I finally tested negative after having to quarantine for a week with COVID.. again. I was able to go to a show and an open mic last night after not bing on stage for 10 days (the longest I have not been on stage since I had COVID last time). Its like riding a bike but still had to scrape the rust off. I am excited to be back on stage and looking forward to NEW YEARS EVE shows and being back in Chicago this week for shows. Some shows have cancelled as the virus has hit the comedy world hard in bigger cities (sharing mics is clearly not the best way to avoid getting sick) but I am hopeful that we won't have too many cancellations in the coming months. I feel luck to be able to do comedy again.
On a related note, even with the 10 days off and cancellations I was still able to raise over $1,000 for Parkinson's Foundation from my #bettercallpaul shirts. Thank you for all of you who bought a shirt. If you wear it and tag me on any social media outlet, I will donate an additional $5 this month to Parkinson's Foundation (Just message me if you want a shirt too). Thank you all and have a wonderful new year. #comedy #careerchange #thankyou #charity HERE WE GO AGAIN
I was so excited for a week of amazing shows in Florida, headlining one of my favorite clubs, opening for one of my talented friends, and to see my whole family for Christmas, all in one amazing week! As I landed in Florida, I had a headache, similar to the one I had last year this time when I got COVID. To be safe, I tested before I saw my elderly parents and I was negative. I wanted to test again before I saw my family, since I know in Chicago, a lot of comedians had tested positive. I woke up the next day feeling sick with a sore throat. Tested again: Positive. I got COVID again, a year later. I socially distance, wear masks, vaccinated and sanitize my hands rigorously. This strand does not mess around. Needless to say, I cancelled all five of my shows this and have been quarantined. I am hopeful that we won't shut down comedy shows again and hope there is a way to perform safely without spreading infection. I am cautiously optimistic. Be safe everyone. #happyholidays #standup #careerchange There is no greater joy that doing a new joke or a new "tag" to a joke that works at a show. In the mist of the pandemic, shows were few and far between so writing took center stage for me and many others. And the only time this new material could be tested was at the few shows we had, instead of weekday "workout" rooms or open mics.
Now that we returned to normal scheduling, the opposite holds true; there is less time to write new material and more shows. For comedians like me who don't have an agent or manager and spend days booking and promoting shows and social media, time dedicated to writing material is sparse. As a result, I have been working in new untested material at shows. I was able to try some new material this weekend and last night and was so excited to see it work. I can't wait to try it more tonight and this week in Chicago at Zanies and Laugh Factory this week! #comedy #careerchange #comedywriting #standup #formerlawyer What a great weekend at one of my favorite venues with my favorite people. Doc Grins in Grand Rapids was one of the "bucket list" venues I always heard about when I started doing comedy. I remember the first time I performed there, my friend Keith Alberstadt got me in as his feature. The venue in a "Big Old Building" called the "BOB" with very long and dangerous stairs. I made a legal joke about bringing a lawsuit if you fall, and the response was an uncomfortable murmur. I later learned that someone had actually fallen down the stairs recently. Lesson learned.
The club is closing but I am glad I got to feature there one last time with legendary house emcee Gerrit Elzinga, my friend Dusty Slay (watch his new Netflix special coming this month) and an amazingly supportive staff. Thank you Funny Business Agency! Hopefully something takes it place soon. Grand Rapids is such a cool city! Excited to perform in Dallas for the first time this week, headlining at the brand new House of Comedy in Plano on Wednesday (with my friend CJ Starr) and then featuring the weekend for Steve Simeone! Hope to see you there and tag any friends in the area who may need a laugh! #careerchange #formerlawyer #standupcomedy #comedyshow #goals #thankyou I was really looking forward to my show “Stuck with Paul” today, which combined my love of stand up comedy and interviews with my favorite people and spontaneous moments of improvised laughs. Sadly, there just wasn’t enough interest in the show to provide the live studio audience I needed.
I am not sure what happened, as I did all the convention methods of promoting my shows. Perhaps the name was wonky or the concept too hard to understand? Coming off sold out show two weeks before for my stand up shows in Chicago and Florida, I was certain I could fill a much smaller room to work out these new concepts, especially with a line up of some of the greatest comedians in Chicago. It is back to the drawing board for Stuck with Paul. Incidentally, another non-scripted show I wrote has generate interest again in the industry and I had a promising call this week with reviving a concept I never gave up on. |
AuthorPaul Farahvar is a comedian hailing from Chicago, Ill. Archives
February 2025
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