I Promise Not To Look At My Phone!

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

In just eighteen days from the writing of this post I will make my return to The Laugh Shop in Saskatoon for weekend shows on April 24 & 25.  Then I turn around and open at the Regina location of the Laugh Shop for May 2.  The only shitty thing about the Regina show is that it’s the same date as the fight where the Pac Man finally shuts the fat lid of Mayweather and kicks the shit out of that chickenshit loudmouthed racist (do I sound biased?)  I will have to not watch t.v. at all or be on social media until I can get home and watch the fight on my PVR.

I am well into the process of rehearsing material.  One of the good things in having done comedy for over 3 1/2 years now is that I remember the material easier, because it’s in a story form.  I can generally tell when I miss something in sequence because it won’t sound right, then I will stand on stage with this confused look on my face wondering to myself if I continue on with the joke or not.  If I leave a detail out or put something out of sequence, the joke won’t work because the laughs won’t be where they should be.  When the laughs aren’t where they should be, it can throw you off a bit.

The other noteworthy detail about the Laugh Shop shows is that this year they moved from a three man setup to a two man show.  Now this means that clearly I am not the headliner.  What it also means is that I am the MC and the opening act.  The first time around I was able to break up my material into two parts, sandwiching it between the two other acts.  No such luck this time.

I have to set the tone right off the bat, and be solid for more than just the 15 minutes I did at the shows before.

The biggest challenge for me will be the crowd work.  I need to do a better job in not trying to think too much on stage and just react to what’s happening.  The last time I was on the Laugh Shop stage I tried to think for the funny instead of just letting it happen.

The last time I was at TLS (The Laugh Shop) in Saskatoon I had the other guys give me “the light” to let me know I was close to my time.  Since it’s just a two man show, I don’t want to distract the headliner for him having to tell me my time is up.  That is why I need my phone to tell me.

The cell phone can be the comedians best friend.  There are some that have their sets on it for quick reference on stage, while some put the timer on and just start doing their act.  Then there are some who don’t worry about the time and just do their sets. They will ask the audience how much time they’ve done so far, and the audience usually is pretty good about letting the performer know how long they have been on stage for.

In my dealings with my comedy coach he has treated me like a professional.  The comedy club staff treat me like a professional, so by default I should be acting professional on stage.  This means that I do not use my phone at all.

I guess I am a bit stubborn in that sense where I need to work a bit harder than everyone else to really stand out from the crowd.  I have about 3/4 of my set memorized already.  What I want to do is the moment I get on stage to set the countdown timer on my phone to when I have three minutes left in my set.  I will hopefully remember to have it on vibrate and stick it in my back pocket (so if you see me grab my ass at the towards the end of my set, it’s not to pinch myself because I think I’m so cute).

Once I get to the three minute mark, I actually might relax because then I can do into a couple of individual jokes that I have that can fill the time.

My coach told me a long time ago to dress better than the audience (the audience is paying to see you) and know your shit.  Open mics are for rehearsing.  Comedy club shows are to do your material.

I hope some of you come out to watch.  Be blessed!