|
I have been watching this show "The Dark Side of Comedy" on Vice which highlights comedians who had a horrible death, a debilitating illness or a hidden darkness that the public did not know about. I highly recommend it for comedy fans. It seems very common in comedy to expect that from those of us trying to bring joy to the world. Some of us use comedy as a coping mechanism to deal with our sadness or darkness. A lot of comedians were not dark on stage but rather, had their own demons there chased when they got off stage. Lately I have been talking more about the "darker" aspects of my life, which is hard to do as a comedian, especially when a crowd is not expecting it. I love dark comedians like Anthony Jeselnick and when I started comedy, I was very influenced by him and lately I have been going back to darker material. Its been fun to push the envelope and add the edges to my otherwise clean comedy sets. Exploring new material is always fun, especially when it works. #comedy #standup #careerchange photo by Joe Loiselle 
0 Comments
I had my first TRUE heckler. Not a drunk heckler or someone talking during my set but a person who was clearly angry and unhappy with me. The crowd was very "tight" and quiet during the host and feature set before I got on, so I knew I had my work cut out for me. I started by poking fun of the crowd for being mean to the comedians and then their small city. They laughed as a group and I thought we were off to the races. Then I did some of the "hits" and they were a little quiet, which is when I usually go into the crowd and do some crowd work. I don't know what I did to offend him but I noticed an older man "mean mugging" me within minutes of my set. As comedians, we always focus on the one person who is not having fun. I don't know why but I know we all do it. After ten minutes and the hits not working very well, I decided to talk to him and ask him a VERY benign question about his glasses. He did not answer. He just kept staring at me. So I laughed at the weirdness of not wanting to answer questions and the crowd laughed. Then he verbally attacked me and said "Why don't you say something funny, you haven't yet!" The crowd made shocked noises so I asked him why he was so mad. He warned me not to "start with him" so I then went to another person and asked the same question, when they answered right away, I poked fun at how easy a question it was to answer and how I was not trying to pick a fight. He was triggered. We went back and forth but I was clearly thrown off my game. Not just because of the mean things he said but also because, well, the crowd was now even quieter than before. Self-doubt took over. I was trying to asses the situation to find a happy way out, even though I could easily have him kicked out. My goal was to make him laugh and confront him with "see I am funny" diffuse the situation so I did "sure fire" jokes. He was still mad and still not laughing. The crowd also was a little rattled by the whole situation. Later he kept talking (not to me but to his table) during my set so I told him to shut up and when he refused, he was kicked out. The club and staff handled it well as they also had never experienced anything like that before either. Seinfeld says he still thinks about a mean heckler for 30 years ago and I hope that doesn't happen to me. I don't understand how someone can be mad at a person who is trying to bring joy and laughter to the audience. Perhaps he didn't like one of my jokes about my race or something I said politically before offended him, although I didn't really do anything too controversial or political. (I know that politically we did not align) It did provide a humbling moment for me to remember that a show can go south very quickly. The silver lining is that my camera was rolling so I will edit a clip for all to see shortly, so follow me on Instagram to see it! But, I have to admit, going back to watch it has been tough. #standup #comedy  I am a podcaster. I was fortunate enough to start a podcast when there was not 1 million of them (just 100k) 7 years ago. I originally started the podcast, Singles Only, to promote my show about a topic that was a big part of my life, being single. My mentor at the time told me podcasts would be the way to promote myself. It worked. But I also got to hear other people's stories and struggled and it was an added benefit I did not even think about when I started the podcast. Last year, I ended that podcast - Singles Only - to start a new endeavor to interview people who are night owls like me. While there is not as many people who fall into that category, it is something I am passionate about. I like to hear what other people do late at night and how other creatives create. The added bonus is that I sometimes learn to try new methods I can also incorporate into my process and identify my own bad habits in others to try to perhaps change my own behaviors. All while also hanging out with some of the funniest and talented people in the world. It's been so fun so far to do the interviews but also frustrating to find a larger audience, like I did with Singles Only. We are only 33 episodes in. Hopefully that will change soon. Check it out if you need a laugh, are a night owl or a fan of comedy. This week's episode was a silly one with up and coming comedian Claire Sundbye from Topeka Kansas. #podcasting hashtag#process hashtag#comedian hashtag#formerlawyer  Recently I had one of the best weekends in comedy, performing at a club called Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. I headlined this weekend of shows and it started off, well, rocky. As I recently admitted, I am bad at geography and time. I get lost easily and I tend to be late. For those reasons and others out of my control, I was late to my first show my first time performing at a new club. I actually had planned to be early, check into my hotel, work out and head to the show. It was my first time at the club and I wanted to make a good impression. A conservative 4 hour drive (that I could usually make in less than that) took well over 5 hours due to traffic, construction, rain and an accident closure. I got to the show 10 minutes before I was to actually go on, and after the host, feature and a guest spot stalled till I arrived. Despite this, the first show on Friday night was very fun. Maybe because I didn't have time to really think and just kinda winged it and started with old jokes that always work and new jokes that I was excited about. I could tell right away that the crowd was on my side. It wasn't under later that I realized that a large section of them were Iranians who saw my Persian name and decided to come. And it was a room filled white collar professionals. No lawyers. Saturday, with no traffic issues and an on time arrival, I had two of my favorite shows of the year, if not the last 10 years. From the jump, the crowd was on board for my edgier and smarter jokes. I realized that they were listening to even the smallest nuances of jokes, most of which I usually shorten when I feel the crowd doesn't catch my dry wit. The crowd was smart, well read and ready to laugh. Clearly the support for the show, mainly the staff (Alisa, Christopher, servers) and the other comedians, Kate Brindle and Simon Carlson made the show (and me) shine. I also assume the booking match up by Roger (the owner) is the reason it began so well. When I got the light (signal to end the show) for the last show, I was sad. I didn't want to get off stage. The last time I felt that sadness was when certain states started comedy again during the pandemic and I did my first weekend in Tulsa Oklahoma. I didn't know when we would return to normalcy in Illinoisand didn't want to get off stage. Now, I didn't know when I would have an audience so tailored for my comedy. After the last show, I drove home and decided to focus on finding my audience. Smart. Well Read. Diverse. Witty. Ready to Laugh. Incidentally, I made it home in 3 hours (see below). I may have been going kinda fast from the rush. Chicagoland, I hope you can see me in Batavia Sunday and my upcoming shows Sarasota and St Cloud Florida, Tulsa, Dallas, Boulder and Denver and St. Paul. If you have smart friends who love comedy, please tag them and tell them about me! #standup #comedy #laughs #annarbor   When I received the "40 under 40" award as from Chicago Lawyer Magazine years ago, the title was "Extremely Professional." I think it was a quote from one of my friends who they interviewed for the piece who nominated me, who probably said it in jest, since we were idiots in college together. Nonetheless, I pride myself on professionalism in comedy and apply it to all parts of my comedy career, whether its working with other comedians, staff or bookers. Of course, the comedy world is not always professional and, neither am I. I have two major faults: time and geography. As a result, I am sometimes late to shows or show up, right in time. I have been known to get lost and also to walk (or drive) right past a club, based on my reliance on a faulty google map. I have been fortunate to be on time for most of my shows in the last 10 years, but "on time" includes being there with seconds to spare. (Very) Recently I was stuck in traffic (car accident, rain, construction) and got to the show a few minutes before my actual spot but after the host and feature has already started. I did not anticipate an extra hour of delays, especially since I have a lead foot when driving. Still, not a great first impression for a club I had never worked at, but I give constant updates and I think the owner and manager appreciated that. I had a great show. The club owner was very cool, accommodating and professional and worked with me to make the show a success. Everyone had fun. Everyone had laughs. Only one time was I late to a show and actually missed my spot. Well, the promoter cancelled my spot, even thought the club was more than willing to accommodate me. There was a misunderstanding on my part as to when the show started, but the club manager told me I would be still okay at the time I thought the show was to start, so I ran (literally) in to do my set. The show promoter, also a comedian, decided that the show needed to move on without me and put up one of his friends instead when I did not show up on time. I was not given a courtesy call or any sort of professional courtesy or warning, even when I offered to reduce my own time and after the club where the show was actually was ok with my tardiness. It was a judgment call on the promoter's part and in fairness, it was the promoter's show, but I know I would have handled it differently. Being "extremely professional", if the tables were turned, I would have put the comedian up anyways, since he showed up or at least called him to tell him not to bother coming if I put up my friend instead. I still need to be on time, though! #comedy #standup #professonalism  |
AuthorPaul Farahvar is a comedian hailing from Chicago, Ill. Archives
August 2024
Categories |
Paul Farahvar Comedy
All From Paul
RSS Feed
SUbscribe TO WHy ARE YOU AWAKE on YOUTUBE! |
Buy My Merch |
SHOWS |
clips & Press |
WHY ARE YOU AWAKE? |
MIXTAPE PODCAST |