Sometimes, non comedy-club venues will ask to do an intermission in the middle of the show. Comedians notoriously hate the intermission. The whole point of the opening acts is to build momentum before the headliner and keep it moving forward. Its building the the finale; the headliner. In intermission is the opposite. It brings the show to a grinding halt.
I was able to successfully put an end to that on most shows where I have produced or headlined but recently, there was no way to avoid it. I was headlining a club and the venue needed to make money from drink sales at intermission since the headliner (me) did not sell out the show. I understood but was very worried about it. Ironically, it made the show better. The whole show had started early so many people didn't have time to get drinks before the show or enough drinks to find me and the other comedians very "out loud" funny. After the 10 minute intermission, they had time to get drinks and use the bathroom and they were 100x better than they were before the intermission. Some of that was me, maybe because I was the headliner but I guess the morale of the story is that sometimes you will like something you are against. Or that intermissions are okay. #greeneggs #standup #comedyshow #laughs #formerlawyer
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Recently I did a show in a small town where I offended someone. To my knowledge, It's been a while since my material has been deemed offensive by any crowd member, given that I rarely cover ground that is controversial or veer too dirty (if at all). I was selling shirts after what I thought was a very successful show, given the responses from most people in line to buy shirts. I saw the man bee-line to me with purpose and a big smile on his face. He started with a very nice statement, saying "the first ten minutes of your set had me roaring with laughs!" At this point, I assumed he was just gonna buy a shirt or ask for my social media, but then he said "but your marriage jokes got old really quick." I clearly triggered this kind man as he told me how amazing the institution is and how happy he was to be married. The way he approached it, with a smile and without aggression, I reacted as if he was joking but then I realized he wasn't. I was caught off guard. He clearly was offended, which I did not intend and listening back to the crowd response later, it seems as though most fo the crowd liked the joke. (see Instagram for a version of the joke) I can count on one hand how many times in my 12 years of comedy, someone has been offended by my jokes. The last time was someone who thought I spoke too much about Covid (during Covid in a state that did not have restrictions). I perhaps did do 2-3 jokes related to Covid that night, so I can understand how that could be annoying. As to the night in question, I do talk about being single on stage sometimes and as for marriage, I have two jokes about it and on the night in question, I did one joke. One marriage joke. If he saw my special, however, he would be offended for certain! Ironically, my goal with comedy this year is to be more edgy and to talk about "real" issues so I imagine this will happen more and more. #comedy #single #formerlawyer #controversy Thats a question often asked of me in interviews, conversations or dating profiles. I don't have an answer. I am lucky enough to do something that often doesn't feel like work. I have fun on stage. I have fun writing. I have fun creating. I have fun driving to and from my shows (most of the time). I even have fun strategizing and handling some of the business aspects of comedy (some, not all!). Not much of a work/life balance, I suppose.
That being said, I am trying to take more nights off from stand up to do things people do who have conventional social lives. I had the night off last night and was hoping to see a concert or a Cubs game but of course, the Cubs were off, there were no concerts and ...I fell asleep. I didn't leave my apartment for 24 hours. I love reading books and catching up on shows and movies while I work out, when I am on the road. I still have not gone to a regular season Cubs game this year and its been a minute since I went to a concert. When I am not productive, I get very antsy and anxious so its hard for me to engage is social activities sometimes. Last week, however, I was able to partake in one of my new favorite pastimes, which is a post-show cigar with other comedians. I plan on doing the same this weekend. Thank you for reading and hope to see you in North Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida this month! #standup #comedy #sociallive #worklifebalance Comedy is a very unique work environment. We are all independent contractors. There is no HR department (and no health benefits). But we work in the trenches together. We grow together and suffer sometimes together. We celebrate our friends victories and are envious of the success of peers, just like a normal office, I suppose. We unite against a common enemy (heckler) but at our water cooler, we gossip about the new star.
And just like an office, it's hard to forget that most of the people we work with are colleagues, not friends. I heard Comedian Erik Griffin say that on a podcast once and didn't fully appreciate it, till later in my career. It's hard to remember that sometimes because we are often laughing with each other or experiencing great loss together (i.e. peer's death, pandemic). For me, I try to treat others with kindness and pay it forward as a result of having amazing, more experienced peers help me on my journey. But not everyone has that same mentality. When I gave comedians I felt were worthy, the opportunity to open for me on shows, I loved seeing there enthusiasm and I would always say (jokingly and seriously) "When you make it big, just remember this and let me open for you!" They would always agree and sometimes laugh it off, like it would never happen. It's funny 'cause some of these comedians who did open for me years ago are now doing larger venues and theaters but sadly, radio silence on letting me open for them. I also share milestones other comedians have, whether its a special or a TV role, because I think its the right thing to do and I love to see comedians, especially once I have worked with, do great things. It also gives me great pride to see their success, especially if we started together or worked together in Chicago. On some level, I feel like we are friends. Unfortunately, I did not see the same pride in my successes. We are alone. #standup #comedy #formerlawyer #careerchange After you release a comedy special, its a little scary. You just put your material you have written for the last few years and have to start again. When you do shows, you don't know who has seen your special and don't want to repeat the same jokes. At the same time, you sometimes don't really have a lot of new material that isn't on the specials so there is bound to be overlap.
That being said, it is so excited to go on stage with a blank slate. The last few weeks after the release of my special (go watch it on youtube already!) have been exciting. Trying new jokes, talking to the audience on interactive jokes. Earlier in my career, I would never try new un proven jokes on a weekend show but now I do it often, especially when I have a longer set to hide it in between two proven jokes (aka the sh*t sandwich). I honestly feel reborn. I get excited to try new stuff and see what works then go back and write the parts this did (and eliminate those that didn't). I am excited to rebuild my new set for my next special! Hope to see you at the upcoming June shows in Indiana, Detroit, North Dakota and Florida! #standup #comedy #newjokes #comedian |
AuthorPaul Farahvar is a comedian hailing from Chicago, Ill. Archives
May 2024
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