People laughed at me—again!

I did stand-up—again! A few days after my last performance (which was detailed here), Augsburg held another open mic night. This one was sponsored by KAUG, Augsburg's student radio station.

Me, excited to tell some jokes. Photo by Alex Behrns.

The environment was better this time, but the crowd was not. The event was held in the lobby of Augsburg's freshman dorms. Although the crowd was larger, I did not really get a better response this time. Partially because people were funneling in and out, and some were talking during the performances.

The main problem with the crowd, though, was that I got my first experience with hecklers. Hecklers can be a comedian's worst enemy or their best friend. Either they can totally disrupt your set, or they can give you some laughs when you take them on.

In my case, it was a little of both. This particular group of hecklers was comprised of four cocky freshman boys. Boy, did they think they were hot stuff. They came in right after my brand new opener (which I will talk about later—I'm really proud of it), and tried to draw all the attention to themselves.

Me, downtrodden because of the hecklers. Photo by Alex Behrns.

I brought egg nog on stage and drank it during my set as a sort of visual gag. Being obnoxious freshman, they of course had something to say about this. Then there was the typical loud, forced laughter. One of them responded to my "Groundhog Day" joke with "you have to see the movie."

This was where I got my biggest laugh out of the hecklers. After his response, I said sarcastically to the audience "Glad these guys showed up, huh everyone?" It did not get a huge laugh, but the audience hated these guys just as much as I did, so a few people responded.

Me, taking on the hecklers. Photo by Alex Behrns.

The best part, though, was that they decided to go up after me and try and be funny. They did not tell jokes, instead they rapped and then sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." The audience gave no response, which was incredibly satisfying for me.

Anyways, let's talk about my actual set. Like I said, I tried out a new opener (a seasonal one!). I went on stage with my egg nog and said "Merry Christmas! Or, for all of you non-Christians—screw you!" It got a pretty good laugh and one audience member told me it was his favorite joke.

Me, telling a joke. Or maybe doing a bit. I don't remember. Photo by Alex Behrns.

After the opener, I told a lot of the same jokes as the other night. I was not being lazy, though. This is how stand-up works. You tell jokes, gauge the reaction, tweak them and tell them again.

The experience with the hecklers was certainly valuable, even though I was really annoyed at the time. Though I did not get the response I was hoping for from the different environment and larger audience, it was fun and worthwhile to go up again and get some more experience. Christmas break is coming up, and I am going to try to build up the courage to go to a real comedy club. If I do, I will update you guys.

A star is born. Photo by Alex Behrns.

"Freddy Got Fingered" podcast

Hey readers! Here's a short podcast I did with Alex from The Boring Tree, Mike from Mic'd Up, and Casey from Culture Cuts. Give it a listen and let me know what you think!

Here are the links to my companions' blogs:
The Boring Tree
Culture Cuts
Mic'd Up

People laughed at me

I did stand-up! I really did it. My college, Augsburg, held an open mic night on Friday, Dec. 6, and I did about five minutes of stand-up. It felt great to finally get up in front of people actually perform the jokes I have written.

I was incredibly nervous; even more so when I showed up and found it was a poetry and spoken word open mic night. Sensitive girls with guitars and passionate spoken word artists surrounded me, and I had to make a decision: do I give up or go through with it?

I decided to do it. A couple of poets went before me, and when my name was called I went up to the mic expecting to bomb. After all, why would a bunch of soft-hearted, lovesick poets laugh at my jokes?

Me, trying to make poets laugh. Photo by Joe Vokracka.

Something weird happened, though. I killed. I mean I got a lot of laughs, way more than I expected. One joke in particular, which I won't repeat here because of it's vulgarity, made one woman laugh so hard she actually had to leave the room. That was the highlight of the night. No matter how long I do stand-up, I will always remember that moment.

The crowd was pretty small, and the cleaning staff kept coming by with loud machines, so the environment was not the best. But I did not care, and the crowd did not seem to either. I went up and announced I was not a poet, but a comedian, and I expected derision and rejection. Instead, I got applause and acceptance. Sure, some of this applause was friends I invited to watch me, but some was also from the other performers and audience members.

Me, actually making poets laugh. Photo by Joe Vokracka.

I opened with a pregnancy joke I am really proud of, and then just worked through my limited repertoire. There were some jokes I thought about not telling, because I felt it was not the right crowd for them. Knowing and adapting to your audience is a key skill in stand-up, after all. But in the end I decided to go for it, and told every joke I wrote down in my little notebook.

Only one was met with disgust, a particularly crass joke about Chuck E. Cheese. I knew it was not going to go over well though, so I was not disappointed.

This was good practice for when I go to a real comedy club, but ultimately the most valuable thing I received from this experience was a confidence boost. I had done stand-up once before, and it went alright, but this time was completely different. I really felt like a comedian. I went up in front of an audience and got genuine, loud laughter. It was an incredible feeling, and now I am itching to do it again. I have heard about this feeling from other comedians, but did not feel it after my first performance.

Now, though, I cannot wait to get back on stage. Next time, however, I will probably go to a real comedy night rather than a poetry reading.

Here's proof that I'm a comedian. Photo by Joe Vokracka.