Poop and Hitler - what a beautiful combination...?

I, being the moron that I can be at times, forgot that signup at ACME ends at 7pm. Thinking it ended at 7:30, I left my apt at 6:45... I ran in just as John (the manager) was taking the list away to make The List for the night and I plead with him to let me sign up. Pathetic, I know, but apparently it worked because I got on.

My set tonight was awkward at best. For me anyway. I got a fair amount of compliments on it, but I've been so hard on myself lately it's just natural that it seeped into comedy. I fucked up my very first joke but I recovered well. Then I did a poop joke. A poop joke! Who does a poop joke at ACME?? I felt like a first timer again. But it went well and it was the best joke of my set with a decent punchline. And rather than a one-liner type joke like I've been doing lately, it was a story. I also can't believe that I followed a poop joke with a Hitler joke... *geesh* They went over pretty well and it was a decent set but I always get embarrassed right afterward and I tend to run to the bar area rather that sit back down with the other comics. I got paranoid when I was onstage that the comics in the back weren't laughing at my jokes but directly at me, like they do for the first timers. It didn't exactly help that I mentioned being nervous before going up and a few comics said "don't worry, you'll suck - everyone'll hate you - you'll never get on here again - have fun!" Assholes... That could be the reason I was so weird tonight. That and the fact that I didn't really prepare and I haven't been writing much and I generally don't practice my set outloud until I actually get onstage. I wait to vomit something good up. Running it through my head over and over before going up makes me more nervous and it makes for rehearsed comedy - comedy should not be rehearsed. It shouldn't *sound* rehearsed at least.

I got offered a few opportunities tonight, too. One is a "women's festival" type of thing - I don't know if it's like a women of comedy showcase or what, but Mary Mack (see to the left of the page for a link) told me about it. She also informed me that there will be a standup contest in Burnseville this summer. She didn't give me details, she just mentioned them and said she'd email me about them later on. I hope it works out, I need more places to go than just ACME. Also, it'd be good practice for the ACME Funniest Person in the Twins Cities contest. I need to perfect my three minutes.

Also, I've been a little saddened by the fact that only 1 person has seen me perform. I've had a lot of people say they'd come and then not show up. I know Mondays are a weird night to hang out, but c'mon - it's free! Maybe it's for the best. I'm planning on inviting a ton of people for when I do the contest - that way they'll see me for the first time and therefore (hopefully) think I'm funny, thereby giving me more laughs. I'll let you all know.

I've been really down lately. I mean *really* down. God knows why. It makes for shitty comedy writing. I said I was "wired wrong" to my friend the other day and he said "no, you're just wired *differently*" - either way, it's no fun. I want to have an excellent summer filled with comedy, concerts, camping, tanning, swimming, drinking (but not to excess) and moving back home where I'm happy and comfortable in my little cocoon with my puppy and free internet, food and rent. It's heaven I tells ya.