Ladies & Gentleman Here Is Your Host…..

Tags: amateur comedians, comedy, entertainment, Saskatoon, stand-up comedy, The Laugh Shop, The Stand-Up Diaries, trevor dean, Trevor Dean comedian

Well, a new chapter in the comedy journey of Trevor Dean has been written with the completion of my initial shows with The Laugh Shop.  While I have put all three videos on this blog (there should be 4 but you’ll get an explanation towards that shortly), I hope you would follow along and do me the courtesy of telling the story first so the videos make some sense.

The first night was the worst, even though I still did reasonably well.  I left work early to get home and get prepared for my set.  I had it down pat to go off memory, but the moments before the show I  just felt a rush of emotion come over me, to the point where in the first couple minutes of taking the stage, my legs couldn’t stop shaking.  I felt like I was going to cry in a couple of instances too.

I asked the guys if they had any cues for me on when they were going to end their set, and they gave me the jokes they were going to close with as my cue to be prepared to introduce the next act or to end the show.  I gave them the “light” at 40 minutes so they knew that they had five minutes of material left.  Here’s where the explanation of the videos comes in.

It was my plan to have four videos to show.  Both nights opening set and both nights closing sets.  But for some reason, the second night after I flashed the light to the first performer, I forgot to turn the camera on to record my middle set!  Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the second night was……. nope.  You gotta read on to find that out!

The crowd was great for the headliners Friday night and it was in part because I helped set the table (see the first link)

http://youtu.be/SrzL0oO5Dhw

 

Now came the middle of the opening night, where I had an unexpected reaction to a joke.  It was a bit tough because of the chatter going on within the audience but I managed to soldier on through it.

http://youtu.be/SUKtkTgtIR4

 

With the first night done, the second night came calling and a chance to make a better impression on the crowd, in part because my girlfriend, her family and relatives, in addition to good friends of mine were showing up.  I decided to switch up part of the material that night for two reasons.  First, I wanted to show that I was versatile in my material and I wanted to save the girlfriend jokes for her and her family that night.

http://youtu.be/WNGnI4WG8ho

 

I noticed something in the second night that made me feel good as I was performing.  Usually they hold the comedy show in a different room, but this particular weekend there was a rather large conference that took that room, so we got moved.  That was good, because in the usual room there are four big spotlights that hang from the ceiling that are right in your eyes, so when you look out at the crowd, it really does look like a Plenty Of Fish profile with no picture, because all you can see are the shadowy tops of people’s heads.

The room we were moved to did not have the spotlights overhead, just regular lights that shone on the stage.  This meant no blinding lights.  It also meant that I was able to make direct eye contact with the audience.  I could tell the second night that I commanded their attention much better, they were focused, smiling and laughing, especially my friends.

That was the big part.  I remember the reaction I got from friends who came to see me early on and it still sits in the back of my mind when I write material or perform.  This time, my friends paid full attention, and at the end of the show they told me I did a good job, and I believed them because I got to the level where I could finally convince myself of that fact.  Other audience members approaching me after the show to tell me the same thing made me feel like I reached my goal.

My goal was to look like I fit in on stage, to not look out of place. While I didn’t set the world on fire, I did my job in a professional and competent manner.  I am proud of what I did while at the same time being very thankful for the opportunity.

Just two quick words here.  First, some of you are wondering what my future with the Laugh Shop holds.  Will I be back in Saskatoon on the Laugh Shop stage?  The short answer is probably, it’s just a matter of when.  They start their run of Christmas party shows next week for a month so that effectively ties up the rest of this year.  If a performer can’t make it to the show because of the weather, they now have an option in their back pocket on a moment’s notice to use.  Of course, this is subject to the booking agency watching my sets and having a favourable response to them.

Lastly I want to thank the staff at the Laugh Shop including the servers, bartenders, the room manager and the comedians.  It was a professional show, run by professionals, where you were treated in a professional manner.  I am proud to continue doing comedy for over three years and finally achieve a level of consistency that I didn’t know possible until I cut my ties to the local scene and ventured into uncharted waters on my own.

To all of you who read the blog, come to the shows or the hundreds of people who viewed my status updates on my comedy page, I thank you.  Nice guys don’t finish last, I’m living proof.

Please, feel free to leave comments on this post and the videos you saw.  I approve all comments before they get posted, so if you don’t want the comment to be posted you have the right to tell me that.

Be blessed!  Talk to you again real soon.