Guys, where do I begin. . . . Well, let's start with the basics. Signup is 6:30, the venue starts at 7pm and goes till 9 or 9:30pm. Talent gets 3 or 4 songs or 15 minutes. No bad language permitted. The woman who helped set up, Heather, co-runs the room. Evidently, the place has been running for several years. Mostly they have musicians. Rarely do they get comedians, even less poets. The venue itself serves coffee, tea, smoothies, some pastries. They also offer prime rib and chicken sandwiches and salads and ciabattas. Parking will never be a problem. The place seats about 17. Guys, I honestly don't know where to begin, writing about the experience. While I had intended the number 3 spot, when the open mic started I went up first by default. There were 5 people in the room: the guy working the coffee house, who was mostly in the back; a patron who had earphones on, absorbed in his computer; Heather and another gentleman who helped set up, and my friend who was writing new material and had seen my act no less than 412 times. In effect, I had an audience of two. I could see on Heather's face how she didn't care much for comedy, though she did say all forms of talent are welcome. The gentleman next to her had his arms crossed, daring me to say something funny. I never felt more unwelcomed in a room than today. I must admit about my fourth or fifth joke into my act I started to laugh. I couldn't contain myself. I tried to muffle it, put my hand to my mouth, pretend to clear my throat, but pretty soon I just busted out laughing. My friend started laughing too, telling me afterwards she had never seen me do that before. I did a few more jokes, but I could tell the two persons running the room wouldn't mind if I ended early. So I did. Now, interestingly and more importantly, when my friend went up after me, 3 more people came in. That was a 150% increase in audience. Sure enough, numbers matter. My friend got a couple of the 3 to laugh. Another anecdotal story how the larger an audience is, the more inclined they are to lower their inhibitions and receive laughter. 5 persons versus 2 persons makes a world of difference. By the time my friend finished, the audience really started to funnel in. All of them musicians. I don't want to be disparaging to this venue. Certainly, if you're a musician, you'll be well received. To be fair, I think if a comedian had gone on when the room was more filled, they may very well have done much better than myself. I'm not saying to put this room on your to-do list, but if you're passing through Corona, sure, stop in. If there is a sizable audience, your 15 minutes may be well-spent.
Guys, where do I begin. . . . Well, let's start with the basics.
ReplyDeleteSignup is 6:30, the venue starts at 7pm and goes till 9 or 9:30pm. Talent gets 3 or 4 songs or 15 minutes. No bad language permitted. The woman who helped set up, Heather, co-runs the room. Evidently, the place has been running for several years. Mostly they have musicians. Rarely do they get comedians, even less poets.
The venue itself serves coffee, tea, smoothies, some pastries. They also offer prime rib and chicken sandwiches and salads and ciabattas. Parking will never be a problem. The place seats about 17.
Guys, I honestly don't know where to begin, writing about the experience. While I had intended the number 3 spot, when the open mic started I went up first by default. There were 5 people in the room: the guy working the coffee house, who was mostly in the back; a patron who had earphones on, absorbed in his computer; Heather and another gentleman who helped set up, and my friend who was writing new material and had seen my act no less than 412 times. In effect, I had an audience of two. I could see on Heather's face how she didn't care much for comedy, though she did say all forms of talent are welcome. The gentleman next to her had his arms crossed, daring me to say something funny. I never felt more unwelcomed in a room than today. I must admit about my fourth or fifth joke into my act I started to laugh. I couldn't contain myself. I tried to muffle it, put my hand to my mouth, pretend to clear my throat, but pretty soon I just busted out laughing. My friend started laughing too, telling me afterwards she had never seen me do that before.
I did a few more jokes, but I could tell the two persons running the room wouldn't mind if I ended early. So I did.
Now, interestingly and more importantly, when my friend went up after me, 3 more people came in. That was a 150% increase in audience. Sure enough, numbers matter. My friend got a couple of the 3 to laugh. Another anecdotal story how the larger an audience is, the more inclined they are to lower their inhibitions and receive laughter. 5 persons versus 2 persons makes a world of difference.
By the time my friend finished, the audience really started to funnel in. All of them musicians.
I don't want to be disparaging to this venue. Certainly, if you're a musician, you'll be well received. To be fair, I think if a comedian had gone on when the room was more filled, they may very well have done much better than myself. I'm not saying to put this room on your to-do list, but if you're passing through Corona, sure, stop in. If there is a sizable audience, your 15 minutes may be well-spent.