The Game Changer
Tags: The Stand-Up DiariesWell, wasn’t that quite the evening!
I would have saved this for tomorrow after I did a set at Lydia’s open mic night, but Veronica left a note saying she couldn’t wait to read about Monday night so here goes.
Originally didn’t think I would be on tonight even though it was the first Monday of the month, meaning open mic night for the newbies like myself. So, I wandered in a bit after 8:30 in my cap, skinny jeans, my Homer Simpson bunnyhug, clops and socks. Yes ladies, fashionable I know. Then Dez asked if I wanted to do a set? “Oh really? Yeah, sure! Three to four minutes, no problem! I’ll figure something out.” It said on Dez’s FB page that there was going to be a DVD taping so I thought I’d just dress however and show up to support the guys.
Well, for starters there is a decent sized crowd, we’re talking around 35 to 40 people. Dez starts and he is taping his material for the DVD, which explains why he’s hitting on all cylinders tonight. Everyone is laughing, and laughing, and laughing some more. He goes on for 10 minutes, 15…..then 20…..and everyone is still laughing. If he’s supposed to open, what’s going to happen when I get on stage? I’m a bit concerned about all the laughter. Not that it’s a bad thing, but when you are just starting out and having a tough time getting consistent laughter, this isn’t necessarily the best thing for your confidence!
Dez starts off by saying “Our first comic coming to the stage is brand new, and you will see why.” So I get up there, and while he was on stage I figured out the three jokes I wanted to do. One of them I rewrote and was going to do. So I get up there, and start with the rewritten one. I rewrote the opening to it, and once I was through that, I forgot what was next. So I stand there not saying a word for 5 seconds……
10 seconds……
It was at that point where I clued in and remembered the other joke I wanted to do. So I lead with that and it went well, and so did the other two. If you guys think I am telling you what jokes they were, that ain’t happening. That’s why you need to come out instead. It should also be said that normally when I know I am going on stage I will have my notebook with me so I can write my set list out. I shouldn’t have been so lost when I went up there, but the next time I will be more prepared because now I might get called up there every week instead of the first Monday of the month. It’s all about being prepared.
So I did my three jokes, and I got consistent laughter throughout. Some might say that Dez being on first warmed up the crowd, but I don’t think that’s true. If you aren’t funny, people won’t laugh, it doesn’t matter who was up before you. The other comics were laughing because most of them heard my material before, but it was delivered much better, which made for a better laugh? I’m not sure. I wonder if the crowd takes their cues to laugh from the other comics who are watching?
Anyhow, I think after my moment where I blanked out, the rest of the set went fairly well. I didn’t recognize many people in the audience as being there before, which helped. Afterwards Dez told me that I did much better. I couldn’t figure out why since it was all the same material and he said it was because of me. I was more confident and timed the laughs much better. Here’s the bizarre part though…
He then pulls me aside and says that he can’t really help me much now because I am so new. I’m thinking um….okay, whatever you say. I can figure things out on my own for a bit. Then he gave me an idea that I never thought of before to add to my one joke. He’s giving me ideas now? WTF How did that happen?
Tonight I feel as if I can confidently say that I belong. Does this mean I will rest on my laurels and coast, not striving to get better? Um, nope. It’s been three months and tonight I found the crack in the door into the comedic fraternity in Saskatoon. One comic posted on my personal FB page that I did noticeably better than the last time he saw me. Dez asked if I was coming back next week too. I think now I am part of the scene, although I am not asked to do out of town gigs yet, or asked to take part in the festivals that happen on occasion, but you know what? I don’t care. For now I am starting to get recognition from my fellow comics that tells me my hard work will yield a bigger payoff down the road, but that I still need to keep at it. You see, for years and years and years and years I never thought I got the proper dues and respect from the karaoke league or the karaoke place I went to for over 15 years. But once I won the award in karaoke league for the most entertaining performance, I felt as if there was nothing left for me to prove. If people think I’m not a good singer, they need to give their heads a shake, then again I don’t give a shit about anybody’s opinion of how I sing anymore. My focus now is on stand-up comedy.
Never again do I have to worry about someone being better than I am, because unlike karaoke, comedy is singular. You need to work on yourself in the end. You won’t be successful copying another comic or stealing material so you need to use the gifts you have within you and put them to the best comedic use possible.
This 737 known as the Trevor Dean flight is finally starting to take-off and head for the open blue yonder! You can either sit in the cheap seats and watch the plane go by, or you can hope aboard and come along for the ride! Oh, one more thing…..if you ask the question “well, is he funny?” Really? Give your head a shake and remember this….
In anything I ever do, I NEVER, EVER, EVER, NEVER embarrass myself. Most of you know what I am like, so you answer that question for yourselves, and don’t forget to come see Saskatoon’s NEWEST stand-up comic. I’m not the best, and I don’t care to be. Of the new ones, I am the one who consistently keeps coming back and getting stage time. You don’t think I’ll achieve my goal for the summer?
YOU JUST SIT BACK AND WATCH ME