Joey Elias' Comedy Course: In Retrospect

I just read over every post I've made about Joey's workshop. Back in February I really had no idea what I was signing up for and now almost 4 months later it's probably one of the best things I've ever done in my life. Having reflected on my show the past few days and gotten feedback from people, I know that this is something I can do, and more importantly, something I want to do.

After the show, a friend asked me "What's the greatest insight you got?" I was half buzzed from the alcohol, half buzzed from the high of being on stage, and I said "Fear is half the battle" and "Trust your gut" because I'm still kind of an idiot and they sounded like good answers. After thinking about it, I realized the one piece of advice I always thought of while I was trying to write was "Comedy is about misdirection. It's like magic, with wordplay." That's gotta be the thing that stuck the most. Every joke I've written, I've done so with the intention of surprising or even confusing the crowd.

I have also reconsidered my criticisms of the writing methods Joey taught us. I understand why he forced us to lock into our topics, since it really forced me to develop the jokes. Looking back on my notes, at least 75% of the jokes I had in, say Week 5, didn't make the cut on Sunday. The lesson I took was to never stop re-writing or trying to improve a topic you think you've exhausted. I still don't like how he taught us to choose topics out of negativity, but I can see how it's useful. Obviously, you're more likely to rant out of frustration than admiration. Although I was just thinking today about how awesome Vicks-scented Kleenex is. I could probably get a minute or two out of that.

I think I've also started to find my style. I always wanted to be deadpan but wasn't sure that I'd be able to have the writing ability to pull it off, or the facial discipline. I have yet to watch the tape, and I'm sure I was pretty close to cracking a few times, but the reviews have been good so far so I'll probably be continuing with the deadpan. I'm pretty happy about that.

What I really benefited from the course wasn't so much the writing tips, but the experience of being with other people who want to perform stand up comedy. This whole process has completely taken the intimidation out of what I'm doing. The thought of doing stand up comedy has always seemed a little crazy to me, and now I've found a group of people who don't think it's crazy at all. That support group alone is invaluable.

Also, after reading through everything I've written, I realized I might have been a little harsh on my classmates, either individually or as a collective. And for that, assuming some of them will eventually discover this blog whether I tell them about it or not, I apologize. Everything I wrote, I believed in at the time, but I've also realized that everyone is taking their own path at their own pace and will eventually get to where they want to be. Everyone had improved significantly towards the end of the workshop and we all had solid sets and got some laughs at the show. I truly hope to run into my comedy comrades often and am looking forward to witnessing everyone's comedic evolution. Each time I see any of them, it will remind me of our little workshop. This is only our beginning and the best of each of us is yet to come. And I absolutely realize how cheesy this last paragraph was but I mean every word of it and it needed to be said.

Overall, as much as the workshop was one of the best things I've ever decided to do, the show itself was one of the greatest experiences of my life. My thanks go out to anyone was a part of it.

And yes, I've been bombarded by requests to post the video. Trust me, no one wants it more than I do. The guy who taped it is gonna send us everything as soon as he's finished processing and editing it. Patience is a virtue. Once again, in the meantime, I've got some pictures from the show.


I also signed up for Twitter, which I gotta admit is a little cooler than I thought it'd be. The link should be on the right hand side of this page. I'll mostly be posting one liners and news about my blog or any shows I'll be doing.