I’ll Take My Burger With Orange Juice, Thank-You Very Much
Tags: Saskatoon, Saskatoon comedians, Saskatoon comedy, stand up comedy, stand-up diaries, standup diaries, The Stand-Up Diaries, trevor dean, Trevor Dean comedian, trevor dean saskatoonIt seems like many people these days are just going through the motions, living life on their terms, doing what everybody else does to equate with success. Some have a great career (I have no idea what that is, FYI), some like to travel by themselves and plaster their photos enjoying the travel, by themselves, all over their social media pages and dating profiles. Uh, sorry, but I have to ask. If you brag about traveling all over by yourself and looking like you’re having fun, and say you’re independent and own your own house, car, etc. then why are you on a dating site?
Some also have kids and start a family. Sometimes the parents are in a relationship, sometimes the parents are married, and other times the woman just goes it alone. All the things I listed are examples of people being content and doing what everyone around them expects of them. But, is that really a good way to live?
Aren’t you sacrificing your hidden potential or untapped talents just to fit in and not rock the boat? What kind of a life is that to live?
Stand-up comedians are much the same way, at least around here. When the newbies started, they liked to talk about weed, sex, and getting drunk. Did I forget to mention that some of them you can see some of them go outside several times before a show to get high before they go on stage? Hmmmm, not really too much of a surprise then of what comes out of their mouths.
There has been an influx of new comics lately. Some of them have been women, and actually make the newbies worth listening to, because they aren’t vulgar or crude. It takes work to write clean. It’s easy to get up on stage and be dirty. Anyone who takes their comedy seriously will work on writing good, clean material. Thankfully, in today’s world, the comedians who would just get on stage and be vulgar and crude throughout their entire set, thankfully, aren’t around anymore.
So, if you have several comics that you watch at an open mic who all talk about the same stuff, how do you differentiate one from the other? How does a comedian stand out when they all sound the same? Maybe it’s because they aren’t sure how.
With the comedy training I have taken for the last five years, I’ve grown as a writer, which makes for better material. Being able to write about different subjects that you don’t normally hear at a comedy club has a couple of positive benefits.
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It allows the audience to remember you for being authentic and original, IF the material is structured in the proper way to get laughs.
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You get their attention sooner, and hold it longer, again, IF the material is structured in the correct fashion.
Let’s tackle the first point, first. When your friends ask you about the comedy show you attended last night, you are more likely to remember comedians who talked about things that were out of the ordinary for comedians to talk about, something outside of family, careers, relationships and personal struggles.
Secondly, if you hear a comic talking introduce material on a subject you haven’t heard a comic broach before, you are more inclined to pay attention and listen. It’s like getting new information that you have no reference point for. You have no idea how the material will go, or where it will lead so you follow along in earnest.
I always try to write material about different subjects, to make it a better show for the audience, especially when there are a bunch of comics on one show and they seem to go through all the recycled subjects again, and again, and again. I would tell you what they are, but that would take away from the experience of hearing them for the first time with fresh eyes and ears. That, and I highly doubt anybody really gives a shit.
I have stood out from the other comics around the city in a few ways:
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only comedian in Saskatoon that has a Facebook fan page for the comedy, instead of lumping it all in on their personal Facebook page
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having the most vast presence on social media……four Facebook fan pages, this blog and two Twitter accounts that are comedy related
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the longest running comedy blog in the province, maybe in Canada
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the only comedian in the province that does a character that is seperate from the comedian (Carnac)
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the only comedian in Saskatchewan that has performed in Los Angeles at Flappers Comedy Club, is a student of The Stand-Up Comedy Clinic, and has an open invitation to head back to the Comedy Machine comedy competition in Oakland, CA and to get a spot on a show at the world famous Comedy Store in Hollywood (I have connections that you don’t….sorry not sorry)
I am aware that my association with a comedy coach has made me the outcast among the entire local comedy community, and that’s okay with me, sort of. If it wasn’t for me finding the comedy school, I would still continue to be mediocre, have nobody in my corner to help me get better, and would have said and/or done things to not only burn my bridges in local comedy, but also put myself in harms way of getting my ass kicked several times over.
But the coaching helped me get better, faster, and stopped comics from bashing me on stage.
I can see why other comics around here don’t do anything with me, or try something that’s completely out of the norm. Just take a look at my example.
I know what you’re thinking……hey wait a minute! How do you have three Facebook fan pages for comedy? Well, there is Trevor Dean, The Stand-Up Diaries blog, Carnac, and what else?
There has been a new fan page created, in addition to a Twitter account and a GMail e-mail address for my latest venture, of which I am awaiting approval for. Once I get the green light (if that happens), I will then make all the aforementioned accounts public. It’s something that only a couple of people know, and will stay that way. Actually, it’s more like one comedian and my friends from church. But it is something that other comics will want to get on board with. It’s different and hasn’t been done before.
That’s right up my alley. My advice to you is to seek out your purpose in life. Don’t just go through the motions and try to achieve those “rites of passage” moments like a marriage, family, kids or a career, just to keep your friends and family happy and on their good side.
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I’m heading to bed. I have a big week this week, being authentic, making changes to my personal life, committing myself to higher standards and to try and seek more of God in my life. Yes, I attend church three times a week. If I could, I would have no problem going seven days a week, because it’s the best part of my day. I am surrounded by friends who are authentic, who don’t throw me under the bus when things go sideways, they mentor me, challenge me, and speak words of encouragement, faith and victory.
So before you dis church (no, it’s not Catholic), how many of you have people in your life like that? Before I attended the church I’m at now, I used to think that I had tons of people like that in my corner. Then, life happened, a relationship dissolved, and peoples true selves came to the forefront. My church family is the only family that counts, because together we make each other better and are striving towards receiving abundance, favour, promotion and good breaks.
I don’t see that as a bad thing.