stand-up

A local comedy club here in Knoxville called "The Comedy Zone" holds an open mic night every few Thursdays. On one such Thursday, a couple of weeks ago, I happened to have the night off from work. I immediately knew, despite my terror, that this was something I had to do.

My only other experience doing anything that could be considered genuine stand-up comedy was something I did a few years ago in college. It was an open mic night at a coffee house. I did about 5 minutes of improvisational rambling, which was nothing to write home about.

This time, I knew crap was different. This time it actually meant something.

The first night I did it, I had prepared a few minutes of material about my apartment. The place was dark, smoky, and some of the other comedians there were scary. I mean, genuinely brink-of-being-homeless-I-sell-drugs scary. But, once I talked to them for a minute, my fear was eased.

I felt like an amateur idiot on the stage, shaking like a leaf. No years of theater experience can prepare you. I bumbled nervously through the painfully unfunny set, stumbling over my words, talking a mile a minute. Then, about three minutes in, they turned on my microphone. Yes, I was living a genuine nightmare.

That was my introduction. Luckily, the next Thursday, I went back to open mic night. I had a much more polished set of jokes. I wasn't as scared. I got my GAME face on! It was a lot of fun, and I got a lot of positive feedback.

I want to try it again. My friends have been supportive, and this may be the beginning of a wonderful and bizarre new hobby for me!