Caught On Tape

Monday August 23rd, 2010 - Somewhere near St. Thomas, Virgin Islands

   Mr. Lucky caught a good break for a change, and I’ll take it. This could be exactly what I need to keep my job. I had one of my three shows recorded by the company tonight, and fortunately it went very well. That’s a lot of pressure off me, because now it’s all on tape.

   I’m the first to admit I haven’t mastered the cruise ship audience yet, and I didn’t think I was quite ready to be recorded. Too bad. Like a random drug test, the company does what it wants when in wants, and I have absolutely zero choice in the matter. I had solid shows last night, and either one of those would have been fine to record, but nobody showed up.

   The cruise director called and said I’d probably get recorded at some point this week, so I was ready for almost anything. Apparently the Carnival office wants to have a record of every comedian they hire, and I think that’s a great idea. I just wanted mine to be a decent show that represents what I do fairly. I’d hate to get judged on a show I wasn’t proud of.

   My first show tonight went very well, but it wasn’t all that full. There are a lot of things to do aboard ship, plus it was at 7:30 and a lot of people were still eating dinner. I would have been ok if it were recorded, as I did what they asked me to do. I didn’t swear and the kids weren’t offended at all. Nobody was. I got solid laughs from those who were there.

   The middle show at 11pm is the big one. We alternate nights and last night Mutzie blew the doors off the room. There was standing room only, and he really knocked it out of the park. We were talking afterward and agreed it would be great if they’d recorded that one.

   Sure enough, when I showed up tonight there were two camera people setting up shop a few feet from the stage. I didn’t expect two cameras, much less broadcast quality that near the stage. I thought it would be a small video camera way in the back by the sound booth.

   For the second night in a row, the place was jammed to the rafters - standing room only. They seemed like good laughers, but I had no idea what to expect. All I could do was give it all I had, which I did. The cruise director was in the room the whole time, as was a lady from corporate who was supervising the process. I must say I was very tight beforehand.

   It’s not easy for a dented can to visualize only good things happening, but that’s exactly what I needed to do. I really needed to nail a good one, and thankfully I did. There was an older couple from Canada sitting right in front, and the lady decided she wanted to talk to me the entire show. Thankfully she did, because I was able to squeeze big laughs from it.

   I’ve always been a good ad libber, and tonight was a great example. The crowd was into what I was doing, and she took it up a notch. I knew about five minutes into it I’d kick ass so I slowed down and milked it for all it was worth. It was the hottest show I’ve had yet.

   If there was a time I could use a break, it was now. I’d like to keep this job for at least a little while, and tonight should have cemented it. Still, I need to keep improving myself.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary