Just for skits and giggles

So last Friday I had my first crack at stand up comedy as part of the Australian ‘Raw Comedy’ competition. I tell you what, I’m no stranger to public speaking, but I’ve never been so nervous in all my life! The challenge of making people laugh ‘on cue’ was simply terrifying, and the possibility of a ‘dead’ audience (or even worse, a violent one?) was something to fear. Nevertheless, the night went pretty well, and I came out of it prizeless but not prideless.

The most interesting part of the night was chatting to the other competitors in the waiting room. They all seemed quite introverted, to be honest, and it got me thinking about what the life of a comic must be like. From what I can gather, the answer is, “Pretty lonely.” Flying from one gig to the next, and having to constantly come up with gags regardless of your mood, are two of the reasons why this might be – but not the main one. I remember many years ago, a mate of mine telling us about how he’d met John Cleese. “He was just so serious,” my mate complained. “He wasn’t funny at all!”

Therein lies the problem. Comics are expected to funny all the time, regardless of the fact that it’s just a job to them. If we ‘normies’ meet a celebrity of any description, we make no hard and fast rules on their personality before we meet them. But comics, well, we just expect them to be a laugh a minute, and not have a serious (or indeed bland) side at all.

What pressure! No wonder so many of them get depression. I’m glad I gave it a go, but it seems an even lonelier career choice than professional chess player. I’ll stick to the pieces.