My stand up debut at the Firehouse Saloon

One of the goals that I had for 2015 was to write and perform 5 minutes of stand up material. I’m not sure where I got the notion that this had to be on my proverbial bucket list, but there it was.

Maybe because my humor column often starts out with me musing aloud, and then I write it down and adapt it for the reader. Maybe it’s part of my quest to be Carol Burnett, and I figure learning to stand alone on stage and talk just strengthens every other part of my humor experience. Maybe it’s because I tried and loved improv and need to up my investment, the way people start out using marijuana and end up addicted to heroin.

Whatever the reason, last summer I met with a local comic named Allish that I know from improv, and he walked me through some of this methods for writing jokes. He even convinced me to come and watch an open mic night. It was intimidating but not completely impossible for me to imagine doing it. I never took the extra step to write and perform but I kept thinking about it.

Stand up is different from improv in that with improv, you’re not alone on stage. You have partners and a team who are there to support you. Your job is to work with your partners, and while it’s all off the cuff, you know that you’ve got each other’s backs. There’s no wrong answer, no judgement, all support.

Stand up? While there might be support before and after, you’re on your own on stage, with no one to step in and pick up the ball if you fumble.

I was still hoping to get to open mic, but life, such as it is, got in the way at the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016.

Then last Friday I ran into another friend from improv, Keith, and he told me about a local open mic night that was actively recruiting women to perform. It was the same open mic I’d gone to watch before.

For whatever reason, on that day, I told him, “I’ll be there.” Like may things I’ve experimented with lately, I just said yes and thought about it later. I had no material written, and I had four days to prepare five minutes of stuff to say onstage.

And that’s how I found myself at the Firehouse Saloon last night, getting ready to perform my first stand up routine.[Click here to continue reading on my blog]