My first corporate stand-up gig
Wow! I just got home and I'm mentally burnt out! Being super nervous takes a big toll on you and your body! I feel like I just finished a week's worth of continuous exams!
But it's all worth it because tonight I just had my first corporate (read paid) stand-up comedy gig in the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen! It was a multi-lingual one where I did 60% in English and 40% in Cantonese. Quite good fun, although I must say I was freaking nervous as hell because some of my material was quite fresh and so I haven't fully digested it and so to be honest, 1/3 way through my set, I actually forgot my next bit and so I just tried to fill in with something off the top of my head. When it came to me, I was on a roll again!
The crowd seemed to love my Chinese bits, maybe because it was easier to understand, but at least they had a good time and laughed loudly at my humor. It's quite encouraging when you get energy from the audience like that.
You know, the more I do this, the more other things are feeling like less of a pressure. I mean this past Saturday, I had a drum gig in Kwun Tong again with Crazimals and I was not nervous at all! I guess after doing Stand up comedy, where you're on your own, when you're with a full band, it feels like no big deal really because anything goes wrong, you've got whole crew of guys to cover you up. Then again, maybe I'm just getting more confident in my drumming.
Another thing I've learnt is that it is indeed all about timing! Woah, I need to learn to use pauses and stuff in my stand-up much like I do in my music! They're so similar because without precise delivery, the whole thing is ruined! But I guess as a stand-up rookie, I've got a lot to learn and refine. I have to admit though, ego-istic as this sounds, I think I'm pretty good for a guy barely 3 months into this :).
But speaking of timing, today was a total test of timing! I mean, you have no idea how tight I was on time when it came to my writing my material since last night! I haven't worked this hard at one stretch in a long, long time! I remember this time last night I was still going mad trying to organize my set for tonight's gig. I even went out for a walk at 2am to clear my mind as it was really blocked. I'm not talking about being tired, I'm talking about really not being able to think at all! All day today I spent refining my material as I wanted to clean up bits that were lacking a good punch and improve on my tried-and-tested jokes so I could fit it in different ways. My goal is to really get my material digested into my system so I have a vault of topics to pick at whenever I want. Finally, I left the house with around an hour to go and after-work traffic sucks ass! I was writing my material on the bus and throughout my journey to the restaurant! Even on the freaking boat to the floating restaurant! I was a nervous wreck! But one thing that saved my life was when I reached Admiralty, I saw the number 70 bus behind and I knew I had to catch that or else I'd be late, so I got off the bus I was on, and ran like never before! But I did get the bus and phew I made it on time (well a few minutes late, but blame the ferry, not me :P)
Today's not really a Day 10 entry, but I just wanted to share with everyone my milestone. But I have to say I regret one thing, before my set, I was so nervous I forgot to take out my camera and get photos/video of the gig!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lesson learned :|.... anyways have a good day and as Jami says, keep laughing! :D
But it's all worth it because tonight I just had my first corporate (read paid) stand-up comedy gig in the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen! It was a multi-lingual one where I did 60% in English and 40% in Cantonese. Quite good fun, although I must say I was freaking nervous as hell because some of my material was quite fresh and so I haven't fully digested it and so to be honest, 1/3 way through my set, I actually forgot my next bit and so I just tried to fill in with something off the top of my head. When it came to me, I was on a roll again!
The crowd seemed to love my Chinese bits, maybe because it was easier to understand, but at least they had a good time and laughed loudly at my humor. It's quite encouraging when you get energy from the audience like that.
You know, the more I do this, the more other things are feeling like less of a pressure. I mean this past Saturday, I had a drum gig in Kwun Tong again with Crazimals and I was not nervous at all! I guess after doing Stand up comedy, where you're on your own, when you're with a full band, it feels like no big deal really because anything goes wrong, you've got whole crew of guys to cover you up. Then again, maybe I'm just getting more confident in my drumming.
Another thing I've learnt is that it is indeed all about timing! Woah, I need to learn to use pauses and stuff in my stand-up much like I do in my music! They're so similar because without precise delivery, the whole thing is ruined! But I guess as a stand-up rookie, I've got a lot to learn and refine. I have to admit though, ego-istic as this sounds, I think I'm pretty good for a guy barely 3 months into this :).
But speaking of timing, today was a total test of timing! I mean, you have no idea how tight I was on time when it came to my writing my material since last night! I haven't worked this hard at one stretch in a long, long time! I remember this time last night I was still going mad trying to organize my set for tonight's gig. I even went out for a walk at 2am to clear my mind as it was really blocked. I'm not talking about being tired, I'm talking about really not being able to think at all! All day today I spent refining my material as I wanted to clean up bits that were lacking a good punch and improve on my tried-and-tested jokes so I could fit it in different ways. My goal is to really get my material digested into my system so I have a vault of topics to pick at whenever I want. Finally, I left the house with around an hour to go and after-work traffic sucks ass! I was writing my material on the bus and throughout my journey to the restaurant! Even on the freaking boat to the floating restaurant! I was a nervous wreck! But one thing that saved my life was when I reached Admiralty, I saw the number 70 bus behind and I knew I had to catch that or else I'd be late, so I got off the bus I was on, and ran like never before! But I did get the bus and phew I made it on time (well a few minutes late, but blame the ferry, not me :P)
Today's not really a Day 10 entry, but I just wanted to share with everyone my milestone. But I have to say I regret one thing, before my set, I was so nervous I forgot to take out my camera and get photos/video of the gig!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lesson learned :|.... anyways have a good day and as Jami says, keep laughing! :D
posted by Vivek Mahbubani at
12:37 AM
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