Some Thoughts On Stand-Up Comedy And Creativity
I hope you're all well and coping with the lockdown. I've been thinking a lot about stand-up comedy and writing and half past one in the morning seems as good a time as any to blurt some thoughts onto the internet.
It is nearly two years since I last did stand-up, when I performed my last show 'The Wilderness Years' on five separate occasions in Brighton to a grand total of twenty people. Poor audience figures by any reasonable standard, but that's the way it goes. However, it was somewhat indicative of my failure in what I would describe as 'the hustle'. I used to treat self-promotion as something that was suspicious at best and downright vulgar at worst. There is a notorious new act/variety night in London which I have never done due to the fact that bookings are taken over the phone at a certain hour of the morning and I would rather chew off my own hands than ring an almost certainly irritable stranger. Another retrospective lowlight was travelling to Newcastle to do a five minute spot at a comedy club, the proprietor telling me to get in touch to book a spot on a professional night and me failing to follow up because I assumed it wasn't a genuine offer.
My friends and family would probably both tell you that one of my major issues is a lack of self-confidence and self-esteem. I'll try as best as I can to be honest in my appraisal of my 'career'. I was a good stand-up comedian. At an alternative comedy night, I once said on stage that I wasn't mainstream enough to be mainstream or alternative enough to be alternative and I think there's some truth in that. I did well in competitions because I knew how to craft a punchy 5-7 minute set with strong jokes. Ten minute sets were fine, twenty minute sets were a trickier negotiation and my hour long show kind of stands alone as its own thing.
I was however acutely aware of my limitations. I could go off script and bounce off a crowd within certain parameters but lacked the freewheeling improvisational abilities to play the room in front of me, in the moment, that I associate with the very best acts. I used to do well far more often than I would do badly. But to use the questionable parlance of the trade, I would never 'smash' the gig. I wouldn't raise the roof or leave the stage to an ovation. Basically, I would never be the act that the audience would exit the venue talking about. I feel that was to my detriment.
I have been mulling over a return to stand-up for a little while, now that I'm working 9-5 and have acquired steadier footing in my role. But I'm going through a creative drought. I don't know whether it's just writer's block or if it's something more. This has been true for a while although it is probably exacerbated by the current situation we find ourselves in. I look around at all of these creative people finding new and exciting ways to adapt to the challenges of entertainment in a lockdown, quarantined world and I find myself wanting. I see other comedians and writers on Twitter post things like 'Just finished my script/treatment/pilot/novel' and reflect that I don't have any ideas in any of those areas. I have occasionally thought about the old adage 'everyone has a book in them'. I seemingly don't.
I had very lofty ambitions at the start of the year. I had this big plan to do another hour long show at the Camden Fringe and that I would write a couple of hours every night. After a week, I ended up with 15 minutes of ropey material after banging my head repeatedly against the keyboard. I've always been what I would describe as a reactive writer. In that I tended to wait for something absurd or ridiculous to occur in my life and then write about that. The problem with that is that you absolve yourself of the responsibility of thinking up any original comic ideas.
I have complicated feelings about it, but stand-up comedy is my thing. If it wasn't I wouldn't be at the Soho Theatre every other week or at Edinburgh as a punter every year. I have been involved in it in some form or another for half of my life and it's difficult to envisage myself taking on a new passion now. Woodwork, fly fishing and yoga all feel like unlikely replacements.
I'm 32 years old and if I'm going to get back in 'the game' it feels like I'm heading into 'shit or get off the pot' territory. I guess the only cure for all of this is to book some spots when this is all over and see if any of that 15 minutes is any good and a springboard to something more.
It is nearly two years since I last did stand-up, when I performed my last show 'The Wilderness Years' on five separate occasions in Brighton to a grand total of twenty people. Poor audience figures by any reasonable standard, but that's the way it goes. However, it was somewhat indicative of my failure in what I would describe as 'the hustle'. I used to treat self-promotion as something that was suspicious at best and downright vulgar at worst. There is a notorious new act/variety night in London which I have never done due to the fact that bookings are taken over the phone at a certain hour of the morning and I would rather chew off my own hands than ring an almost certainly irritable stranger. Another retrospective lowlight was travelling to Newcastle to do a five minute spot at a comedy club, the proprietor telling me to get in touch to book a spot on a professional night and me failing to follow up because I assumed it wasn't a genuine offer.
My friends and family would probably both tell you that one of my major issues is a lack of self-confidence and self-esteem. I'll try as best as I can to be honest in my appraisal of my 'career'. I was a good stand-up comedian. At an alternative comedy night, I once said on stage that I wasn't mainstream enough to be mainstream or alternative enough to be alternative and I think there's some truth in that. I did well in competitions because I knew how to craft a punchy 5-7 minute set with strong jokes. Ten minute sets were fine, twenty minute sets were a trickier negotiation and my hour long show kind of stands alone as its own thing.
I was however acutely aware of my limitations. I could go off script and bounce off a crowd within certain parameters but lacked the freewheeling improvisational abilities to play the room in front of me, in the moment, that I associate with the very best acts. I used to do well far more often than I would do badly. But to use the questionable parlance of the trade, I would never 'smash' the gig. I wouldn't raise the roof or leave the stage to an ovation. Basically, I would never be the act that the audience would exit the venue talking about. I feel that was to my detriment.
I have been mulling over a return to stand-up for a little while, now that I'm working 9-5 and have acquired steadier footing in my role. But I'm going through a creative drought. I don't know whether it's just writer's block or if it's something more. This has been true for a while although it is probably exacerbated by the current situation we find ourselves in. I look around at all of these creative people finding new and exciting ways to adapt to the challenges of entertainment in a lockdown, quarantined world and I find myself wanting. I see other comedians and writers on Twitter post things like 'Just finished my script/treatment/pilot/novel' and reflect that I don't have any ideas in any of those areas. I have occasionally thought about the old adage 'everyone has a book in them'. I seemingly don't.
I had very lofty ambitions at the start of the year. I had this big plan to do another hour long show at the Camden Fringe and that I would write a couple of hours every night. After a week, I ended up with 15 minutes of ropey material after banging my head repeatedly against the keyboard. I've always been what I would describe as a reactive writer. In that I tended to wait for something absurd or ridiculous to occur in my life and then write about that. The problem with that is that you absolve yourself of the responsibility of thinking up any original comic ideas.
I have complicated feelings about it, but stand-up comedy is my thing. If it wasn't I wouldn't be at the Soho Theatre every other week or at Edinburgh as a punter every year. I have been involved in it in some form or another for half of my life and it's difficult to envisage myself taking on a new passion now. Woodwork, fly fishing and yoga all feel like unlikely replacements.
I'm 32 years old and if I'm going to get back in 'the game' it feels like I'm heading into 'shit or get off the pot' territory. I guess the only cure for all of this is to book some spots when this is all over and see if any of that 15 minutes is any good and a springboard to something more.
Comments
Post a Comment