Holy moley!
Tracey and I went to Claremont this evening for my audition. It wasn't really an audition, because I already auditioned, but I didn't know that that's what I was doing. This was just so the manager of the Claremont Flappers could hear what I do so he could figure out how or where to place me. Still, that didn't keep me from being nervous and jumpy. So, I guess it's kinda good that things worked out the way they did.
Rick, the manager, wasn't there this evening, so I ended up performing for Onely (pronounced Oh-nellie), who is kind of like the assistant manager. I'm not sure what Onely's title is. Anyway, she's a sweet little gal and she does a lot to help run the place. There was only one other comic there to audition, so I performed for three people- Tracey, Onely and young dude. The performance was video taped. I sang Phone Sex. I felt pretty good about how I did.
When I was finished, Onely was very enthusiastic. She said she'd pass her recommendation along to Rick. She said she was sure they'd want me to perform there. Tracey and I left and went to dinner. Later we went back to see tonight's show. While we were waiting to go in, Rick came out and talked to me a little. He said he was disappointed that he missed my audition. I told him I'm available any time if he wants to see me. He said he was trying to massage the show a little so he could give me seven minutes to perform (what, like, tonight??? YES!).
The headliner tonight was Willie Barcena. Good lord, he KILLED. Johnny Rogue was the emcee, and Omar Covarrubias was the featured performer. He's a magician, and he was very good. Willie Barcena was supposed to do 45 minutes, but he went for well over an hour. Ohmygod, we were laughing so hard. My face hurt!
Afterward, Rick said he was sorry he couldn't get me on. Jeez, I didn't care! We'd had such a good time. He said that for sure I'll be performing, he's just not sure right now just when. It'll probably be this Friday or next. He'll let me know.
And when he does, I'll let all of you know.
2 comments:
I think your audience banter is the place to start. It's funny, it's just not well miked, so people back a few feet don't hear it. That was what happened at the coffee shop. What I thought worked was that the song was the centerpiece and the banter was mostly about the song (what I could hear of it), and the regulars knew the song. Maybe you should start with something like, "The next song is called 'Phone Sex'. I wrote it on my iPhone after a conversation I'd had one night..." And the banter was best when it was obviously spontaneous and you were just snapping an answer back at somebody talking to you.
But you have to know you're going to bomb. All the good ones have bombed and bombed and bombed, just read a few biographies. Every one of them says that's how they got good.
aealunic--a person crazy enough to try stand-up comedy
Nooooo! No bombing! Nooo!
Actually, I'm not too afraid of that. One thing I have going for me is the songs don't bomb. Well, one almost did when I did the Bosom Song for a bunch of RCC admins, but a collective stick-up-butt ain't really my fault.
Anyway, the songs are solid. The act doesn't depend on the banter, so I can allow it to develop over time. I'm starting to work some stuff out. What I've learned so far is you have to hit the stage with energy and purpose. You have to be in character (even if the character is you) at all times. I haven't really had to do that. I'm practicing. Last night at 3am I practiced in my living room in the dark.
The young dude who auditioned with me said my mom-like appearance surprised him. He said he expected me to get up there and tell Martha Stewart jokes. Nellie said she thought I was going to do children's songs. That's one thing I really love. People don't expect to hear me doing naughty material. I look so wholesome. I seem to have hit the perfect formula for me.
Damn, this is fun.
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