Saturday 29 January 2011

Saturday 28th January 2011: Life Back On The Road

Hello blog-people

Don't feel bad about this, but I'm using you as a procrastination opportunity now. I'm very busy at the moment. I had planned to fit my weekend around (home) work, but I just found out I had a gig in Islington, Camden Head (the Chortle Student Comedy Award-Audition) on Sunday afternoon, as well as one in Brighton, at the Quadrant on Sunday night. So that complicates the day slightly. This means I have less time to do some actual working. Or homework. Or writing what has recently become a weekly blog. But I'm going to do the last one anyway since nothing's ever so enticing as pointless activities. Or at least work that will not matter in the way that, say, coursework or paid employment does. Ah well. It also shows that if these inclinations are universal, the human race is fundamentally flawed and rightfully doomed to extinction. Yeah... Or maybe this is just me and I'm the one bound for extinction? This is getting into strange territories.

Yes, life as a stand-up is starting up again. I was in the Laughing Horse New Act compo, didn't go through but had a very nice gig with good response. Just not good enough probably. I've got no real problem with that. Story of my life. I'll probably even have a gravestone with a placard saying: 'This would have been a grave stone but the international board of grave stones has decided that this person was too shit to have a grave stone. So this isn't actually a grave stone. It's just some concrete with a placard. It's a bit shit really. Why don't you look at the grave stone to your left? That one's far more interesting! Love, International Board of Grave Stones and Mocking of the Dead Losers (IBGSMDL ®)'

Yeah, bit dark, innit? I do apologise. Not to worry. Some brilliant acts did go through, however, and I wish them all the best in the quarter finals.

Some good news came the day after, when I heard that I was selected to be in a play at Uni after all. The rehearsals so far have been been singularly brilliant. Great to be doing a play again! So come and see Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead at the the Debating Chamber in Falmer House with me in it, when I can be bothered to find out the dates.

The second gig I did this week was in Camden, where to my surprise two of my friends from Holland had decided to spend a night of their lives watching me talk. They were amused and bemused in equal measure, which I believe is what everyone should aim for when playing to the Dutch. I have several years experience in bemusing the Dutch (Hire me!). But at least it was brilliant to let them see what I was doing and where I was going with this comedy thing. Plus I got to see Camden when dark and miserable. That's usually good. And my brother, who really wants to go see Camden market, was adequately impressed. That's what I'm aiming for. Take that, IBGSMDL!

On the Northern Line that day (Wednesday) I was reminded of nearly exactly a year ago, on my first trip to London (not counting several tired hours spent waiting for coaches en route/back from Edinburgh). I was terrified about whether I could still do stand-up (turns out I did and I could) and awestruck by things I'd only seen in films, like the tube. I was one of those annoying tourists who are too slow with ticketing machines, excited by tiling on the walls and generally deserve to be kicked, swiftly and mercilessly, where it hurts. That was me. But I'm better on the tube now. I've even learnt sufficient amounts of the Underground off by heart.

Yeah, that must be enough self-obsessed blah coming from me. Procrastination completed. Oh yeah, one more thing.

Tomorrow it's on to the next Audition/Competition! Whoohoo! Victory? Necessary. Failure? Likely. Ah well. At least after that, I will be either very relaxed or very high energy at the Very First Prime Cuts at the Quadrant! Compèred by self-confessed vegetarian Eden Rivers. Come along, we'll have a banter. :-)

No comments:

Post a Comment