Famous or Bust

A Set at the Set

2009-07-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

I had a great experience tonight. I did a set at The Set, which is a variety show that is produced out of La Poisson Rouse in the West Village. Such a cool club, with weird art exhibits surrounding a chill, hip bar. The stage is situated at the far end. We had a few singers as well as a ton of comedians perform. I had the benefit of coming up after the intermission. So, the room had just went out for a smoke break, or a bathroom break, and took some time off after seeing an hour or so of comedy. My set lasted ten minutes, and I tell you this, I killed. I did mainly old material: The Porn Office, Ridley Scott's Monopoly, and the fat kid story. But this got the best laughs I've gotten in a while. Even a couple of applause breaks. I've achieved the right pace for my character. I'm not slow, filled with energy, yet easily followed. I need to develop when I bomb at a joke, since I will lose my energy level. I need to tell a bad joke and then just move on. Fortunately, tonight, I didn't have that problem.

I hope to be able to do this show again. I had a blast. A guy was impressed with my set, he's blogging about it. I forgot to ask his blog name, which was a huge mistake on my part. I wish I had cards to distribute. But alas, marketing is something I need to improve upon.

I think I do better when it's not a bunch of comics in the room. And I love the fact that audiences respond well to my set. But the all comic audience is a solid place to practice. You can play with styles and speeds, and you can get your jokes spoken, which tends to be different from written.

With my headshots finished, I now have all the elements in place for my cards. So, let's get those out this week. That's my goal for the week.

Stay tuned.

Headshots

2009-06-29T15:11:00.000-07:00

Well, John took my picture today. And here's what I've learned about me. I'm handsome, at least when I've got the right backlight.

We had a great time today, Andrea joined me. She's my stylist (she helped me keep the wrinkles out of my shirt) and also served as a PA for John. She held a bounce board to get some reflection upon my Adonis-like face.

I showed up late, around 3:45 for a 3:30 appointment. I spent a lot of time at my apartment with my stylist (Andrea) ironing my wrinkled shirts. By the time we arrived at the studio (which is located in an apartment in this gorgeous old building on the upper west side). John, with his assistant Steve, had a warm, inviting personality, which helped since they would stare at me for hours (felt like hours, really just minutes) with judgemental faces. I need to get used to that, since I will be spending time at auditions where I get on stage alone in a room with one or two critical people. I'm pumped for this stuff.

I wore three to four different shirts, and John proceeded to take different types of pictures. Pics for stand up, pics for commercials, and pics for corporate work. He would get me to say a response, like he would say "I'm from Brooklyn" and I would respond, "That's nice!" which would make me face happier, caring. Then he would say, "My wife died out on safari" and I would reply "How are you doing?" giving me a concerned face.

I took about 65 pics, and he's emailing me fifteen of the best where I will choose the three I think will be my headshots. Then, by Wednesday, I'll have headshots.

Then I'll be famous.

Well, I'm a little closer anyway.

Arthur's Week of Open Mics.

2009-06-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

This week, I went to three mics, and definitely honed some new jokes a bit. It started at the Treehouse where I met up with Roman and Corbett, two friends from college who got to experience the magic that is an open mic. It was a pretty good night there actually. A lot of energy, and a ton of hilarity. I went up third to last, and really took the energy of the room and used it to create a high octane set that worked. I'm rewriting and developing my Ninja Cheerleaders bit. It's something I may use for the Comic Strip Live audition.

Then, I did the Village Lantern on Wednesday, which also went well. Did a similar set from Tuesday night at the Treehouse. It went well, but I had the option of going first, which really helped me. Sometimes, this mic tends to get down, and the energy of the room dies quickly, so I don't know how I would've done had I went up later. It's a great test though, since one of the things I do well is get a momentum going, building up and filled with energy. Unfortunately, I need the energy of the other performers and the room for this to work. I have trouble getting upbeat when the room doesn't already have that energy. I need to learn and practice at getting a dead room going and supporting me.

That didn't happen tonight at the Tagine open mic. Tagine is a Moroccan restaurant with quite the Moroccan basement. Couches as opposed to chairs, bathrooms hidden behind Arabian curtains. And there were a whopping 8 comics and one audience member. They were all guys and things started decent, until jokes about choking girlfriends and racism really brought the mood down. I got up at the end, and since, other than one person, nobody had seen me, I started with the popular porn office bit, one that always does well. Here, it didn't. And then I lost the energy, and couldn't really get it back. I can't blame the room, I can only blame myself. I abandoned the joke quickly, moved in to a few bits from my set on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I couldn't do it. But I'll get there. Came home early since I've got a client coming in early tomorrow.

Next week, I get my headshots. Next, I need to get business cards finished. My goal is to have those put in to get built by next Friday. Also, have to work on my resume, which I will ask my good friend and fellow comic, Sue Funke, to build.

I need to get more mics next week, though with 4th of July weekend coming up, it may be a bit tough.

Storytelling and Discourse

2009-06-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

So, I got invited to do DJ Hazard's spoken word story show in Park Slope. First off, it was a great experience. It's less about stand up and more about telling a compelling story. All the performers were stand ups, so they used their skills to tell some great stories with great punches thrown in for good measure. I went with a personal story that happened this week, one that I read from a piece of paper, since I wanted to at least try to come off non-standuppy (sic) with my story. It turned out to be less a story but more an op ed piece. Here it is for your enjoyment:

THAT'S A GREAT TITLE: NO, IT ISN'T, YOU DUMB BITCH

One of the greatest debates that permeated the annals of history was, of course, Abraham Lincoln vs. Stephen Douglas. It was a series of seven debates where then Republican Lincoln was battling incumbent Illinois democrat senator Stehpen Douglas for the Illinois seat in the U.S. Senate. Lincoln ultimately did not win the seat, but these highly publicized debates help secure his spot in the 1860 election. The debates were an oratory masterpiece that showed intelligence and well documented research to successfully shown two sides of the dangerous coin known as slavery. It was smart and helped careers. At no time during this debate did Lincoln call Douglas's mother a whore nor did Douglas call Lincoln a tall shit-eating butt pirate.

I bring this debate up because I was involved in what is best described as the modern venue for debates, an internet message board. I've never really gotten involved with one of these things, I have heard tales of hardship and great pain as people use it as a forum to spout out words of hate and call various dissidents faggots. But I felt it was something that could have a reasonable debate over the merits of comedy and free speech. I am talking of the Sarah Palin/David Letterman feud. Now, full disclosure, I don't care for Sarah Palin. She seems to be the exact opposite of what the Republican party should be throwing there hopes and dreams upon. I also don't think Letterman is funny or even relevant anymore. Ever since the Academy Award Uma/Oprah fiasco, I haven't really been on board with Letterman. Not saying I like Leno, or even Jimmy Kimmel. Talk shows tend to bore me. I will always turn off the Daily Show when Jon Stewart gets to a-interviewin'. These are two people who have seen the spotlight start to go down and suddenly, a random joke throws a bright sun on their celebrity, and both sides ran with it as a grab to get ratings and attention. Pure and simple.

Thus, I got involved online because I felt that it was a silly debate that was open and shut. The joke, at its basest level, said that Palin's visit to the Yankee game got a little uncomfortable when during the seven inning stretch, Palin's daughter got knocked up by A-Rod. A reasonably funny joke if you understood that the joke was about Bristol. But, Sarah, in a masterstroke of marketing, quickly decried the joke was about Willow and caused a pointless firestorm. The thread was calling for Letterman to be fired, while the other side was calling for Palin to just go away. I got involved, mainly because I saw it as an attack on comedy, something I love dearly.

Now, this is all set up. I don't want to debate the merits of either side for this piece. I want to get into what truly upset me about this debate on this thread. A debate that took nearly two days of my time. It started out with me making statements to show how Palin and Letterman was using this media storm to get some needed attention. I didn't feel either side really cared that much about the issue. I thought the joke was funny and that I clearly knew that it was Bristol and not Willow that was the brunt of the that joke. Actually, for all technical purposes, A-Rod was the brunt of that joke but since he didn't come out protesting, I chose to not focus on him. Someone sarcastically (I assume it was, hard to tell with just text on a screen) made the comment that they assumed that I am so great and that they hoped no one dragged my good name through the mud with jokes about you in public. And then, I made the worse possible response. I said, "I'm a comedian, I would love anyone to be talking about me in public." The next three comments where "Well, maybe if you were funny, people would talk about you." Now, seeing as how I never used my full name, just some initials, I thought that it was a bit ridiculous that people had made a fair assessment of my act. So, I asked, "How do you know if I'm funny or not." I received several more comments (all from people on the thread with an opposing point of view on the matter) that I wasn't funny in any of my comments. I called that thinking ridiculous as I was having a serious debate and wasn't using the medium to tell jokes. Thus, by that thinking, if I had said I was a doctor, no one would think I was a good doctor because I didn't ask anyone to cough in my thread. Response from that comment. Zero.

I was appalled but then I realized that I could've been funny, and it wouldn't have mattered. The only proper response to logic and reason is emotion and ridicule. I'm not saying my way of thinking is the right way of thinking. I'm just saying that I wasn't going to insult you as my way of arguing a point. But as I continued on with the discussion, people threw insults at me as if that proved their points. I was a liar, an idiot, a retard, a baby raper, and my personal favorite, a liberal degenerate who would sell his mother to Iraq for some good hashish. Now, my character ended up getting attacked for no other reason that I had an opposing viewpoint. What? And it wasn't like the other side couldn't get some good points in if they wanted to. I actually started to argue with myself. If I made a point, I showed how the opposing point could've responded, with no character attacks. I ended up helping the other side, but alas neither of my sides were read too much, mainly because I never once used the word douchebag. I stated that you've lost the argument once you've insulted me. This led to more insults. Cocksucker, though to be honest it was C**ksucker, don't want any profanity on this thread, faggot, dirtface, socialist, and a christian conservative even blamed my disbelief in God as reason for my hatred and lack of being open about other people's ideas. Not to mention the multitude of times I was called an idiot. At one point, I had to explain why Obama's health care plan was not an impeachable offense. Why David Letterman was not a pervy old man who wants to rape as many children that he could get his claws on to? And how a joke is exaggeration with a little bit of truth, but alas not the 100% truth?

And it's not the people's fault. If you look toward the Rush Limbaughs, the Bill O'Reilly, the Keith Olbermann's, the Al Franken's. Insults have replaced ideas and themes. Because insults make money, not prove to be great argumentative tools. And the masses are fooled into thinking that Bill or Al or Keith actually care about us. And therefore if it works for them, hey, it could work for us. The insult as argument just doesn't hold water. And the fact is that this idea of being heard by being the loudest and the meanest is downright scary. We won't care about facts or truth, we just want the bitch fight.

The only thing that was cool from this thing was that one of the opposing viewpoints chided another poster that was on his side. The poster called me a retard and the other guy said, "Hey, there's no reason for personal attacks." It made me think I made a little ripple of change within comments about Obama not being a natural born citizen and comments about how Todd Palin eats babies.

I believe there was a time when we were smart. As a people, I think that we took things at face value and understood the difference between truth and fiction. But then again, I believe those times because of what I've seen in historical epics. So, perhaps we have always been collective idiots. It's just now, thanks to the internet, those voices get heard rapidly without need for thought or reference. After all, everyone was just throwing out facts willy nilly on the thread, even though it was obvious that we were on the internet and all we had to do was look it up. (Which I did several times, including learning that Willow wasn't even at the Yankee game despite Sarah Palin saying she was.) And because fact checking can happen so quickly, the made up stuff is still thrown out there without any regard to being called out. One guy said that he thought it was a joke about Willow because he knew Willow was at the ball game. When another threader started posting links to articles all over the internet that never said she was there, the original poster started posting his own articles he found. Articles that confirmed that Willow was in New York, but not at the Yankee game. I said, "Maybe you could say that you knew Willow was in New York so you assumed she went to the Yankee game." The guy on my side even said, "Hey that's a reasonable response, I'd buy that." But instead the guy said, I saw a picture of her there. No picture was found. When photos of Sarah at the game sans Willow were linked, he said he saw the picture on the View. When said View show was linked without the picture, he said he probably saw it on Regis. By then, we had given up. Or maybe that's the point to cause people to just give up on arguing. If that's true, then perhaps it is a valid arguing point. It's the 21st century filibuster.

Then, I realized that nobody's mind was going to be changed. No one was arguing for the purpose of bringing people to their side, no one really on the fence. We were just trying to shout above the din. And by this time, Dave had apologized to Sarah and they had moved on. The feud was over, but we continued to spend time out of our lives to argue a dead issue. And then I made my first real insult attack. Perhaps, I wrote, perhaps we are all the idiots.

Where Have You Been?

2009-06-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

Well, blog entry title, you sound like you've been concerned about me not being around. I owe you an explanation.

Last week was tough, a nightmare. Not really a nightmare, like if I was dreaming about last week I wouldn't wake up in a cold sweat, scared, only to have the point where I wake up turn out to be another nightmare forcing me to wake up again in a cold sweat. But was this the dream? And why had I eaten my pillow?

No, I got horribly ill. Exhausted if you will. Not sure why that was. I guess doing a show, going to tons of shows and mics and trying to edit a movie on top of my general work can be daunting. But there is some comedy to tell.

I started going to various threads online and getting involved in discussions, using my name or the name of my podcast, including links to my podcast. The one that fascinated me most was this thread about the Sarah Palin - David Letterman feud. I side with David Letterman, though I think both are wrong. The thing I found interesting was when one commenter said that I was perfect and must be great that no one dares makes jokes about me in public. (This was said sarcastically) The irony is that I am a comic and I WANT people to make jokes about me in public. This was followed by a barrage of people calling me unfunny. People that have never seen my set, only knew me from what I wrote on the thread. Serious stuff, nothing funny. Upset, I wrote back that just because I'm a comic doesn't mean that I'm always funny. If I was a doctor, would that mean that I have to have medical footnotes in every comment? I put this up on the thread and got no response back. So, I wonder if that means I should avoid telling people I'm a comic if I want to be taken seriously. Of course, that would be counter productive to what I want to happen.

I went to an open mic tonight as a bit of a surprise to me. My meeting tonight got canceled so I took that opportunity to hit the Ochi's mic run by John Morrison and Blaine Perry. Got to go on stand by but since it was pouring rain that tends to keep people away, so I got on without a problem. It's a great show, and it is here that I found that my joke about lighting and porn is a keeper. If you want to hear it, check out a show. Can't give you all my gold right now.

Oh, and I'm meeting the head shot guy this Wednesday to talk about what we can do as a deal for getting these pics. That's a great step forward. Will keep you posted.

And I will continue to post every day this week. If I miss a day, you can have me killed. Or have my ears seriously flicked repeatedly.

Stay tuned.

Catch Up

2009-06-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

So, let's play a little game of catch up, shall we? Where have I been, what have I been doing.

Well, it started on Thursday, where I saw a pair of great shows. One was run by my good friend and sketch partner, Sue Funke. It's called Convergence, hosted by the View's warmup comic, Thomas J. Kelly. Fun show, that was followed by a jaunt over to Kabin to see Chesley Calloway's and Sean Patton's fun Comedy as a Second Language show. A cool part of this trip was a chance to get to know Kevin Tor, a funny comic who mainly does sketch comedy and has put together some hilarious video parodies, including a spoof of Lady Gaga's PokerFace (called Butterface) which got a write up in Rolling Stone. Overall, really like Kevin, and he's been married for five years and still very much in love. Makes me feel great about my future nuptials.

Friday, I headed out to the mixer, Tex in the City, run by Kambri Crews. That was highly successful, met a few sketch comics and some cool comics. Gave my card out quite a bit. Then, saw a show that was essentially a "gay" show downstairs in Ochi's Lounge. A great show with a huge audience. The headliner was someone who sings into her webcam and posts it on YouTube. And that's pretty much it. She has a ton of views, over 300,000 on a few of them, and apparently has a cult following that fills a room. Something that appears shot and posted same day. Whereas I spent days with the Ultimate Experts, writing, shooting, and editing short films that get around 400 views. Work and talent don't seem to mean as much as it used to. Okay, that sounded bitter, but I don't mean for it. I just wish I could figure out how to get over 100,000 views with little effort. Okay, no more bitter. Now, back to the positive.

The Check Spot, my podcast I co-host with Dan Cartwright and Dave Greek, was a big success. We had two great comics, Helen Hong and Sean Patton, who were awesome guests. I recommend checking that out at thecheckspot.com

Then came the big night, the Ultimate Experts show that went amazing. I don't think I could've imagined a better show. It's funny when you constantly rehearse over and over again, you get jaded and lose touch with what is funny about the sketch. Then, you hear the response and you remember that it was hilarious. The comics were terrific, all female, hitting some huge laughs. And we continually show how great we are working together. We are truly a family as well as friends, and I go out there knowing that these three are going to be awesome, and aren't going to let me down. I never lose confidence in them, and I hope they don't lose confidence in me. I will not let them down and I know they won't let me down. I love working with Sue, Dan, and Raquel.

Okay, I rested on Sunday. Oh, and I may have bed bugs. Actually, a strong chance I have bed bugs, but I'm still hoping I don't. I won't be hitting the open mics or shows I normally would on Tuesday because I will be cleaning for the exterminator and get ready for treatments. Damn you, bugs. It does mean I will have to step it up on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to find mics to go to. I hope to hit a few with my friends, Dan Cartwright and Dave Greek.

My monthly trivia show at the Gutter in Williamsburg was a score as well. I was feeling bummed over the work I'm behind, the unfortunate bed bug problem, and the fact I am no closer to head shots than I was last week. But I felt great being on the mike, and had a strong energy and kept the small crowd applauding, laughing, and having a genuine good time. Plus I got some great trivia questions. Want to hear about them, well, come out the next second Monday of the month (July 13) to see them. Check out the Gutter

So, this week I need to hit a minimum of three mics. I need to get my head shots scheduled. I need to send my cards out to friends with some graphic design skills. Then, well, let's get some bookings. That sounds awesome.

More coming at you.

Wednesday with Joe

2009-06-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

It's always great seeing Joe. He's come along way since his accident. Tonight, when we got in there, he was eating an actual meal complete with chicken nuggets, corn and toast. We also sat back and watched Planet Earth with him for a few hours. It was a fun time, and Joe certainly likes having his friends there. He was clearly tired from a day of therapy, so I'm sure he enjoyed just watching TV with Raquel cracking jokes about the animals and such on the documentary. (My favorite was a "wouldn't it be awesome if the blind salamander had a smaller little seeing eye dog") I can't remember what the joke was, but Raquel said something that had Joe laughing so hard he was crying.

I got home around 10, which was cool because I got some Andrea (my awesome fiance) time. We probably won't see much of each other over the next couple of months as I work to make something of myself. So, these times before bed or in the morning are going to become more special to us. Any time I get to spend with her is wonderful. She's very supportive, even going so far as being the only follower of this blog.

No word yet from the head shot guy. Tonight, I'm seeing a couple of shows and hanging out at the New York Alt Comics usual Thursday night hang out, Kabin. It's good to get my face out there for people to see. Stay tuned.

Beer and Tuesday

2009-06-03T05:48:00.000-07:00

Sean Gardner at the open mic last night had a great bit. He explains that he is an alcoholic, because he hangs out in a lot of bars, and thus, his comedy is inspired by alcohol. So he brings up a tall boy of Miller High Life and places it on a chair in front of him, and does a ventriloquist act with it. In all, it was hilarious. It also brings up a good point. Last night, during the open mic and the Ultimate Experts meeting, I drank quite a bit. In total, three Pabst Blue Ribbons and three Miller High Life tall boys. Does alcohol affect my comedy? I usually have a beer before I go on stage. Sort of relaxes me, and allows me to remove the guards that I have placed around me. The last thing you want to be when on stage is guarded. The next to last thing you want to be on stage is drunk, so I keep it to just one beer before a set. I've seen comics collapsing on stage or just yelling at the audience. I don't want to be in a position where I get belligerent, though in my life, I have never gotten belligerent while I was drunk. I'm quite friendly when drunk, but I also believe I'm wittier than I am. These two things lead to some really annoying conversations where I'm the obnoxious one. But I'm never mean.

Well, the meeting last night was a success. Our skits are really forming into something funny. And, as always, it's fun just to hang out with the gang and catch up on each others lives and careers. Tonight, we see Joe, and hopefully will get some more practice on the trains.

I wrote a new joke on the way to the mic after I saw a sign advertising Puerto Rican Day. It went over well, so I just need to develop it a bit more. Of course, this joke will only work in New York right now, so I need to play around and rewrite so that it can become more universal. Also, did my "dream that makes your therapist quit the profession" bit that fell apart when the speaker starting hissing. It was the first time I'd even been heckled by a speaker and for some reason, it threw me off. Finished with a newly rewritten old bit about porn and its lack of production values. I like the premise, I'm just having trouble with keeping it from become hacky. But I want to throw a new spin on an old concept. It stays within my character who is someone who lets movies dictate his life. Some of it is sublime, but other elements of it definitely swim in the waters of the hack shark. But I'm still developing.

Called head shot guy, didn't get a response yet. Also started working on my business cards. I have some graphic designer friends who I hope will give me valuable advice. I will get these cards made after I get my head shots so I can put my fascinating mug on the back. I hope my mug is fascinating.

Today, I will go through and call other head shot people on the list of numbers I've acquired from others. I'd rather do this main one since it is trade and doesn't require money for someone who is a professional in the business for 20 years. But I can't put all my eggs in one basket so the smart thing to do is move forward. Stay tuned.

P.S. June 14 is Puerto Rican Day or as I like to call it, Arthur Will Be in Long Island Day. I'm all for cultural heritage celebration but I don't think it has to be so loud. Nothing should be loud on a Sunday. The best cultural heritage celebration should be, "Hey, nice flag." "Oh, thanks." and we're done.

A change.

2009-06-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

A slight snag in the plans already. It's amazing that it didn't take long before I already had to make a few changes in my plans. The important thing is to not lose focus, no matter what.

I was not able to get a hold of the head shot guy. The plan is to help him edit a project and in return, I get his photographic services. Jill, the woman whose documentary I'm currently editing, will apply my makeup on the day I choose to go forward with the shoot. But first, I have to contact him. Unfortunately, by the time I got his number, Jill told me that he tends to go to bed early. Thus, the call will wait until tomorrow. I'll let you know how that goes when it goes.

Tonight is devoted to learning my lines for the show on Saturday. This week, I will play a boyfriend, a voiceover, a woman, and a filmmaker. So, I need to get these lines memorized. Also worked on rewriting new lines to the skit that I wrote. I love doing the sketch stuff. I have a terrific troupe filled with three close friends. We get the chance to play around, try to make each other laugh, and have our own mini-party, right on stage. And people come and watch.

I'm not what you would call someone who needs to be the center of attention. At a party, I'm okay not being in the middle, sort of lurking on the outskirts. I like to blend in within a crowd, become a chameleon within a party. It's strange that I love being on stage. I crave to hear the sound of laughter, or even the sound of crying, or even the sound of boos. I love to get a reaction, to know that something I did would stick in someone else's mind. And I like to blend in within my troupe, because when one of us makes the audience laugh, we've all succeeded. I need that reaction.

I want to develop my character using this blog. I'll get into that more in the future. This week, I think is going to be a lot of stuff with the Experts. On Wednesday, instead of doing a mic, I am going to visit fellow Expert, Joe Powers. It will be the first time the entire troupe went to see him at the rehabilitation facility. Back in August of 2008, Joe fell two and a half stories and has been working to get through his rehab since then. On the trip, we plan to rehearse our lines on the train. That's something I've done with Sue before, and again, it was great seeing the response from the passengers. Wednesday is going to be an awesome chance to do that, especially since the train ride is over an hour long and our scripts are not what you would call "suitable for all audiences."

Tomorrow, I have to call the head shot guy, contact a friend about possible open mic opportunities, and research and design some business cards for comedy. Stay tuned.

P.S. Writing this while Andrea watches The Bachelorette in the background. Nobody told me that living with a woman meant I had to watch a lot of reality shows. Can't wait for Top Chef Masters. Thanks, Andrea.

What is This All About?

2009-05-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

That's a good question, title.

After sitting around and making promises to myself - the ones that say I'm going to follow my dreams, I've decided to, well, follow my dreams. I'm not setting out to be famous. That's not the essence of what I want out of life. What I want to do is have a sustainable career as a comic. Currently, I have a solid day job, working as a video editor. I have a job working within a creative field that allows me to stretch my creative muscles. But I want more than just sitting behind a computer and piecing together other people's visions. I have my own, and I want to express that. I love comedy, and appreciate stand up as an incredible art form - one that I want to pursue seriously as a career.

The thing is I'm getting old. The older you get, the more you start to think about giving up on your dreams. I'm certainly not new to comedy. I did my first open mic way back in 2001, but I wasn't serious about it. It was more of a hobby. Even when I moved to New York, I focused more on working in production, keeping the comedy as a side project that I'd do for fun. But then, things changed. Suddenly, I saw comedy as the field I wanted to be a part of. And over the last three years, it wasn't a hobby anymore, but something to pursue, to develop, to excel. Yet mostly, I have sat on my hands and watched others succeed. No more. I need to get away from the hand sitting (makes your hands fall asleep).

I'm a decent comic. I get the laughs I want while up on stage. That's the great thing about this business - instant gratification. As an editor, I can wait a long time before I get any feedback on my work. During a set, I know as soon as I have finished a joke or a set if it will work. It's alive, always changing. It creates an energy inside me that can no longer be relegated to a hobby, but rather a need. Not to sound cliche (though I am certainly about to with a lead in like that), but it is my life, my calling. I know that I can be more than a "decent comic." Without a doubt, I can get better by having more stage time, getting out there . I want what many want: to be a successful comic.

So, what is this all about? Well, title of this blog entry, I am going to document my next year as I move to seriously pursue comedy. I'm setting mini goals for myself and plan to document my progress. It doesn't matter if anyone reads this. I discovered I lost a lot of weight doing weight watchers because it forces you to log and keep track of progress. Thus, this blog will help me keep a record of my goals, and also, keep me diligent about accomplishing those goals.

As of now, I have an audition at Comic Strip Live on August 11. I need to develop my set, create a tight five minutes, and introduce an audience to my character. I need stage time to get out there and wrestle my living creation and hone it into something memorable.

My goal this week is to get me some head shots. I have a great opportunity to get them made by a guy who does head shots of some big name actors. I don't drop names, so I won't here. Also, I plan on seeing as many shows as I can over the week, as well as find a couple of open mics to perform. I want to do a minimum of 3 open mics a week. Anything less is unacceptable. And I will keep a tab on where I go, and what I see.

Also, this week I have a show at the Producers Club with the sketch group I'm a member of: The Ultimate Experts. So, I have a lot of rehearsing (and a lot of line memorization) to deal with this week. I love the group, especially as we are consistently great support for each other. All four of us, with our own career paths, are stand up comics. The show is an awesome way to be creative and play with the art of comedy.

Okay, this is what I've set down for myself. And I've given myself a year to complete all my goals. Plans will change, but I will stay focused on that goal. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm hoping it's not the L train. I'm going for broke, or will be broke for going. Or in Brooklyn.

Stay tuned.

My cat and I making plans for the future.