The Comedy Festival, and my season starts in 2 days time as
I write this. Nerves, excitement and fear are almost overwhelming – in equal
measure. Ticket sales are ticking along nicely. Opening night is sold out and
the second night there are only 10 tickets remaining. As long as there are
tickets available then there is always room for improvement. Ticket sales adds
a lot of anxiety even though it is one aspect of which performers have little
control, if any.
Having tested material in pubs and clubs around Melbourne
throughout the first part of 2015, I know it works. It generates laughs. At the
right spots. Laugh with me, laugh at me, it does not really matter as long as
there are laughs. A 50 minute solo show is a different kettle of fish.
The risk is it stinks like a kettle of fish.
It is all me, no other acts no MC. Just me beginning to end.
My jokes, my audience interaction my musical ability.
The pay off is a lot of laughs, audiences telling their
friends leading to more ticket sales. Intrinsically the reward is simply being
acknowledged, all of the work being validated.
Issues of memory haunt me in my preparation. Will I be able
to remember all of the show? Will my memory fail me mid line in a song?
And then there are the unknowns, broken guitar strings, losing
my voice, drunk audience members, power failure, Russian air raid. Reviews.
Some of these contingency plans can be developed others not so much. All of
them add to the stress in the lead up to putting on a show.
The culmination of the nerves, excitement and fear is
energy. Twitchiness, incredibly short attention span and irritability which all
in turn lead to highly irregular and disrupted sleep patterns.
To complete the vicious cycle sleep becomes something else
to worry about. It would be awkward to fall asleep during my own show.
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