What You Are Laughing At

In Case Anyone Asks...
 
I first began performing stand-up because I thought I could do it.  I saw the local scene, TV and the like, and figured I could make people laugh.  Turns out I was right.  I didn't get into it after seeing local shows and think "Yeah, that guy's funny.  I want to be his friend.  I bet he can get me gigs in Wenatchee for $75!!!"

I continue to perform because I like to do so, I like the challenge of writing something new and honing it to be a perfectly worded, totally unique statement of my idea of "funny."  I like hearing people laugh at something I wrote.  I like that there are people I know personally who are 100 times funnier than I am, yet they remain humble in their own existence.  I like that a couple of times I have resolved differences with my peers face-to-face, like adults.  That shows a respect for each other.  And if there's someone I can't stand to be around and they're a pain in my ass, I let them know, and if they don't move, I do. 

I'm not in this to rub shoulders with comedy-famous comedians.  I could really give a crap what any other monologist thinks of me, but it's nice that they respect me.  I'm not in this to be loved.  There's a lot of superfluous bull that I wade through every time I'm in a club, like second-hand smoke - waving frantically just makes it swirl about and I look stupid.  I can stay away from it, but if I want inside, it's gonna be there.  I'm in this because I fell in love with it, and I want to make an ASSLOAD of money for me efforts.  In the end, Funny Wins.

Punchline:  I am in this for me, because of something inside that drives me to it.  And there is not a club owner, a fire hazard, a headliner, a handicap, a hack, or a harlot that could keep me away from doing it.  I'll find a place to do it, always, as long as I'm making people laugh more than not. 

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