When I went away for a while. I came back and found a whole load of crumbs on my kitchen bench. And I have left them there for someone else to clean up.
So I've held a mic for a few years now. Got heckled by my own kids. Been in a few comedy festivals. You know the drill: Pay some money to register. Think of show title. Find venue. Promote show. Write show. Perform the show. Persuade friends and strangers that your angst is their angst just funnier. Not won any awards at festivals. Not had a stellar trajectory to commercial success. Not lost money, but not made lots of money either. Created my own festival because I don't like how many festivals are run. Done many, many, many gigs in bars at conferences, events allover the place, in church halls and synagogues - I'm not fussy, book me I'm yours. Did a comedy tour to Amsterdam, Krakow(don't ask) Israel and UK. Swore so many times that I would NEVER go back to a comedy room EVER. Because I always feel violated in those spaces where the 'humour' and attitudes go unchecked. But like a sad suck I do occasionally go back there, because gawd knows I want to try out some new material on a stage in front of an audience... And now my trail of comedy crumbs has led me into the hallowed halls of a university. Where I can scatter my comedy crumbs all over a thesis and creative piece of writing.
Writing about gender and comedy. Creative piece set in North East England 1976 about a woman who wants to do stand up comedy in the era of the legendary Bobby Thompson. If you'd like to tell me about your experiences of doing stand up comedy. I'd love to hear them...