Ultimate Comic Challenge (post 2 of 2)

Not only did I create a series of mediocre posters for the UCC, each challenger had a flyer personally made for them.

This was, of course, completely unsolicited on the part of my fellow comedians.

I don’t know why, though. These flyers are completely AWESOME.

Comedians tend to be critical of themselves (or simply consumed with self-loathing). There aren’t many opportunities to revel in being super awesome. Anyone who gets a big head is quickly put in their place by fellow comedians. Hence- the flyers.

Despite being super ridiculous (especially Troy and Leo. I am so sorry!), it was my tiny tribute to the comics.

I’ve become friends with most of the comics that were in the semi-finals. They are a bunch of really great and really talented guys.

They have made my time in comedy a lot of fun.

So, here are some of my favorites.

Ultimate Comic Challenge (post 1 of 2)

Idiot Box is my favorite comedy venue in Greensboro. It's downtown and nestled comfortably between five bars. Plus it is one of the few places where you can get paid to do shows.

FUN FACT: Comedians love alcohol and money!

Every year, Idiot Box hosts the Ultimate Comic Challenge. Comics compete in a tournament to be the Ultimate Comic. The final round takes place in the Carolina Theater (which is pretty dope) and the winner gets $1000 dollars.

That is so many dollars!

In the rounds leading up to the final round, the comic who gets the most votes not only goes on to the next round- they get $50.

"12 comics compete to make you laugh... and
then you decide their fate like some sort
of depraved emperor!"

FUN FACT: $50 dollars in Comedian World is, like, $200 dollars! (We are notoriously bad with money, you guys!).

Last year, I only made it past the first round. I had only been doing comedy for six months so I counted it as a victory.

This year, I made it to the semi-finals which was a great experience... and an even greater victory.

The comics in this year's competition were much better than last year. All of the shows were great because all of the comics were great.

If I had been competing against this year's line-up last year- I wouldn't have even made it past the first round.

My set was notably better than last year as well.

It's nice to have moments where you see that you are moving forward. There are more fails than successes on stage. Progress is hard to measure and aggravatingly slow. So it is incredibly refreshing have tangible evidence that you are getting better (and that all the horrible/awkward moments on stage are worth it).

Unfortunately for everyone, the day before the UCC Semi-finals, I had way too much time on my hands and flooded Facebook with UCC posters I made on Paint.

(Paint. Not MS Paint or even a cheap knock-off of Photoshop- Paint. It is free to download and it crashes if you try anything fancy- hence the incredibly pedestrian look of all the posters are sporting.)

Alas, I did not make it past the semi-finals but I ain't fussed! The audience was packed and the show was awesome from start to finish.

(And if I continue on my current trajectory, I'm going to smoke the competition next year.)

The finals will be at the Carolina Theater on January 25th.

True Tales of Success (that sound like horrifying stories of failure)

I am exhausted.

So far, I have done stand-up comedy at two open mics here in North Carolina and I'm going to do another tonight. This is the first night where I don't have to drive an hour or more to get to the venue.

In order to prepare for success, I took the set that I had practiced and memorized the week before and threw it out.

So on the three hours car ride up to Asheville I memorized completely new material.

Asheville's hippie reputation is pretty well-known but I was unprepared for how hippie it was. The first people I saw after parking my car were three guys playing hacky sack in the parking lot. I planted myself at the bar and watched the Asheville hipsters mill about. There was an adorable chap who literally had a feather in his cap. Asheville, you are in a league of your own.

I sat by some great (older) guys who gave me some jokes that I could use.

I did not.

Maybe next time.

(Nope. I won't.)

When I finally got up to do my set, I clutched the microphone stand the entire time. My smart idea to look at my watch and gauge my time (so as not to go over) evaporated as soon as I got on stage. I timed the set when I was in the car and I nailed it each time. Five minutes exactly. My time at the mic could have very well been under one minute.

I'm pretty sure that I said words but I can't verify that. I blacked out and don't remember details. I pretty much just stared into the spotlight and blocked out everything.

People laughed, though.

It could have been pity but let me be clear-- that is fine with me. At first I debated whether I should say that this was my first time doing stand-up. Before I got up on stage, self-righteous Jenny decided "No. I won't say that-- because that would be pandering."

At the end of the set I was just like, "Screw it-- I am not above that."

Die a slow death, high-minded ideas.

Three hours later I arrived back at home. The above details the stress and nerves I experienced doing stand-up but it was really one of the best nights of my life.

My second set was in Chapel Hill. The goal for the previous night was to get through the set regardless of the audience's reaction and not cry (set achievable goals) and my goal for Chapel Hill was this time I was going to take the microphone out of the stand.

Like I said previously, in Asheville I clutched the mic stand the entire time. It is because I had (have) a fear of breaking the microphone. Either I can't navigate the mic out of the stand or the stand falls or just the whole thing bursts into flames.

For the record-- I totally did break the microphone.

True story.

As soon as I touched it, the chord dropped out of the mic (which was still firmly in the stand). So I had to take care of that mess before I started. It went well, though.

So, in summary, all of my dreams are coming true-- some of those dreams just happen to also be nightmares.