I like performing stand-up. I like discovering new things on stage, connecting with people, making fun of people I love without them thinking it’s malicious.
Stand-Up has been an awesome journey. I have met great friends doing stand-up. I don’t mean “stand-up friends” that only talk about their sets, and tell me stories that aren’t true about how much they killed their last set and how this crowd is just tired/weird/dead/stupid… I mean I’ve made real friends who care about my life and have chats about sneakers and girls and stuff.
Performing is great. Producing is a bit of a challenge that I’m hoping to get good at. I started producing a show once a month called “Double Down”. The concept is simple; I have an opening act who does about 5 minutes. The next comic does about 10 minutes. My headliner does about 20 minutes. See, I’m doubling down on the time. You get it? Yeah, you do.
I’ve done a few of these shows at Comedy Bar in Toronto. I’ve loved the support that they’ve given me. All of my shows have been magical. I’ve had fantastic headliners and fantastic supporting comics. I guess my biggest issue is spreading the word about this show. That’s what I’m thinking about now. How do I bring in 100 people, every month on a Wednesday night, at 8pm, to buy a ticket to a show that only costs $10?
First, get a great line-up and tell people that I have a great line-up. Then have that great line-up tell people that they are part of a great line-up. Then some social media promo. Maybe some digital promo through some of the free sites that Toronto has.
As time goes on, and I as I work at this, I will get better. For now, I’m making my intention clear and I’m hoping that hundreds of people read this and they each tell five of their friends and they all decide to make a night of it.