Wednesday, March 19, 2008

I had a dream

I had a dream last night that I was doing a stand up comedy spot, performing to three people. It's been a while since I have done stand up, so I went "frearching" (comic term meaning frantic search through mental comic archives) for the "right routine". What is the "right routine" for three people?

Mentioning the bleeding obvious? Pointing out that two blokes looked like they were hooking up for a date arranged from rants and raves on Craigs list?

In the end I chose to play "Mother Comedy" - starring in my own absurd Chekovian drama performing to the other younger female comics. I dished out advice and observations like some jokesters boffin. "Oh yes, journalists make a fuss over female comics" I said knowingly. "They often said 'it must be so difficult to be a female comic'".
I paused to deliver the punch.
"I never quite know how to respond to that, so I always tell journalists 'yes, it was much easier when I was a guy'". Rich laughter. (thankfully).

Playin' to the other comics I was. Not really "professional"- but when the number of comics outnumbered the audients then it felt like the way to go.
And they were good comics, impressive ladies. All dressed up, all georgeous and glamorous and funny to boot. Looked like they all stepped straight out of a page of Maxim to give the photographer a piece of their minds.

In this dream I was stumbling from routine to routine, pulling out a few sure fire one liners and routines here and there, then forgetting bits, putting in a set up but forgetting a tag, throwing in a tag with no set up. Perhaps the wine didn't help matters. It was a bit like travelling through a neighborhood you used to live in and once knew like the back of your hand; only you've been away for awhile and now they've put in a shopping mall and the church is gone and some of the roads are only one way. It's changed and you've got to find a new way to navigate the old route. I kept bumping into things along the way.

It was a nice cosy feeling though. To be back up. When it comes down to it, I suppose I don't have stage fright, probably more like real life fright.

I must have that dream again.

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