Today I’m
suffering from my usual post-Mostly Comedy brain drain.
Last night’s gig was good. We ended up keeping it brief ourselves, but the material we did went well. It was a definite personal improvement on the night before; that what comes from having a proper stage set-up, a sold-out crowd and a slightly better get-in.
That said, it was still a rush. I had a casting in London in the afternoon, which meant I didn’t arrive at The Market Theatre until 4:30pm. Glyn - splendid chap that he is - had already put out the seats, but we still a lot to do. This is the side to Mostly Comedy people never see: us going up and down ladders, moving lights, running leads over beams, blacking off the space, printing signs and programmes, setting up recording equipment for the podcast, getting stressed – then spending our customary thirty seconds considering our actual material. This is still a vast improvement on the set-up at our two previous venues, when we had to load the P.A., the lights and all the tech gear in and out by ourselves, either side of the gig. When we were at The Croft we also had to carry four 5’ x 5’ solid wooden rostra that made up the stage from Glyn’s Dad’s shop The Town Fryer down the road. The shop is a tenth of a mile from the venue. This may not sound far, but it is when what you’re carrying is exceptionally heavy and cumbersome. We did this once a month, there and back, for two years in all-weathers. Fucking idiots.
The podcast interviews were good, if a little unprepared. Sean Hughes and Luke Benson were on splendid form. I had intended on doing a little solo stand-up myself, but ended up deciding against it. I’d planned to do mostly new material but was so tired I could barely remember it.
That’s Mostly Comedy done for another year. I’m looking forward to next year's gigs. We’ve got some great line-ups. We also don’t have to lug a heavy stage around. Hurrah.
Last night’s gig was good. We ended up keeping it brief ourselves, but the material we did went well. It was a definite personal improvement on the night before; that what comes from having a proper stage set-up, a sold-out crowd and a slightly better get-in.
That said, it was still a rush. I had a casting in London in the afternoon, which meant I didn’t arrive at The Market Theatre until 4:30pm. Glyn - splendid chap that he is - had already put out the seats, but we still a lot to do. This is the side to Mostly Comedy people never see: us going up and down ladders, moving lights, running leads over beams, blacking off the space, printing signs and programmes, setting up recording equipment for the podcast, getting stressed – then spending our customary thirty seconds considering our actual material. This is still a vast improvement on the set-up at our two previous venues, when we had to load the P.A., the lights and all the tech gear in and out by ourselves, either side of the gig. When we were at The Croft we also had to carry four 5’ x 5’ solid wooden rostra that made up the stage from Glyn’s Dad’s shop The Town Fryer down the road. The shop is a tenth of a mile from the venue. This may not sound far, but it is when what you’re carrying is exceptionally heavy and cumbersome. We did this once a month, there and back, for two years in all-weathers. Fucking idiots.
The podcast interviews were good, if a little unprepared. Sean Hughes and Luke Benson were on splendid form. I had intended on doing a little solo stand-up myself, but ended up deciding against it. I’d planned to do mostly new material but was so tired I could barely remember it.
That’s Mostly Comedy done for another year. I’m looking forward to next year's gigs. We’ve got some great line-ups. We also don’t have to lug a heavy stage around. Hurrah.
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| Sean Hughes on stage at Hitchin Mostly Comedy (11.12.14) |