Selling Myself.


Today's been mostly concerned with inviting industry people to my Comedy Project show at the Soho Theatre on 23rd March.

It's been productive. It’s nice to spend some time away from writing it, to actually promote the thing. The fact last month’s work-in-progress date went well has almost convinced me to take my foot off the new-writing pedal until the Soho gig has passed; almost, but not quite. While there’s still a lot to be done before the first full-length Brighton Fringe show, I know I have 25-ish minutes that work when the circumstances are right (he says with his fingers crossed). I’d sooner play it safe on the 23rd, knowing I have another Work in (Hope of) Progress / Meet Here date at The Actors’ Temple on the 28th to be braver with newer, more scratchy material.

(...not polyester.)

It’s a shame the next Actors’ Temple gig isn’t the week before the Soho gig, rather than the week after. This would have given me more of a run-up. I’ve always found performing at the Soho difficult. The upstairs space has a tough, unforgiving atmosphere. It’s a hot, wide room, where jokes tend to fall flat. It’s hard to make it feel inclusive and comfortable.

It doesn’t help that most of mine and Glyn’s past TCP shows there have been one-off performances of completely untested material to a largely industry-based audience. There’s always a sense of all-or-nothing to it. We also used to co-run the season, which added more stress to the equation. We stepped away from that a couple of years ago. It’s nice that we’re still asked back, and to not have the additional responsibility.

This will be my eleventh consecutive Comedy Project season, and the first time I take the stage on my own (save a brief one-man monologue I wrote and performed for a TCP sketch show in 2005, which barely counts). This time around, I’m trying to see it as a small step toward putting together my solo show for Brighton and Camden. It’s not the be-all and end-all. Ask me on the day though, and I’ll feel a lot different.

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