Comedy Take Two

It was my second (attempt at) comedic performance on Thursday just gone.

Travelled to the Abbeydale Theatre in Sheffield - http://www.abbcom.co.uk/ - to do between five and ten minutes of material. I'd prepared about eight, but was well ready to ditch the final three minutes and head for the hills if it wasn't going well.

I'd reworked much of my routine from the first performance, taking out a half-hearted pastiche on schoolyard rumours and generally trimming down the length of most of the sections. I'd also told sections of my routine to friends on several occassions, which had got me plenty of feedback and practice as to how best to deliver certain pieces. The extra space enabled me to insert a poem, a 2004 vintage from my one night of poetry writing at university, which I decided I'd perform if the first five minutes went well.

So, routine sorted, and better rehearsed than first time round, I was actually looking forward to the show, rather than dreading it. Took about two hours to get to Sheffield but we (myself and fellow Prestonian - see earlier post) were rewarded with a great venue and crowd - around 60/70 people in attendance.

I was up second, and upon arriving immediately began to feel very nervous. Rehearsing the day before, I'd actually recorded my set, so I listened to that to calm myself. It didn't work. A pint of Guinness, hastily consumed, didn't work either. But in any case, it wasn't long until I was called up, and after a brief moment of confusion over whether I'd broken the microphone or not, (I hadn't) I began. Speaking to someone else who performed on the night, he told me how after his routine he rates each of his sections out of three, so that he can assess how well he did. Following in his footsteps, below are my 'keywords' (written on my hand to guide me through) and my ratings.

Garden Centre Urinals - 1

Wikipedia - 2

Text message - 3

Wiping - 2

Kenan and Kel - 1

Poetry - 3

So a good night, all told, with a few big-sounding laughs at points. Possibly the biggest laugh of my set came when I unintentionally insulted the act who had gone before me, which I was horrified at, but thankfully he forgave me.

On the journey home we forwent our victory Snickers, but intrigue was instead provided by a sheep running out infront of the car high on Snake's Pass. For a brief moment I considered whether it would be ironic if two Prestonians killed the symbol of their proud city on a trip to Yorkshire, but decided it wasn't.