Over the past few months, I’ve been super-busy. Just in the past 30 days. my 9-5 put on a conference in Atlanta, and I’ve been done a ton of live comedy shows. To put things in perspective for you, tomorrow I am doing another “You Know What Really Grinds My Gears,” Friday I’m performing stand up at the DC Improv, and the Friday after that, I will be onstage at Silver City Presents: Martin Amini and Friends Comedy Show. Needless to say, I am busting my chops in the name of laughter.
When doing so many live events in such a brief amount of time, it’s only natural that I learn a few lessons along the way. Below, I have outlined my observations so please allow me to share them with you.
5 Things I’ve Learned From Hosting Live Events
1.) Preparation is Key – This may sound like common sense, but when you’re a certified Ginsu master at making people laugh in ridiculous ways, it’s easy to think “I can just wing it and I’ll be alright” when onstage. From doing these shows, I’ve learned that the better prepared I am, the more confident I am when in front of people and the overall quality of what I present is greater. Once again, not to state the obvious, but putting in that extra work helps. The early pimp gets the perm.
2.) Abusing Power Can Be Hilarious Sometimes – The Friday before last, I hosted a party called What You Really Know About The Dirty South. The event was a lot of fun, the DJ, Sing Slim, was great, and I got to yell out one-liners on a microphone throughout the course of the night.
The only problem is, I was there with my lady and some drunk guy refused to leave her alone when she made it clear she was there with me. I confronted him respectfully, and he apologized then walked away. Ten minutes later however, this fool staggers back over and grabbed her by the arm while I was dancing with her. I didn’t even have time to think; I just shoved drunk guy to the floor with my free arm, while holding on to her & the mic with the other. Once I saw he was visibly shaken, I decided to have some fun. I looked him in the eyes and said clearly said over the microphone “You ’bout to get f*cked up in front of a live studio audience. Stop it. Just…Stop it.”
I know I was a bully for embarrassing that guy once I’d already punked him with one arm almost literally behind my back. Still, I figured I needed to make the moment funny for the people looking on in shock, as well as shame him into thinking twice about bothering me or her again. Drunk man moved on to harassing other women until he was asked to leave, but he left mine alone, and there was no more trouble.
3.) Promoting Events Can Be Exhausting - I love social media and I love networking, but plugging events on a regular basis can get tiring. I could write another entry completely on this topic alone, but for now I will just say that keeping people talking about my events is not as easy as you would think. I might have to start blogging constantly again to assist with maintaining my buzz…
4.) Staying Busy Ensures That I Will Write. A Lot. – Since I’m frequently doing events, many of which have repeat visitors, I have to write new jokes on a regular basis to keep things fresh and interesting. This is never a bad thing. I actually write more now than I did when I was updating this site every day, believe it or not. I promise I’ll find a way to strike a balance between blogging and stage time, because this is what initially gave me the confidence to go in front of a room full of strangers and entertain them.
5.) I Really Thought I Could Think of 5 of These…Shit. – You’ll have to excuse my ambition. Then again, that’s a lesson right there. Be realistic and do not over-promise. If anything, under-promise and over-deliver. See? I just learned a lesson just by typing this entry out. I need to do this more often!
I like it, under-promise and over-deliver. Words to live by right there…