I feel like lately I’ve been a bit of a lazy bum when it comes to comedy. I haven’t been able to do many shows due to other commitments. But maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe it’s good to take a step away for a bit and re-evaluate what I’m doing. Unfortunately, the past 2 or 3 shows that I’ve signed up for I’ve had to cancel due to schedule conflicts. Which sucks and makes me feel horrible. I hate canceling on people. But I know that I can’t do everything. I have to make chang

“Why am I doing this?” That’s a question I’ve been asking myself lately. Not only about stand-up but about a lot of things. You know, life, am I right? So far though, I can only provide an answer for why I do stand-up. The other life stuff is way too complicated and I get a nose bleed every time I think about hard decisions. So let’s just ignore those for now. But why do I do stand-up? Lately, I’ve had the wind taken out of my sails at a few shows. Some shows, there wasn’t an

Every time I’ve taken the stage, I’ve had a plan. I knew exactly what jokes I wanted to tell and the order I wanted to do them in. Until a recent show that is… I did an open mic and when I arrived, I was told I was going first. Going first is great because you get to set the rhythm of the show and get people ready to laugh the rest of the evening. However, on this particular night, it was spring break in a college town. Which means, the crowd was scarce. When I took the stage

Every person has a different opinion on what is funny. What one person finds hilarious, someone else may think it’s the stupidest thing they have heard. That’s what is hard about comedy. I’ve always heard that doing comedy is a very fickle beast. One night, your jokes kill and you feel like you can conquer the world. The next show, every joke bombs and the chorus of crickets greets you after every punchline. Those nights, you want to crawl in a hole and never take the stage a

Being able to laugh at yourself is pretty important, especially in comedy. You can’t take these things too seriously. One night, a crowd will be on your side and laughing, and the next, you’re all alone on stage fighting to get through those 5 minutes. I was talking with a friend and he asked me how I dealt with getting on stage and no one laughing. And to me, it’s all about attitude. Before I take the stage, I have to remind myself that it’s okay if no one laughs. It’s okay

After I did a few open mics and got some laughs, I started feeling pretty confident about myself and my stand-up. But then I went and saw Lewis Black perform in Atlanta… Lewis Black is an amazing comic and one of the reasons I started doing stand-up. The guy is hilarious, clever and capable of captivating an audience with his rants. Check out some of his work. Here’s the thing; Lewis Black has done numerous half hour and hour long specials. The guy writes new material and per

Most of the time when I go to a comedy venue, it’s to perform and try to get better. But other times, I just like to go and watch other comedians work on their craft. It’s a fun and educational experience. I think one of the most important things you can do is always be open and always be learning, especially from people who have been doing it longer than you. So far, I’ve only done six performances. Six. That’s nothing. Some of the comedians that I go see have been doing thi

This is a subject that I’m really just starting to learn. The truth is that every time I try out new material, I feel like I’m taking the stage for the first time again. The jokes have never been tested and I have no idea how the crowd will react. Sometimes, they go over well and other times they fall flat on their face. In which case, they are either marked off the list or sent back to the drawing board in order to be polished or rewritten. But that’s the cool thing about op