Crazy Comedians!

The line between comedians is very, very thin in relation to pure, unadulterated lunacy. Some of my friends and I made the crossover some time ago.

Comedians are a completely different breed. Why in the world someone would want to get up on stage and attempt to tell jokes that makes strangers laugh is beyond me. Especially when your brand new at it, and you bomb every night.

You would have to be crazy, right? I've done it, along with tens of thousands of others. And I still have no clue why I kept going back to get three minutes of stage time at midnight or after. But I did. There was just something about it that I can't explain. The draw was so strong, I just couldn't get it out of my mind.

I was completely and totally hooked. And it really wasn't fame and fortune that caused me to keep getting back on stage. I think if I could figure out why we do this, I could write a book about it and make millions. The problem is, I just have no idea what the motivation is.

Hence, the lunacy. We are just completely nuts. After more than 25 years in the business, I'm more certain about that than I was when I first started. I think most of my comedian friends will agree. We all know we're insane.

Just the process of writing material that will make strangers laugh is crazy. Robert Klein, the famous comedian probably put it best: when he said, "Its one thing to make your friends and family laugh, but its entirely different when you have to make strangers laugh, for an hour, tonight."

For those of you who have ever attempted comedy at an open mic night, you know how scary it can be. Just you, a stage and a microphone. There is no one else to blame if you tank. In improvisation or in a play, there are other people on stage and everyone must do their part in order for it to work perfectly. However, if someone messes up, there are others on stage who can pick up the slack so the audience doesn't know there was ever an error. We don't have that luxury as comedians.

There are so many elements that must fall in place. For example, what do you do when someone begins to heckle? What happens if you lose your place in your set? What happens if one of the wait staff spills their whole tray of drinks? What do you do if you're scheduled to perform and you're sick? The show must go on!

I have performed when I was so badly injured that I was totally doped up on percocet. It was for a private corporate gig, and I don't remember anything I said. They must have liked it, however, because they invited me to come back again the next year. Who, other than a crazy person, would do that?

I'm telling you, I cross that line many, many years ago. There are some of you for reading this right now, who are thinking to themselves that they should give it a try. For those people, beware! There's no turning back!

See you tomorrow.

If you want to give it a go, pick up my book, "You're Funny! You Should Be A Comedian!" by clicking here.

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