Spinning The Wheels Can Be Progress
Tags: Saskatoon, Saskatoon comedians, stand-up comedy, The Stand-Up Diaries, trevor dean, Trevor Dean comedian, trevor dean saskatoonI shouldn’t be here. I mean, Saskatoon is the last place I want to be on August 18, 2015. I really should be elsewhere, like in Los Angeles on a well deserved vacation. I would definitely shop (because all guys to go L.A. to shop, don’t they?), take in a couple of Dodger games, stick around for the fireworks shows after the game, I’d get to fly again as well, which I have not done since the 9/11 attacks. Yes, I know. I need to get out more.
The other reason I would be in L.A. is the biggest one of them all. To perform at two of the biggest comedy clubs in southern California. The world famous Comedy Store in Hollywood, and at Flappers in Burbank.
I have mentioned this before several months back. I was invited by my comedy coach to come down and get stage time. Yes, stage time will be set aside for me, when I get there.
Herein lies the problem. Circumstances beyond my control right now prevent me from hopping on a plane and getting the hell out of here. I am tremendously disappointed, frustrated and sad. Not only have I let myself down (which I do enough of) but I have also let you down. You, as in my supporters, friends and fellow comics who were excited for me to have this opportunity.
The only reason I got this opportunity was because of the work I’ve put in over the last two years to see gradual improvement. Like I said before, I am nowhere near setting the comedy world on fire, but I am not as bad as I was when I first started. There is more than enough evidence to the contrary to show that. I was talking with my coach and mentioned that I wanted to come down to L.A. to get away and take in a ballgame or two, and to meet my coach. It was then suggested to me that I could get some stage time if I so chose.
That’s the one thing that interests me about comics. It’s about confidence. Either you believe in your material and your ability to get laughs, or you don’t. If you aren’t that confident about things, the audience will sniff it out and sink your battleship. I know because I’ve been there more than enough times over these almost four years of performing.
Think about it, you perform comedy, it’s your passion. Now you end up vacationing in Los Angeles, the mecca of entertainment and stand-up comedy in North America. There are open mics every night of the week, yet some comics who have gone to California on vacation haven’t taken the stage. I am certainly not trying to shit on anybody in particular, nor am I calling anybody out. I just find it interesting that when you have an opportunity like that, you don’t necessarily take the ball and run with it, you know?
I know that people have different priorities in life and maybe aren’t able to schedule it in. I am speaking purely from a pop psychology point of view. I am interested in human behaviour, and why we do the things that we choose to do, or choose to avoid. Again, I just think it’s an interesting point for interests sake.
Life is all about timing sometimes, and I do believe that God has a purpose for all of us in life. If it wasn’t for timing then we would never learn the lessons that we are supposed to. Nor would we learn to appreciate things more.
Will I ever get to L.A. to do comedy? As long as I’m still alive, the answer is yes. For those of you that know me best, you know that I don’t blow my own horn without having the ability to back it up on most nights. I will get to Los Angeles. When I go, and who I go with are still up in the air, but it will happen. Right now I just need to respect and appreciate the process and the journey that I am presently on. Besides, when I do get there, I will be in a place of such thankfulness and gratitude that it will make the event that much more fun and memorable.
Besides that, I believe that Flappers will make a DVD of your set on stage.
As much as I want to kick myself for not being able to go, at the same time I have to keep sauntering forward, continuing on the journey. I am not one to do “what-ifs”. When the time comes it will happen, and when it does, it will certainly be memorable. Until then, I have lots of time to get the best material together for my L.A. comedy club debut.
Goodnight, and be blessed.