My religion is Protestant, but I can relate to what Catholics must feel after unburdening their sins in a confessional. It’s been nearly 2-years since I’ve created a new post on this site. I’ve held everything inside my sinful-self. I’m finally ready to unload some of this crap on you now, and I’m sorry in advance, but you’re the one who started reading, so we might as well get thorough it together.
The Covid pandemic darkened many of our lives and we’re a little scarred / scared. (One or two r’s doesn’t matter.) I’ve been part of many shows since the lockdown was lifted. Some good, some bad. Overall, the comedic-quality doesn’t seem much different. We all have ups and downs. The difference comes from how I feel.
I’m fast-approaching 60 years old. I started Comedy at age 50, so I’m also fast approaching the deadline of my ten-year goals. I need my “10,000 hours” to bear fruit! Before Covid, I was on-track to establish myself in the industry as a respected, dependable comedian. Someone who can perform anywhere and make a few dollars of post retirement income to supplement my lifelong lack of financial-planning. That makes sense for this blue-collar middle-class schmuck. I will have done pretty well in finding something that pays off when I need it to. HOWEVER, I’m pretty sure I’ll lose something in the process too. 9-years ago, it was a goal; I never dreamed I would fear achieving it.
Last week, I heard the following newscast: “A woman… believed to be the oldest living human … is now dead.” She was 124 years old. She lived longer than anyone, but she’s only famous because she’s “now dead”! Tomorrow, we wont remember her at all. 124 years and nothing. Entertainers die all the time. Their legacy is their body of work, but even the great ones barely get mentioned on the news. Regular people don’t get mentioned at all. I want to go down swinging! I want people to say: “He was fearless!” I want to leave a mark! I don’t care if I’m famous; I don’t care if I’m loved; I just don’t want to be another anonymous guy that went through life as expected. I want people to be surprised at what I did whether they like it or not!
I’m writing more material lately. I no longer write to perfection; I write to get it out of me and onto the comedic canvas. I write to surprise! Surprise an audience, and I tear something from their guarded souls! All comedians fear silence and no-laughs, but those fears pale in comparison to indifference! I would rather be hated and remembered, than loved and forgotten!
One of the first rules of comedy is: Don’t perform a joke that you thought of on the way to the show. Stick with your set, and work on that joke later. Good advice…….but wait….there’s more! On a scale of 1-10, the pleasure of getting laughs for an established joke is about a 3. Getting laughs for a new joke that you are working out is about a 7. But getting laughs for a risk you took “in the moment”, is at least 12! If you can pull it off, those are the ones to be remembered!