What to Do and When to Do it?
I’m a little torn over what material to do at tomorrow’s gig, and at other shows in the
coming weeks.
Today, I reminded myself of a few stories I'd workshopped last year; some of which made it into last year's show. I have a habit of forging ahead without thinking of the things I’ve written previously, that still have legs (which is a confusing image). This comes from having no guide except myself; sometimes, I don't remember what came before or whether it was good.
The problem is deciding where my attention is best served in the context of my rapidly depleting Edinburgh Fringe deadline. I’ve got stuff that worked well in Bath and Brighton this year, and stuff that worked well last year in Brighton and Camden. There are also blogs I’ve earmarked as having stand-up potential, but haven’t tried live yet. What should I look at first and what should take precedence?
I’d like to try a mix of old and half-finished new stuff at tomorrow’s New Material night, but I only have a five-minute set. It’s also the only gig I have before next week’s preview (except for Thursday’s Mostly Comedy, when I probably won’t do anything solo). On top of this, I have a routine in mind for Edinburgh that I keep cutting from previews due to overrunning that could do with shoring up. The sensible thing to do would be to include it tomorrow, but I like to take the concept of a New Material night literally. If only someone could make these decisions for me.
I know I should prioritise. I’ve got a fair few gigs in-between next week’s preview and the one booked in July, that I can use to try both the new and the much older stuff. It would be more useful to use tomorrow to iron out the story I keep cutting, so it’s better for next week. I could do with a few more gigs (and /or previews) in the short term, to make the best of my time. Anybody want me? “Have show, will travel.”
Today, I reminded myself of a few stories I'd workshopped last year; some of which made it into last year's show. I have a habit of forging ahead without thinking of the things I’ve written previously, that still have legs (which is a confusing image). This comes from having no guide except myself; sometimes, I don't remember what came before or whether it was good.
The problem is deciding where my attention is best served in the context of my rapidly depleting Edinburgh Fringe deadline. I’ve got stuff that worked well in Bath and Brighton this year, and stuff that worked well last year in Brighton and Camden. There are also blogs I’ve earmarked as having stand-up potential, but haven’t tried live yet. What should I look at first and what should take precedence?
I’d like to try a mix of old and half-finished new stuff at tomorrow’s New Material night, but I only have a five-minute set. It’s also the only gig I have before next week’s preview (except for Thursday’s Mostly Comedy, when I probably won’t do anything solo). On top of this, I have a routine in mind for Edinburgh that I keep cutting from previews due to overrunning that could do with shoring up. The sensible thing to do would be to include it tomorrow, but I like to take the concept of a New Material night literally. If only someone could make these decisions for me.
I know I should prioritise. I’ve got a fair few gigs in-between next week’s preview and the one booked in July, that I can use to try both the new and the much older stuff. It would be more useful to use tomorrow to iron out the story I keep cutting, so it’s better for next week. I could do with a few more gigs (and /or previews) in the short term, to make the best of my time. Anybody want me? “Have show, will travel.”
