This week I performed for two Christmas parties. One opened with a prayer, and it wasn't the party in Utah. I suppose it is a religious holiday after all. It's always tricky telling jokes at a party where you know there's probably a couple of Bishops or Priests in the crowd, interestingly enough they usually are the ones that laugh the hardest at the "iffy" jokes.
I learned a lot about myself as a performer this week. The audiences for these parties have higher expectations than ones for a regular night at a comedy club. First of all they pay a lot more, secondly the people who book the gig for you usually talk you up a lot. So I was a little nervous and it made me talk really fast. I told 45 minutes worth of jokes in just about 35. It's easy to get caught up in the philosophy that your strength as a comedian is based off of your ratio of laugh time to set up time, so you end up racing through the setup of a joke to get to the punchline. This can make you come off as more robotic and rehearsed, which is not what you would want from a live performance. Part of the appeal is to feel like you are part of the moment. So another thing I have been working with is engaging the audience a little more, just enough to make them feel a part of the show, but not too much that you loose control to hecklers. Talking with the audience helps make me feel in the moment more as well. I hate catching myself on autopilot and then realizing that I forgot to set up a joke. It's weird when a joke that usually kills gets crickets.
I have one more holiday show planned for new years eve. I think everyone will be drunk so I probably will be doing a lot more jokes about nudity and bodily functions, it's going to be an awesome night of comedy in Twin Falls Idaho!
