My Introduction To Comedy
Last year, a good friend of mine, Steve Davis decided to do a stand up comedy course. He has a background in theatre and marketing and so public speaking is not new to him. He also did the course again in Melbourne with a different audience to
cement in the fact that he's a comedian.
Steve finds what I do on Facebook funny, many people do, but he's one of the rare few people that will say that to your face in public. There's been other things that he's said to my face in public that I would have preferred that he hadn't, but that's a story for another time.
As result of this, Steve insisted that I do the course.
I had my doubts, and even struggled financially to raise the money for the course even at a concession rate but it was a chance to meet and work with one of my comedy idols: Glynn Nicholas. In fact, without Glynn being there I wouldn't have even done the course at all.
Glynn Nicholas came to my attention when I was in High School some 30 years ago, on a show called The Big Gig. He even had his own self titled TV show. He was famous for playing a character called Pate Biscuit, a parody of a female children's entertainer, Patsy Biscoe, and my personal favourite Sargent Smith.
Before the course started, we were asked to produce two minutes of original material. It didn't need to be funny. Which reminds me that Steve Davis was promoted to be the facilitator of the Adelaide version of the course. It's also run in Melbourne and other places around Australia.
I used some of the online course material to come up with a handful of jokes that turned out to get a few initial laughs. The material was enhanced, polished and then I had to memorise it to perform in front of an audience 4 days later.
A publicity photo of me during the course
I have a real issue with public speaking, and various social anxiety disorders, all of which came to the surface to threaten to deter me from finishing the course. Everyone struggled on the second day to remember their material and we were told it was part of the process and it is. Ultimately you have to get a point where you let go and just have fun with it.
I was combating fatigue and bullying at work so I gave myself a few days off to really focus on drilling down my material.
The Course
The course itself consists of learning joke structures, how to deal with hecklers and memory exercises to remember sets.
There's also essential stage craft, how to write and present jokes, how to stand and speak to an audience and a whole lot more. There's plenty of opportunity to generate your own jokes and also get feedback from everyone in the class.
But everyone was supportive and encouraging, and there is a point where you are confronted with your own inner demons. Stand up comedy is a competition against yourself and no one else and that's where the fight really is.
You'll find out who you truly are, and that can be both terrifying and empowering at the same time. A lot of darker emotions also came to the surface and I have become a lot more assertive as a result. I've never sworn so much in all of my life, and that was just from learning my material.
Past failures also came to the surface too. I'd been running from public speaking my whole life. I'd also discovered that I don't like myself very much and lowered my standards a lot as a result. If you want a better life, you need to remove that which is holding you back from what you want and where you want to go, and a lot of that is in your own mind.
Throughout the course we were visited by graduates from the past, whose advice was fantastic,
The Graduation
Finally, the night of nights was here. I'd done all of the preparation I could during the day; it was time for the big event.
The stage was set, literally, and the audience was primed and ready. Glynn Nicholas warmed up the audience and went through a routine that he'd shown us during the course, before then introducing the students individually onto the stage to perform their acts. What I realized later was that he'd been sizing us up during the course in order to make individualised introductions.
I was second in the line up, after a Vietnamese comic by the name of David Bui who reminded us that while we are all different, we each have one thing in common... a poo story.
As the audience clapped, I stepped toward the stage, clearing my mind of noise. I'd also forgotten to leave my notes behind, and took them up on stage. What happened next was a blur but everyone laughed at what I was doing. When they have edited the footage and uploaded it somewhere, I will link it here. Before long I was taking a bow and thanking the audience and shaking Glynn's hand in congratulations.
Then Aditya Guatam, an Indian comic who had everyone in stitches, followed by the very funny Geoff Kwitko.
Then there was a break followed by another set by Glynn Nicholas, and then we had Graham Turnbull followed by Richard Zhao, a Chinese chef with some ninja comedy skills. Rob Newman, a dead-ringer for Hollywood's Paul Newman only funnier and with warmer, soapier hands.
The evening was capped off by a performance by Geri Masi AKA 'Mad Dog Malcolm', a rather crude character who had the ladies squirming in their seats. and and also can really sing. You can find his 'Toilet Song' here.
As we each came off stage, we all congratulated each other with handshakes, pats on the back and I even got a hug from one of the other students. The atmosphere was electric and it was also great to get feedback from individual audience members afterwards.
The real challenge is NOT the first gig, the real challenge is the second, third and fourth gigs and continuing along this journey. You may see me at a comedy gig near you. Who knows?
If you're interested in learning, not only stand up comedy but more about yourself, there is a course being organised for September 2019 in Adelaide, and two in June and July in Melbourne.
Images sourced from: The School Of Hard Knock Knocks.
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