Tonight I went to New Frankfort, IL. More specifically I went to the Get A Way Bar to do comedy with Scott Long. Before the show, I met a local rookie comedian (I won't mention his name, just in case anything I write could be taken the wrong way. Don't get me wrong, the guy was nice, he just did somethings that new comics do. Call them mistakes or whatever, I'm just saying what happened). He was going to do some time before the show. He had done so last month at the bar and said he had performed one other time. When I asked how much time he was doing, he said thirty minutes. I let that comment go for a bit because he said he told stories on stage and so I wouldn't seem like a jerk, but eventually I brought it up and told him that 30 minutes was a pretty unreasonable expectation, both from himself and from the audience. I've been doing comedy for 5 years now, and I barely have 30 minutes.
Anyway, a half an hour before eight (the show is supposed to start at eight) this guy gets on stage. And he does alright, I mean the audience wasn't really prepared, but he stuck it out on stage for about 17 minutes and I never saw him get rattled or discouraged. So he's got that going for him. Anyway, they bring me up almost immediately, by reading my bio off of my website (that made me laugh), 13 minutes early. Luckily I was ready. I always am.
So I got on stage and started, the microphone kept cutting in and out and at one point I accused the sound guy of messing with me (that got a laugh). Eventually he just gave me a new mic (they were wireless, so it was a smooth transition). I had some talkative people: I told one lady mid-setup to just go ahead and talk. I continued my joke without taking a breath, and that kind of got a laugh. Later, some very drunk guy (around 8pm, keep in mind) starts talking and I point out that the people laugh when I talk and don't when he talks. Then I told him that everyone pretty much hated him and wanted him to shut up. The crowd definitely laughed at that. Anyway I checked my phone at 8:04 (which means I was on for 17 minutes) and was pretty sure I had enough material to get to 30 (That's a big fear of mine, coming up short on time). Anyway, I didn't check my phone again until I got off stage at 8:16.
I learned a bit about featuring tonight; some comics say that you don't really start learning comedy (or learn who they are, whatever) until you start featuring. I agree. Someone once told me that karate students don't start learning the good stuff until they're black belts, so I look at it like that.
Tonight I learned that it's not just about being funny, it's about pacing yourself and not getting tired on stage. I guess you can get physically tired if you move around or are really out of shape, but I'm talking about getting tired of being on stage. If the audience isn't the best, or they aren't laughing enough anymore, it might be because the delivery is off.
That's one thing I wanted to tell the rookie guy; it's like UFC fighting. You don't just get huge stamina for grappling and ground-work. You have to work your way up to that.
Anyway, while Scott was on stage, I talked shop with the other guy and tried to get his perspective on comedy. I gave him some advice (he asked and I warned him to take it with a grain of salt). I told him to get good, he'd have to do more comedy and really surround himself with it. It made me think of someone who was stuck on an island and made a bow out of a stick and a shoe-lace. It might do in a pinch, but it's not going to be as effective as a product from someone who's studied around other bowyers. That's what comics (especially new ones) need. Other comics. And clubs. And stagetime.