Happy Wednesday!
The show last night at The Public House was a solid show with a lot of great comics who are also really fun people. I finally had the chance to meet Sareth Ney, and he interviewed me like he does with the new local comics in the area. That was nice and I’m looking forward to see how that turns out. I’ll share the link when it’s finished.
Yesterday afternoon I was preparing for the show, and I took a few minutes to ask for some technical notes relating to my Monday set at Other Bar. I’m glad I asked. I’ll get to that in a second.
I’m sure I’ve said it, but I will say it again now. Being a new comic, I find that there are lessons, seemingly weekly, that are important lessons that you have to learn as you go. The lessons are not obvious, until they are. You can’t learn something until you realize it exists, and for me, that usually happens the hard way!
This week I am learning about stage presence and my energy on stage. I’m going to quote my friend, but I’m going to leave his name out of it, because I’m not sure it’s important.
“Your energy was kinda low and you kept avoiding eye contact with the audience are the technical notes I had for you. So seemed more into the previous one even though you hated it afterwards. That’s why I liked it more. It seemed like you wanted to be there more. At least at the beginning.”
Oh man, I didn’t even realize I was doing it, but yup, I agree. It’s like I’m paying more attention to getting all of my jokes out, than I am excited to tell the jokes and run the room for my 5.
So, yesterday afternoon I had some time before the showcase, and I thought my best option in the short time I had to prepare was to google stage presence videos. I found a Ted Talk by comedian Deborah Frances-White, she has some tips and suggestions to help minimize stage anxiety. I embedded the video below. I’m also interested to hear if anyone has any other ideas for getting through this. Obviously it’s going to take time and effort, but tips are welcomed.
Hooray for progress and good friends. I’m excited for everything that’s happening in my life. Thanks for your support, it means a lot!
<3, Lesley