“When is that last time you did something for the first time?”
2016.
This year continues my vision quest to try new things. Especially things that incite potential heart failure. Like a cross-country move to Los Angeles from Charlotte, NC. Starting back at the bottom with 20 years of Production experience. Signing up with Temp Agencies to scrape by for work alongside all the Millenials. Putting myself out there.
And now, Standup Comedy.
Sure, I’ve been funny in writing, in blogs, in Christmas letters. I killed on Twitter and Facebook. And I’ve edited some videos that had people LOL’ing or ROFL’ing. Which is a great and a VERY safe way to work. Alone in my Panera “office” or Edit suite, trimming and re-ordering words and moving edits by a couple of frames to make something more and more funny. To massage it to perfection and then releasing it in its entirety. Done.
Standup is not that. Standup happens LIVE. Generally in front of an AUDIENCE. An audience who has most likely been drinking ADULT BEVERAGES. An audience who EXPECTS FUNNY.
But, I’ve been putting it off for 20 years. Recently, some friends like @FeliciaDay and @KaceyLayneSpivey took some Standup Classes and did their graduate showcase and, of course, were hilarious but most importantly LIVED TO TELL THE TALE.
So I signed up for F.U.
Flappers University. A 6-week Intro to Standup Comedy Course in Burbank. Why do people put themselves through this? Well, mostly because Therapy is just too d#%* expensive.
Anyway, was it a success? Well despite 137 heart attacks (real or imagined) I lived through it… so it’s true what they say: what doesn’t kill you makes you funnier!
As the sage convict said: “Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’!”
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