Thursday December 1st, 2011 - Chicago, IL Oh no, it’s starting. It may be in the early stages, but it’s definitely starting. I’m talking of course about that frightening foray into old age. Good bye partying, hello pudding. I’m a whole lot closer to Social Security than social networking. The calendar is catching up. The hard harsh reality of it all hit me square in the face tonight as I was performing for a 50 and over ‘active seniors’ group for their annual Christmas party. It was refreshing to hear it called a Christmas party and not have to quiver in fear with political correctness as is usually the case with everything these days. Nobody was offended, everybody had fun. I got the gig through a referral, and when I got the call I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I’m usually the one most bookers call whenever a non traditional situation arises, as I can usually find a way to pull off a show. In a way it’s a compliment, but it can also be a very difficult challenge at times. Comedy is hard enough even under ‘normal’ circumstances. This show could have gone either way, but the lady in charge was very friendly and said they were a ‘lively group‘. That term could infer anything from ‘they enjoy dancing’ to ‘a few are still breathing on their own’. Still, it was a paid gig on a week night so I said yes. I hedged my bet a little by bringing Bill Gorgo along with me. He has a few years on me and his style is a lot more laid back than mine. Experience told me he’d be the perfect one for that slot, and I was right. He did a fantastic job, and the show turned out to be a blast. Unfortunately, the lady in charge didn’t realize we might need a microphone and/or any kind of lighting for the stage area. Or, a stage area at all for that matter. We were taken to a cafeteria style meeting room where the audience was, and they were finishing up dinner as Bill and I walked in. We looked at each other, knowing we were in for a big challenge. There were about 80 people, and thankfully they were all sitting close together. Bill and I knew we had to grab their attention right away, speak extra loud and be animated so we could overcome a lack of having no sound and lights. This was not a job for an amateur. I started the show and got their attention. I asked some questions and got them focused on the fact this was indeed a live comedy show, even though I was standing in front of a buffet table hoping I wouldn’t brush my butt against a tray of lasagna. Vegas, it wasn’t. Bill went up and did a masterful job of storytelling, and got them on his side. They were a fantastic audience, and they loved him. I was a little apprehensive having to follow such a solid set, but they loved me too. I used every one of my years of stage experience to get the most I could out of them, and we ended up doing longer time than we were hired for. THIS is the kind of show that requires a true professional. No sound system. No lights. No prior knowledge on the audience’s part there would be a comedy show. We surprised not only them, but ourselves. The pay wasn’t much, but we sure earned every penny of it.
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