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This is almost laughable now for me when someone responds to a promotion and asks this about a show. I have been promoting a show for weeks on all social media platforms and the night before the show, I usually send one last "hail Mary" to remind people of the show. Someone saw this and said, "Oh we didn't know you were in town. When are you here next, we made plans tomorrow so we can't make it." It may be true that social media buried my multiple posts about the show and they did not see it, as I know currently that is happening on a couple platforms. But more than likely, it was not a priority for them to go see a comedy show. And that's totally fine. I don't expect people to circle the date on a calendar when I first mention I am coming to town. I am not there yet. But don't message comedians and say this. It makes us feel like all the time spent promoting was wasted (and we all hate promoting but its a necessary evil). Also, more than likely, we don't know when we are coming back. Most venues don't book you out in advance and sometimes only book you again if the show goes well. And by "well" it does not necessarily matter how funny you were, but more, how many tickets you sold. Speaking of which, I am in Alameda next weekend and Denver the week. And the next time I am in Chicago is in Rosemont on the tenth of Deecemburrr. Spread the word! #livecomedy #standup #formerlawyer 
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I was just asked this recently. Short answer. I don't. On Stage at least. I think there are so many great comedians who discuss political issues with such great ease and skill. But my personal opinion is that most people come to comedy shows to escape the political news they see at home and on social media everyday. Especially now. That is not to say I am against it. I think its great and needed at shows but I tend to avoid it. I still address issues in the news sometimes, especially when it happens to me. Given that 90% of my material is about me and my surroundings, its hard not to address matters the audience may feel is "political" that affect me directly. I have jokes about my ethnicity, mixed religion and of course the law, since thats all personal to me. Some people in the audience make jokes political, which I will always address (especially during the pandemic) And some topics that happened to me, like a strangers reaction to "Juneteenth" in Florida is covered because it was a story that happened to me. It's a personal story. But in the times we live in, I personally avoid dividing the crowd when possible. Now, on the site formally known as Twitter, that's a different story. I am very political there! #formerlawyer #standupcomedy #jokes #careerchange #politicalclimate  I just recorded my second special, if you include my Dry bar special (which was released in April) so in 2023, I burned over an hour of material I have built for the last 10+ years in comedy. That means, once my new album is released, I have to have new material. "Burning" material on specials means when you tour, you can't return with the same "hour" since everyone presumably came out to see you based on what they saw in the special. They want something else. Unlike music, where everyone WANTS to hear the hits and (usually) hits the bathroom when the new stuff is played, comedians have to bring the funny with jokes the audience has not heard. The down side of working out new material is that its quieter sometimes. Not as many laughs. It affects you as a comedian, since it feels like you are failing. I am actually revisiting jokes from years ago that I did not burn on my specials and its been fun to re-write them, especially since I am a far better writer than I was 10 years ago. One joke is fun because its about turning 40; I clearly wrote it before I was 40 and now have to address that in a different way. Here we go! #standup #formerlawyer #newjokes #careerchange  |
AuthorPaul Farahvar is a comedian hailing from Chicago, Ill. Archives
August 2024
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