Two killer shows tonight, but I’m still not close to being satisfied with my act. Working with Hal Spear this week has been a great reality check in that he’s written for all kinds of TV shows over many years and really understands comedy structure. He’s a student of the entire comedy craft just as I am, and we’ve been having a mini comedy clinic this week.
Hal is also a rabid life long fan of Rodney Dangerfield’s just as I am, and we’ve been in a zone shooting lines from Rodney’s act and movies back and forth at each other, making each other laugh out loud. Hal got to know Rodney from selling him jokes over the years, and has some entertaining stories about them hanging out. Rodney was a true craftsman.
Hal said he would send jokes to Rodney, and many times they’d come back with words crossed out or changed, and would be better jokes than the ones Hal sent in. Rodney told Hal to use those jokes, but he still ended up buying some too. Paying this kind of detailed attention to jokes is getting to be a lost art. I don’t ever want to lose my technical edge.
It’s never bad to dissect comedy for a week with a fellow technician, as it can only help to make me a better comic for getting down there under the hood and adjusting the wires. Little tweaks here and there can combine to make a huge difference, and give a tune up to an engine that’s already running pretty smoothly. I’ll take this opportunity for a tune up.
The main thing I need now is improvement on structure of my act as a whole, and a list of subjects to write about that Mr. Lucky as a comedy character can explore. Hal agrees I don’t stress that character enough during the whole of my show, and it can be improved.
I’ve long said I can do that, even though it would mean throwing out some material that gets big laughs because it doesn’t really fit the character. Do I want to do that? That’s the sacrifice I’ll have to make if I want to take it to the limit, but for now the stuff still works.
One thing working the ships is good for is adding new material. There are opportunities to throw in new lines and premises every night, and I’d be stupid not to do it. Falling back on old material just because it works isn’t the answer. This has been a productive week.
Offstage, I’ve been working hard on my Milwaukee show ‘Schlitz Happened!’. I have a lot of material there too, but from Hal’s suggestions I’ve been working on a running order and how it can best be presented each time. He’s got experience and I’ve been listening.
All of this is just a very slow process and the more I work at it the slower it seems to go. I’m on my own clock, and nobody knows or cares how much work is involved, but I want to blow people away with this show, and that takes a lot of preparation. I’m doing it right.
Painfully boring as all this probably sounds to everyone else, I’m really enjoying every little bit of it on every level. This gets my creative juices bubbling and occupies my time with something that interests me greatly. Isn’t that what life’s about? I’m living a dream.
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