Lydia’s, Gabbo’s and Finally Fitting In
Tags: The Stand-Up DiariesThis past week has been a memorable one, and not just for the comedy either. Let’s start with Lydia’s.
All I will say about Lydia’s is the guy who puts the acts on stage originally wanted me to go on for just after 9:00. Then he comes back with a text and said he wants me to be on around 11:30 when there is more of a crowd. Sure, I should be able to handle that! LOL
Anyways, I got up on stage and did 12 minutes or so. With the way the lights are set up I can’t really see people straight ahead of me, only to the sides. I was told one guy laughed so hard at my material that he had to go to the bathroom to piss himself. I used the same material as Beilys from the night before. The first five minutes once again were huge. It grabs people’s attention and keeps them laughing. My material unfortunately dipped a bit as far as the response goes, but afterwards people were approaching me and saying they appreciated my material. Nothing like building a name for yourself, I guess!
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Now, we get to Gabbos! After the first two shows of this week I was bound and determined to go to Regina and finally show that I belong. Even though I may be low man on the totem pole and always be one of the first acts on, who cares?! At least I’m there which is more than I can say for the people who have tried stand-up before and quit (I’m not knocking people who discontinued it, but it speaks to the belief in myself to persevere).
I had a rather personal conversation with a friend the night before. It was one of those chats where they needed advice or for me to provide clarity on a situation, but when you are at a different place in your life than that person it’s hard to come up with the right words to say. Needless to say, this conversation was on my mind on Saturday and I felt it necessary to go to Regina earlier than usual, otherwise I’d confuse myself trying to figure out how to solve her dilemma instead of just giving it to God to handle. There is something peaceful that happens when I drive into Regina, the bright lights of Albert Street as I watch for Dewdney Avenue. It’s as if my brain shuts off for a while and I just allow myself to feel happy. Yes, in real life I don’t have a job, and don’t have a shitload of money in the bank, but I’m happy.
Gabbos actually had a crowd last night. It was probably 2/3 full, as it was Christi Olson’s last performance at The Comedy Grind (Gabbos) before she moves to Ontario next week where her boyfriend currently resides. I knew the material I was going to do beforehand. The material consists of the first five minutes that I know works, and the last five minutes I will try to play around with and try different material in different order, to develop some more consistency throughout the entire act.
Right from the start, I could sense myself that the jokes I did for the first five minutes were different. Sure, my friends may not like the fact that I do the same jokes over and over again, but it’s because of this where my growth has started. I feel like I own the stage, like I have a legitimate reason to be there. Right from the first joke everyone was into it, especially the two corner booths that were full of people who dressed up, probably waiting for the club to start up after the comedy. But from the first joke to the last, they were laughing hard and often, and I even had the chance to improvise a tiny bit. Yes, I rocked it. After Shawn told me that I did much better and as long as I felt I was getting better and feeling good about things, he’d always have me back.
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But that isn’t even the most memorable part of the night. Remember how in school the saying went if you got teased a lot it meant that people liked you? Well, last night I got targeted by two comics, and I believe this means I belong in the Regina scene, again, even if I am low man on the totem pole. The first comic to set me in his sights was Justin Chen. He’s a great guy, lots of fun and has given me great tips, but when he said that “Trevor Dean from Saskatoon is here”, I was a bit worried because I had no idea where he was going with this. His sense of humour is a bit different, if you ever see his set you’ll know why I was worried! He basically said that it was great to see me out, as it probably beat me doing my chores on the Hudderite Colony farm, and playing doctor with my sisters. Really? Do I look inbred? Shut up! Don’t answer that. At least let me find out who my biological parents are first…… After the set he apologized and said the next time I am on stage that I can give it back to him. He said it “was all in the name of comedy.” Well, I didn’t find it hilarious as much as it just confused me. I give off lots of different vibes to people, but a Hudderite? Maybe it’s because of the great accent I have…….
The other comic who had me in sight was Christi Olson. Apparently it’s a tradition at The Comedy Grind to burn the bridges and roast everyone. Now, I’ve only met Christi at the comedy competition and talk to her, albeit briefly on a few occasions. So when she looked right at me and said my name, I was more concerned, because she’s funnier and because I didn’t think she knew me well enough to roast me. But first, she roasted Justin Chen (see above paragraph). This is what she said:
“…and Justin Chen….. Justin, you’re not Asian enough to tell racial jokes, and not white enough to be funny.”
……Trevor Dean…… You know when you go to the hospital and you visit somebody who has cancer, they’ve had it for a long time and they just keep fighting and fighting and fighting it, hoping they get better…while after a while you’re watching the person go through it and think to yourself why don’t they just die already?”
Yes, sometimes it takes a while to show that you belong; the key is to be consistent in your actions and in your approach to things. You can’t let the compliments get to your head and you need feedback, both good and bad, in order to grow and be successful. Again, I’m not that great, but I am a hell of a lot better than when I first got on stage, in fact I am better than my stage appearances in 2011, guaranteed. I am confident on stage, I have the ability to own the stage, to not only command the attention of the audience, but keeping that attention as well for my entire set. I am very proud of myself for the growth I experienced this week, which is amazing considering the fact that I shut down the stand-up machine during the last 10 days of 2011 and never really wrote new material or rehearsed anything until last Monday night at Beily’s.
Again, thanks to everyone for following along. Don’t forget my Facebook page for my stand up comedy is Trevor Dean. The profile picture is just a question mark for now, as I need to get a picture from my stand up on the page. You can also “follow” this blog, receiving e-mail updates whenever a new post is published. Just make sure when you get the confirmation e-mail to click on it to accept it!
Thanks again for everyone who reads this religiously and for the support through this journey of mine. Remember, I don’t necessarily want you people to come out just to see me, I want you to come out to experience the local comedy scene in Saskatoon and Regina, because there are a lot of very talented people who bust their asses to make you laugh. The best part is that comedy is singluar, so there is something you can like about every performer. Hell, every comic could make you piss your pants too, and if that was the case, it’d be a feather in my cap since I would be on stage that night too!
🙂