How I Am a Stand-up Comedian (Part 1)

I performed stand-up comedy. This is something that wasn’t on my list. Improv, yes. As a matter of fact. Improv me down! I love it. Put it in my veins. What? Too far? Okay, back to stand up. It was nerve-wracking and then ended up home that night with a pizza and catching up on my shows, exhilarating. I had all of this energy and laughter, then ended up home that night with a pizza and catching up on my shows like that didn’t just happen. I have been performing improv for years now, so when I was asked to open for an Emmy Award-winning comedy writer, I was in for it with my improv confidence, but I didn’t know I would need a specific set of confidence for stand-up. I accepted the offer and started writing. It was great timing because the show was on January 2nd, so I wrote and perfected my jokes in December. Now, it wasn’t that simple. I shared my first set of jokes, setup, and performance with a few of my friends at game night, and I bombed! It was terrible. Not because it wasn’t funny, but because it wasn’t stand-up. My friend gave the best advice. She said, “What you’re doing is good for improv, but if they asked you to do stand-up. Do that!” The aha moment clicked, and the light bulb glared at that point.