Back To Boot Camp

Monday February 4th, 2008 - Chicago, IL

Back to the salt mines today. It was a fantastic weekend in many ways but now it’s over and I need to move forward. The Giants won the Super Bowl yesterday but they also need to start focusing on next season. They might get a few days to enjoy it a little but I’ll bet a lot sooner than later they’ll start getting themselves prepared for a new set of challenges.

That’s what I’m doing too. Whatever mental tweaks I’m finally getting over after all my years of struggling with them are great but that’s not what is going to put me in a position to have a career and financial security. It may get me READY for it but now I need to get a plan of action going and do something about it. I can’t and won’t let myself get lazy.

That’s the worst thing I could do. Improvement never stops. NEVER. It’s like owning a house. As soon as the roof is fixed the furnace needs to be replaced. Then the water heater goes. It never stops. Comedy never stops either. I am always looking to get either booked more or for more money and that alone is a difficult job in itself. Then there is onstage.

I’m due for a major overhaul on myself both onstage and off. I’ve fallen behind with all my booking contacts and although my shows have been really strong lately in my deepest heart I know I need to move on and improve myself. I’m getting bored with what I do and that’s never good. If it’s fresh to me it will help me sell it to the audience. I need to grow.

That’s why I signed up for another Gene Perret comedy writing course. Gene is the best there is and I always learn from him. He was Bob Hope’s head writer for 20 years and it’s worth every penny to study the structure of jokes with him for a 12 week course. I think it will be my third or fourth time taking it now. It isn’t inexpensive but I’ll gladly pay for it.

It’s an investment in myself and my future. I know Bob Hope’s comedy style isn’t what most comedians use today but the discipline of daily writing and improvement is never an out of style thing. Many times it’s the last thing a comedian works on just because there’s a ton of other things to do. I want to really make an effort to improve my onstage product.

Everyone is telling me how funny I am lately but none of that is going to my head at all. I know I can do WAY better and I will. I have enormously high standards for myself that others don’t see and if I just keep working I really believe I can get there. That’s the fun.

I once read where Julius Erving said something similar. His standards for himself were a lot higher than everyone else’s and he pushed himself to his limits. I am not doing that in a comedic sense so taking this course is a great step forward. Gene will get me going in the right direction and it will help me write jokes for Uranus Factory Outlet too. I need it.

I felt like the WLS radio bit was a little weak on that level today. We got by with some riffing on the Super Bowl and it was ok but I was woefully unprepared with actual jokes. It’s great that I can ad lib and I love to do it but that doesn’t change the fact I still need to stay sharp with my joke writing. Taking the class with Gene will be a much needed boost.