Comedy-Life Balance
One of my favorite things when I watch a new comic is the obsession. When you start comedy—or any new passion for that matter—you have that period of time where it’s all you think about. This usually translates to cringy Facebook posts about being “all about that grind” (gross). However, when you’re in that comedy obsession, it’s a pretty special moment.
Like anything in life though, that obsession fades as other responsibilities get in the way—jobs, hobbies, and relationships. What’s interesting about comedy is you can’t really have it without the other aspects of life. You have to write about something, right?
I remember when I started there was a comic that was fourteen years old. His parents would drive him to open mics and he would wait outside the bar, run in, do his set, and leave. Comedy must’ve been so much harder for him—and his parents. Not only was he learning how to be on stage and tell a joke, but he also had to figure out what to write. I see it a lot when people start comedy later in life. They usually have so much material, because they have so much life experience to look back on. They just have more stories, more experiences, and more set-ups. Not saying starting at fourteen is bad. In fact if that person perservered—I lost touch but I hope they did—they’d be in an amazing spot now. The balance I’ve always struggled with in comedy is you have to live life to talk about life. I seem to go too far in either direction.
All this stems back to me knocked out of the semi finals in the Seattle International Comedy Competition. The moment I was eliminated I wanted to go back through all the old audio and video to tweak my set, edit and trim out lines. Fortunately I stopped myself and realized I just needed to take a moment. I’m giving myself the week. Not the weekend—just the five days—I’m not a monster. This’ll give me time to regroup and be a person.
Saturday I’m hosting my good friend Monica Nevi’s special recording at the Carco Theater in Renton. That’s when I’ll reactivate my anxiety-ridden, stand-up comedy brain. For now, I’m just going to enjoy myself. I’m writing this the morning of Thanksgiving. Think I’ll just be a human being for awhile.
Happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate. If not, hope you have a great week.