Funny People and Their Shows

Last summer was my deepest delve into the comedy community, I was hitting opens mikes any where I could get on stage, and the concept of stage fright was always there, but did not hinder my act. I realize I did have times I strayed or forget my lines but I moved on and had gotten some good reaction from my work. This was satisfying and in a way it spoiled me.  I never got heckled always had a good time, just wrote and performed as much as I possibly could.

It then all ended for me and I need to have a healthy dose of reality. I got HECKELED bad enough to really shake me up. It was one of the most dreams like moment… typical nightmare actually.

Your on stage, you just started your set and there is a guy in the audience literally doing a chant …”Noooo Hooo Mooo”. Over and over:
I am thrown off I start looking around the audience and they are just staring at me, I have nothing to say to the guy, as well as I start forgetting my set.

I make it through some of my older stuff that I have in memory, but with out and true emotion so I did not get much response. I was angry enough to want to take the guy outside a beat the shit out of him…But did not. Even worse the Heckler was a friend of one of the comedian’s performing that night. No excuse, the comedian offers his apologies saying I triggered one of their inside Jokes.

This does not help. I am now shaken from my already thin Vail of stage confidence.  I tried to do 2 open mikes after and they were disasters. I went out to The Cabaret in North East Philadelphia. The room is known to be nothing more than a room to tell Dick Jokes, But I needed the stage time to get back on the horse again. I ended up literally being the second to last person to perform , I was book ended with a Guy doing bird calls …no jokes , Just bird calls and a woman who was not quite mental together being made funny of by the guys who run the room. Not a good room, the other comedians do not stick around to hear others they hit and run. Its not work hitting the stage if there is no audience…Or so I think at this time, It may be just my ignorance at this point.

So I told everyone I was going to start writing for some time and haven been doing the open Mike Circuit I use to be so into. I then bought the Judy Carter CD and have been doing the lessons and working with The Laughing Buddha Comedy School  workshops in NY…still not back to getting stage time yet…

But: Then I went to a workshop in NY , The Laughing Buddha Comedy School "The Art and Craft of Crowd Work"
w/ Special Guest Instructor Jeffrey Johns

I learned about having the skills to deal with the audience and it was a great workshop. I actually had a stage time situations to deal with and I was critiqued and then given advice on what to do. I feel a lot better. I stuck around for the Open mike that night and was happy I got my stage time. I need to just own the stage and be prepared. Being prepared will give you confidence in all situations.

I now there are 3 shows coming up that I said yes to.

A police benefit

A Benefit for a Clinic

The Philly Phoniest Contest

I want to do well in all of them and officially get my act together in 12 days for the first benefit. I need to get back to owning the stage.

So I have to get back to the open mikes and now I am looking at them as a Job not a social night, Rule one.

It is a job well isn’t it? So treat it with respect:

No drinking.

Own the Stage.

Record your sets.

Practice the bits during the day

Listen to them at the gym and on walks

Commit to a set and stick with if for the first show.

I have my game plan, lets go out there and play the game. Keep the confidence I regained from the Laughing Buddha Comedy School "The Art and Craft of Crowd Work" and put it into motion. I am getting back on stage and back on track.

The Laughing Buddha Comedy School "The Art and Craft of Crowd Work"



w/ Special Guest Instructor Jeffrey Johns and Jeff Lawrence

Jeffrey Johns (opening act for Lisa Lampanelli) is a master at opening shows and warming up the crowd!

Go deeper into one of the mopst necessary and neglected craft in stand up....crowd work! You will learn hands on and be able to ...add a very powerful tool to your comic arsenal!

* Develop your persona through crowd work
* How to prepare as a host
* What producers expect
* How to handle hecklers
* When to work in material
* How to get work as an emcee and much much more!

*Students taking this course will have the opportunity to co host a show at NY Comedy Club in the coming weeks.

This class is limited to 8 Students!

Go to http://www.lbcomedyschool

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