Opening Gambit.
I had a little burst of inspiration this morning about how to get into my set at Thursday’s Mostly Comedy.
I have a habit of changing how I want to start a set right up to the last minute. I’ll often whisper an idea for an opening line into Glyn’s ear, just before we take the stage. It must be frustrating way to work, but he’s very patient about it. When we’re putting a show together, we’ll joke that we’ve got fifteen different ways to start it and nothing else.
It’s a question of energy. When I’m excited by idea, I’m enthused about getting it across. It adds fire to the belly. It gives me a little kick that sees me through. Doggett & Ephgrave have recently got into the habit of starting Mostly Comedy with three ‘questions’; basically an excuse to show and then discuss three slides that amuse us. There’s nothing new to the premise - they’ve done it at the top of Have I Got News For You for twenty-five years - but it’s a good way in. We'll usually write this on the day of the gig. It forces us to concentrate – and if the slides go down well, we can extend on them in the future. It’s like writing a blog every day; the enforced deadline forces you to come up with something and set it through. If it works, you can use it as a germ for some stand-up.
The trick is to act on an idea quickly. If you don’t, it goes stale and you lose faith in it. Paul McCartney often recounts in interviews how his writing sessions with John Lennon were never longer than a couple of hours. Every time they met to write, they came out with a song. Some of them were pretty good.
(I'm not comparing my ability to theirs, by the way.)
At least I now have an inroad for Thursday's show. Where I go after that is uncharted territory.
I have a habit of changing how I want to start a set right up to the last minute. I’ll often whisper an idea for an opening line into Glyn’s ear, just before we take the stage. It must be frustrating way to work, but he’s very patient about it. When we’re putting a show together, we’ll joke that we’ve got fifteen different ways to start it and nothing else.
It’s a question of energy. When I’m excited by idea, I’m enthused about getting it across. It adds fire to the belly. It gives me a little kick that sees me through. Doggett & Ephgrave have recently got into the habit of starting Mostly Comedy with three ‘questions’; basically an excuse to show and then discuss three slides that amuse us. There’s nothing new to the premise - they’ve done it at the top of Have I Got News For You for twenty-five years - but it’s a good way in. We'll usually write this on the day of the gig. It forces us to concentrate – and if the slides go down well, we can extend on them in the future. It’s like writing a blog every day; the enforced deadline forces you to come up with something and set it through. If it works, you can use it as a germ for some stand-up.
The trick is to act on an idea quickly. If you don’t, it goes stale and you lose faith in it. Paul McCartney often recounts in interviews how his writing sessions with John Lennon were never longer than a couple of hours. Every time they met to write, they came out with a song. Some of them were pretty good.
(I'm not comparing my ability to theirs, by the way.)
At least I now have an inroad for Thursday's show. Where I go after that is uncharted territory.
