Gong with the wind
I did Beat the Frog yesterday, zipping over to a Manchester comedy club to be judged by a jury of drunken students and a christas party from Glossop.It was never going to be easy as I'd spent most of the day at work gripped by The Fear and having mini panic attacks about my life and work every couple of hours or so. Add to that a general exhaustion that seems to go hand in hand with going back and forth from London to the North each week and I was, it's fair to say, in a pretty bad way.
Nevertheless, the club was pretty nice and there was a decent and friendly crowd in. I was on second in the second half, which is a pretty good position, and the acts were being given a fair crack of the whip, so there was no reason it couldn't have gone really well.
Problem was, I just didn't have the energy for it, even when I got up there, the usual adrenaline rush just wasn't enough to keep my momentum up.
Don't get me wrong, it didn't go badly. They laughed at the right times, but towards the end I just ran out of steam and felt more like I was outside, watching myself do it, than really being in the moment.
So, in short, dear reader, I did not beat the frog. I got gonged before the five minutes were up... at four minutes and fifty five seconds, to be precise.
Which is kind of funny in itself.
So the Northern comedy experiment is at an end and it's fair to say I haven't really enjoyed any of the gigs, not because of the gigs, but because it's just too hard to combine with everything else going on.
Thus I have decided to go back to the drawing board and focus on writing over performing. Historical Laughter, here we come.
Oh, and as I left the club at the end, a woman came up to me and said 'Well I thought you were very good.'
And that made it all worthwhile.
posted by Peter The Great @ 10:22 AM
9 Comments:
There’s nowt so queer as folk, as Northern in-breds say, I believe.
You report that the woman’s comment made it all worthwhile.
It would have made me insanely angry and I would have made her reconsider her ill-judged opinion with carefully chosen words while, of course, kicking her face black and blue.
Still, that’s just me I guess.
There will be more later. Oh yes.
I have left work early to scurry home to bed. Your blog was my first stop off before it. I am very very happy about the return of historical laughter. Also, something is almost in the post to make your life sparkly. I hope Alfred is taking care of you x
I may have found the answer for you Mr The Great - Leeds University is advertising for a researcher to study lap dancing. The post is;
"Research Officer - The rise and regulation of lap dancing and the place of sexual labour and consumption in the night time economy".
The salary is £31,513 but would you really care about the money? I just know it's something you could really get your teeth into...
Did you get her number?
You are very good.
No numbers, she wasn't really my type. And thank you.
I do sympathise. I once spent about six months living and working in Bedford and living in London on the weekends. It was time consuming and costly. Although it had to be said - there was not much going on in Bedford. The thing I also noticed about provincials is that they either resent you because you're from The Big Smoke or they've got a huge chip on their shoulder about the fact that you're from the Big Smoke.
So unless you're hitched and the missus is about to start sprogging, London's attractions are overwhelming. We've also all been going as stand-ups for 18 months now and when you're not playing the Hammersmith Apollo, it can lead you to question the point of carrying on. Comedy is a very harsh mistress and I think you, me, and Jo, have also started to question the value of carrying on.
One piece of advice I would offer as someone who's done the same NYLON thing on a much less grand scale - cut down the travel to maybe once a fortnight or once every three weeks. Your friends will still be there and you will save your sanity.
Please sir. Tell me a joke. Can it be about snowmen and reindeers?
Where are you? More to the point, assuming that you are still in the 'Fax, what happened to broadband there? Blog, please.
Mads xxxx
I have nothing to say (which is fortunate as the ball gag that Dr Terror makes me wear all day makes speaking difficult) but I just felt that I should re-assert my presence, with so many non-busty imposters popping up...
Post a Comment
<< Home