Open mic experiences

[Cameron]

So there's one legit comedy club here in B'ham, and by "legit" I mean "hosts nationally recognized comedians." I went over there, got on an open mic night, got rescheduled twice by a very nice lady.

The Stardome?

That's a bummer it's not easy to get on stage there. I'm going to be in Birmingham in December and was hoping to try to get some non-Oklahoma stage time.

[pauliophonic]

Sorry to hear that! So what happened? What did you learn from your first time?

I maybe got one laugh. I was super nervous and had a lot of awkward pauses and notes referencing.

It was good to finally do it.

I need to just relax and let my personality come out next time. I felt pretty robotic and I stumbled a lot.

[Gene George]

I maybe got one laugh. I was super nervous and had a lot of awkward pauses and notes referencing.

It was good to finally do it.

I need to just relax and let my personality come out next time. I felt pretty robotic and I stumbled a lot.

Did you tape or video the set?

You probably did better than you think. I'm pretty comfortable on stage/ public speaking but even I was a poor judge of what happened the first time I went up.

[CaptainBreakfast]

- fingering the cat of the people for whom I'm house sitting because cats walk with their tail in the air, displaying their asshole all the time, so they must be "presenting"

Sounds similar to Dana Gould's bit about the same topic but slightly different situation.

[badinia]

- fingering the cat of the people for whom I'm house sitting because cats walk with their tail in the air, displaying their asshole all the time, so they must be "presenting"

Sounds similar to Dana Gould's bit about the same topic but slightly different situation.

Be fair- who among us has NEVER fingerbanged a cat? I think it's a universal.

[CaptainBreakfast]

Way to make me feel left out...

[JohnnyMalo]

@Paulophonic: just keep at it, if you have any talent at all for comedy, learning from DOING is going to be all the difference. I play a little bit of rock & roll, and the "practice" of being onstage playing for people is ten times more valuable and educational than the "practice" done with the band at rehearsal. Go for the glory. Go for that score. Go for it: connect four.

@CaptainBreakfast: I appreciate the heads up. The price of comedy is eternal vigilance. Dana Gould apparently has about a dozen credits on The Simpsons (which I consider the Oxford of TV comedy writing), and I feel pretty okay about my similar-sounding material, although I must admit I didn't know who you were talking about until I looked Mr. Gould up on IMDB.

@Cameron: Yeah, the Stardome is where I was talking about, but there are several regular open mics around town: apparently every Monday night a Mike McCall hosts a comedy open mic starting at nine at The Barking Kudu (http://www.barkingkudu.com); Marty's has a open mic night, not exclusive to comedy, Tuesday starting at nine (http://www.martysbar.com); Base Camp also has a Monday at nine open mic (http://www.basecamplounge.com/basecamp/index/index.php). Hopefully this is helpful, and good luck if you come through town.

*Whew*...as long as that midget joke is safe, I'll be okay.

[Cameron]

@Cameron: Yeah, the Stardome is where I was talking about, but there are several regular open mics around town: apparently every Monday night a Mike McCall hosts a comedy open mic starting at nine at The Barking Kudu (http://www.barkingkudu.com); Marty's has a open mic night, not exclusive to comedy, Tuesday starting at nine (http://www.martysbar.com); Base Camp also has a Monday at nine open mic (http://www.basecamplounge.com/basecamp/index/index.php). Hopefully this is helpful, and good luck if you come through town.

Thanks for the info! I'll definitely try to do that Barking Kudo one.

[pauliophonic]

Did you tape or video the set?

You probably did better than you think. I'm pretty comfortable on stage/ public speaking but even I was a poor judge of what happened the first time I went up.

No, I did not. I brought my digital camera with me to have in my pocket to record the audio, but it died before I went up on stage. I'm going to buy a cheap little mini-cassette recorder or something before next time.

I'm not really comfortable on stage yet, but I'm sure it'll come in time. I am by no means discouraged from doing it again -- still a little nervous though.

[forgetiheardthat]

So maybe I shouldn't be bringing a thread back from the dead, but I've been putting off doing my first open mic since I got to NYC a month ago. This thread really got me pumped to stop being a pussy and go for it. I'm trying to do the one at UCB tonight. I'm alternating between super nervous and excited and not nervous at all. Wish me luck I suppose...

[Gene George]

Break a leg!

Tape or video your set for your own reference to see what's working, seriously.

[mezmorized]

So maybe I shouldn't be bringing a thread back from the dead, but I've been putting off doing my first open mic since I got to NYC a month ago. This thread really got me pumped to stop being a pussy and go for it. I'm trying to do the one at UCB tonight. I'm alternating between super nervous and excited and not nervous at all. Wish me luck I suppose...

Good Luck. I'll be there too.

[drieux]

I don't think a thread about open mics on a comedy board will ever truly be "dead."

In other news, I did a competition last night in which the promoters decided to, uh, <i>not</i> promote as promised, the "judges" were mostly drinking and talking amongst themselves, the only audience members were the organizer's friends who couldn't care less about comedy and the comics. I've never been happier to be a loser - that sucked. To top it off, the room was gigantic and they didn't put any chairs or tables in front of the stage, so it was like throwing your jokes into an open pit of failure.

[Gene George]

Yeah, I love this thread.

That competition sound like perfect training for comedy. Sorry dude that must have sucked.

Comedy clubs should be like vaginas; tiny, hot and reeking of booze. Wait, what?

[drieux]

Yeah, it was a great experience - but as I said, I've never been happier to lose. Thank god I don't have to go back.

The place is more of a dance club where one of the managers thinks they should start doing comedy, but he has no idea how to start doing it. The stage is about four feet off the ground, and then the dance floor in front of it is about half a basketball court. Apparently last week they did actually put tables out, but this week they were just lazy. So everybody was at least 40 feet away from the stage, and even if you got any laughs you couldn't hear it.

Added to that, it was a clubby, drunk crowd in Oakland - they wanted racial jokes and insult humor, and that was it. That's not what I do, and while I got a few chuckles it was a great exercise in barreling through, despite complete hatred being shot back at me.

Luckily I got home to my vagina filled with bourbon and everything was right with the world.

[forgetiheardthat]

So 9 hours away and I'm freaking the fuck out. Any tips for calming nerves?

[Babs]

Read info about people first starting out (god I wish the old Patton thread was here) and get yerself pumped!

There is no real way to not be nervous as shit the first time, I think. Right?

[ChrisCubasATX]

So 9 hours away and I'm freaking the fuck out. Any tips for calming nerves?

Alcohol. You'll still be nervous, but you won't care so much.

[Siggers]

I am returning to stand up next week. Pretty excited not nervous in the least i don't even know the jokes i'll use. Maybe i'll tell the story of me being locked up recently. who knows.

[Hated Milk Machine]

Drink a beer or two. You'll be fine man.