whole life, and that it's something I'm ready to bust my ass to get good at. 

The comedian community in Edmonton is incredibly welcoming and supportive. In just my week and half, I've been given loads of valuable advice from a bunch of different performers. Some people have even gone out of there to say something positive and encouraging to me. Lars Callieou, Ryan Short, Jamee Nall, and Shawn Gramiak are a few of the many people that have taken the time to talk to me and help me feel more comfortable, and their kind words and positive feedback has meant the world to me. Nobody in this business has any obligation to give a guy as green as me the time of day, and they, along with others, have re-enforced my belief that this is something I'm ready to dive head first into. 

The support I've received from my friends and family has been incredible, too. I've always liked trying to make the people closest to me laugh, but taking on a crowd of strangers is a whole different game. To know I have as many people behind me as I do is invaluable. And to those of you that have asked if you can come out and watch/heckle me, I just ask that you wait until I don't suck anymore. You have enough to make fun of me about already.

Shaley, you've been awesome, listening to the same jokes over and over again. Thanks for believing in me, pushing me to try this, and telling me when a joke sucks. I love you. 

I don't know how often I'll post on here, I just felt like writing about the past ten days, and I can't find my diary. I'm mad that I waited this long to try stand up comedy, but now that I've started, I spend almost all of my time thinking/obsessing over it. If there's something you've always wanted to try, just fucking do it. Because even if it sucks, and you hate it, and it's a total let down, you can move on to the next thing, instead of wasting time wondering "what if?". 

"You guys have been awesome, thank you very much!"