Who needs sleep when you have comedy?

I'm sure no one is biting their nails, waiting for my next post, but here it is nonetheless. I just finished my first two stand-up shows that were not, for the first time, 'open mikes'. Perhaps some of you are dying to hear the details; meanwhile, I was just dying.

Let me start with my sucking up: thank you to my friends who came to the show. I didn't expect anyone to show up for such a late-nite gig, but some of you guys are real troopers, and I appreciate the support. Also thanks to the other comics who participated and had better sets than me. Yeah, thanks for that. (just kidding, you guys rock.) Our headliner, Jason James, did a fantastic set on both nights, and I was honored to share the same stage with him.

For me, Friday night didn't go as well as I'd hoped.

I was very nervous, and several people said they could tell. Never a good sign. We got started late, which is not good, especially when your show is at midnight. I had never been backstage at this club before so I didn't know my way around. When our lovely host, Laura, called my name, I couldn't find the right curtain that led out to the stage, so she had to call me a second time. Way to make a first impression, Jenn.

The audience was minimal, in spite of our flyer-pimping all around the area. (As I was passing them out, I kept thinking of Mitch's line about flyers: "When someone hands you a flyer, it's like they're saying, 'Here, you throw this away'.") But hey, it was midnight on a Friday. We did what we could. None of my jokes were hitting and I was left dangling after each punchline. It sucks when they don't laugh where they're supposed to. I need to work on my stretching, as well as my reaction to the audience when they don't react the way I expect. I am a work in progress, afterall.

Saturday, however, was much better. I actually found my way to the stage when I was supposed to be there. A good start, no doubt. I went up first, and I felt a lot more prepared. Our audience was much bigger. Many of the folks who came for the improv show stayed to see ours, which was nice. I was comfortable right away with the crowd, and everything hit like it was supposed to. I opened well and closed strong, if I may say so without anyone thinking my head is swelling. Great and positive reaction from the audience, and hopefully I set the tone for the other comics. What a relief. I don't think I could have handled a repeat of the previous night's set. I'm too fragile to take too much disappointment.

So overall, the loss of sleep (and my dinner) were well worth it. Who needs sleep anyway? I'm looking forward to going up this weekend. Thank god for Saturday nites.