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Oh man. Not well! No seriously, it's hard to recover from a show that goes poorly, but its actually part of the process. If you never bomb, you are not taking enough chances as a comedian. You will never grow. It took me a while to realize that. Not right after the show, but sometime the next day, I try to listen or watch my set and see what went wrong. Clearly, if I am working on new material or taking a lot of chances, maybe I am prepared for it not going well, so those are easy to cope with. When you are doing your proven material and it doesn't work, it's hard not to question your career choice and your ability to be a stand up comedian. I replay the choices I made and try to see what, if anything I could have done better or differently. As for actually coping, I usually eat some comfort food or chocolate. Lol. The next day or before the next show (if its the same night), I prepare and just try to make sure the next show goes well to build momentum. I go back and listen to my sets, good and bad, right before the next show. For the next show, I usually ensure I start strong so as to not fall into a pattern of bad shows. 
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I was asked about any unexpected moments on stages a while ago and I could not think of any but of course, then it happened. I was doing a capacity show when five minutes into my set, someone yelled out something. I was doing a somewhat mild joke about my elderly parents so I was not ready for a heckler but I have offended people before so I tried to listen. Then I heard her yell "My husband is sitting right here with another woman" and then more details information about how he lied to her about where he was going tonight. A physical altercation began but the staff at the club quickly got control of the situation but not before 300+ people all focused on the Jerry Springer drama that transpired, instead of the comedian on stage. Me. I have had situations when someone drunk is removed from the crowd and I was able to distract the audience with some crowd work in a different area of the room to take people's attention away from what was happening. That's my trick; finding someone in the audience to talk to on the other side of the room. In this case, however, NOBODY was looking at me. For over 2 minutes (felt like an hour) this went on. Finally when the philanderer was removed, I was able to call back to a joke I made before and then, because it was Valentines Day, I was able to say "So how's everyone's Valentines Day going so far?". Applause break. But for the next half of the show, I had lost the crowd who was clearly more interested in knowing what happened with the husband and wife. I talked to the other comedians who witnessed it and they said they had never seen anything like that before and I handled it well. People after the show said the same thing. At the time, I felt like a deer in headlights and that I was bombing. But the reality is, I could not plan for something like that and short of taking off my clothes, there was nothing more interesting than gaping at the mess happening in front of us. Comedy! #standup #unexpectedmoments #formerlawyer #comedycareer  Recently, I had a somewhat extreme 48 hours in comedy. I arrived late to the city to headline a Thursday show which was supposed to start at 8pm but because ticket sales were better than expected, didn't start until 8:20pm as more and more people arrived to be seated. Some of the city's best comedians opener for me and crushed it. By the time I went on stage just before 10pm, I had, at best a mediocre set and at worst a bomb. It was late for a Thursday, but I should have done better and as a seasoned pro, I should have adjusted to the late show and the energy in the room but I didn't. The next day I was scheduled to feature (open) a weekend for a friend of mine at a club I have been trying to get into for a few years. Twenty minutes before the first show on Friday, a disgruntled employee was threatening my friend's life so we had to cancel the shows. I quickly texted a few other comedian friends randomly in town that I knew to see if I could get up on their shows. I also looked up flights to leave town the next day to avoid a weekend without shows if that didn't work out. They both said ok. As I was leaving to go to the other venue, the manager of the club contacted me to say the other show (same club, different room) they had that weekend did not have a feature all weekend. I called my friends who gave me spots and said it would not be necessary. I ended up featuring all weekend with a comedian I knew and respected and had four amazing shows. Then, that Saturday the shows that I was scheduled to perform resumed as planed, so I did those shows as well. I was on a high. Well, the next day, I found out a gig I was headlining in March was cancelled for another comedian who had 500k followers on social media. About two hours later, I got a call where I was made a headliner for the Improv in Chicago this Sunday when the scheduled headliner had a conflict and had to leave town early. Two ups, Two downs, ending on a high. Comedy #standup #formerlawyer #comedian  I was asked this recently after I posted a rather benign criticism of the President's response to a national tragedy last week. Anytime someone rushes to blame, regardless of party, without an investigation, due process or some due diligence, I will be sure to point it out. Everyone should. I was working in Washington DC when the Oklahoma City bombings happened and I remember a few lawmakers rushed to blame terrorists from Iran and I was worried about my family who is Iranian and lived in Oklahoma city. Thankfully cooler voices in office made sure that blame game stopped until more information was received. Even though I don't practice law anymore, I still love the legal system and justice. In the past, I have posted about current affairs not only from a comedic standpoint but also legal, given my background. While most recently I have been critical of the President, in the past I have been critical of the left as well. Cancel culture is a problem when people paint broad strokes to include mild infractions with criminal abusers. I also provide legal information to folks, when I can. For example, I was on the judicial review for judges when I practiced law for the Chicago Bar Association. After investigations and due diligence, a non-partisan group of lawyers determined who was qualified and not qualified to be a judge. I share those results for Chicago voters every year, even though I no longer do the investigations. This is information, not opinion. In 2020, I provided information on election law when people were questioning the legality of then President Trumps claims. A lot of his supporters accused me of a false narrative when I explained the actual law and precedent (or lack thereof). I had done some election law cases when I practiced, representing elected officials who were both Republican and Democrat. That being said, when I see something that affects me or people I am connected to, I will likely speak up, especially if it touches on the law. If I lose sensitive fans because of that, perhaps those are not the type of who would be an ideal fanbase at a comedy show. Critical thinking is required for some of my jokes, I guess. So the short answer is, I guess I am not afraid of losing a few fans. #standup #blog #formerlawyer #duediligence  |
AuthorPaul Farahvar is a comedian hailing from Chicago, Ill. Archives
February 2025
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