Performance Anxiety

Monday August 31st, 2009 - Chicago, IL

I totally give up on thinking I know a damn thing about show business. I received a very surprising email from my friend Jeff Wayne today telling me how glad he was that I ‘did so well’ at the TV taping in L.A. last week. He’s the one who gave me contact info for the producer in the first place and they’re friends. Apparently my pipe suckage was minimal.

Jeff said he asked the producer who stood out at the taping and my name came up right away. I was and am shocked beyond belief. I really hated my set and most of that was due to how ill prepared I was for a TV shot. Clubs are one thing but I need to have much more structured material for television, or at least I think so. I know I can do it better and I will.

Then, this afternoon I received a phone call from Greg Hahn who was also on the show. He opened the show and did about nine minutes because he didn’t see the light we’d been told would be there to tell us when to get off. It wasn’t his fault and nobody blamed him.

I met Greg when I lived in Utah as he came in to work Wiseguys frequently. I really like his high energy style and he makes me laugh out loud. He’s a very good guy too and I was flattered when he called and told me next time I’m in L.A. he’d be glad to help me to find a cheaper hotel than I had to get the night I was there. That was nice and I appreciated it.

I complimented him on what I thought was a killer set and he said he didn’t think it was that great. I laughed because it’s so typical of how comics think as a whole. We all love to nitpick and we’re often our own worst critics. In my eyes and everyone else around where I was standing backstage all agreed, Greg Hahn kicked major ass. But he wasn’t so sure.

I thanked him for calling and it showed class on his part for doing that. I try to make the effort to do things like that myself and when it comes back it feels extra good. I’ll keep on doing things like that because that’s the right thing to do, not because it gets me anything.

I taught a really fun class with Bill Gorgo tonight at Zanies and then hosted the Monday night Rising Star Showcase afterward. One of my ex students Tony Talley went up and he is and has always been one of my very favorite students. He’s got a strong work ethic and a love of comedy and he puts his all into it whenever he goes up. He did the same tonight.

Part way through his set he had a little blip and blanked out for a second or two. I knew exactly what happened but nobody else in the room did except Ken Rosenbaum who was a classmate of Tony’s and they still hang out. Ken is taking a break from comedy but he’s smart to the game and he knew Tony had the brief hiccup. Only the three of us knew it.

Tony came off stage and he was upset and disappointed and the same things I was when I got off stage in L.A. last Wednesday after my set. I could see he wasn’t thrilled so I tried my best to cheer him up and tell him he did a good set, which he did. One little glitch in a ten minute set does not a bad performance make and he didn’t have a bad one at all. I sure did feel for Tony as that was me just last week. Comics sure can be a super sensitive lot.