I'm in the slightly strange position of quite looking forward to tomorrow's work-in-progress set at Mostly Comedy.
In many ways, things are stacked against my favour. It's a nigh-on certainty that the majority of people will have booked to see the other, higher-profile act. That's the way it works these days, now the club grown into such a name-filled event. The crowd will often differ heavily from one month to the next, as new punters are lured in by TV names. You could say it's a victim of its own success, though I wouldn't entertain that thought for long. I'm proud of what it's become - though it's a shame it can sometimes be harder for us as hosts, having to combat against the obvious gulf between being the familiar and the unfamiliar face (even on your home turf).
(Though we still have a handful of staunchly loyal followers.)
The gig hasn't sold as well as the last few dates, or the next two coming up, which is inevitable when half of the show is devoted to a lesser-known like me. That's okay. I just hope the people who've booked are aware of what they're coming to see, and know they're going to watch me for an hour before they get to see the other act. I'm the starter / main course and she's the dessert (in terms of running order, at least.)
That's enough negativity for now. I'm encouraged by where the show's at for this stage and am looking forward to getting in front of an audience tomorrow, after having spent so much time in a room on my own, talking to myself. I've been able to manage my time quite efficiently over the last few days, which I partly put down to all the meditating I've been doing. It's created more brain space and made my runs more focused. I've started to enjoy myself again and have got a bit of a buzz about doing it. There's a chance tomorrow will be bitty; people might be confused by the looseness or the length of my set, but I'll know I'll still take a lot from doing it, while resting assured in the fact I still have two months to go before Edinburgh, plus next week's shows to get my teeth into. At least with the Brighton dates people will be coming specifically to see me, rather than me being a barrier between them and the 'one from the telly'; don't they know I appeared in an AA commercial once?