An Initiate

For one day, I felt part like an initiate. I sat at a late night eatery after a gig with two veterans of the hey day of stand up comedy. One of these guys was my mentor that prepared me and others for our day on the stage. It took six weeks to prepare for our seven to ten minute bits. The audience was friendly. Why not, most of them had been invited by myself and the other beginners. They were our friends and family. They were rooting for us. It was awesome! I’m still floating. I enjoyed figuring out my introduction and seeing the M.C. do his thing with it. I enjoyed being asked if I wanted to use the mike stand or not. I enjoyed the sound check. I enjoyed being in the wings with the other budding comics listing to the person on stage. The performers included us seven in the stand up comedy class. Most of us were complete novices. But, a couple had some limited stand up experience. One has a day job but performs at the local clubs from time to time. The two other performers are the NYC transplants that regaled those that stayed to have a late night dinner with stories about their life. They told us about the nice and not so nice famous people they’ve worked with: Their experience of being on a late night show, Their experience working the stand-up comedy clubs when a comic could make a living going up and down the Atlantic coast at  various discos turned comedy clubs. It was an awesome experience and I’ll love it for ever. But, it’s unlikely that I’ll ever go on stage again in this capacity. It’s too hard and it’s too much work. However, I have learned something that will help me for ever. I’ve learned a bit of how to be funny. People listen when you’re funny. I love the attention, so I will work on being funny again. But, the stage will be my own life.