I had today’s theme all ready to go. Tonight, I was on the cast list with two other Koreans, and another Asian. This post was supposed to be about wanting to be funny in front of other Asians, but things changed.
Thursday night at New York Comedy Club seems like quite a happening place. There were many regulars here, and only me and maybe one or two others seemed to be not with the “in” crowd. The atmosphere was lively, although I was not a part of it. But having this type of audience made me nervous. It felt like an audition, to be accepted by the New York amateur comics. There is a guy who has done acting in commercials and he wass here. Another had a corporate gig. I was an outsider, probably recognized by some from other shows but nothing beyond that.
The crowd was pretty good, they were into the show. Laughters were coming from little throwaway lines. I had a feeling that not many comics were going to leave early, so I wanted to go later than earlier. Alas, I was the third comic up out of 20. I did my jokes, and I think I did okay, but I was expecting more. It was my third all-baby set and they haven’t gone too well. I gotta keep working on them, I guess, but there are only so many mics in the City, and I don’t want to repeat my jokes to the same crowd. I guess I’ll try to find different venues for different audiences.
The second Korean dude did much worse than I, which was a relief of sorts. The last Korean guy is in the “in” crowd, and he was the one who hosted a mic at CB’s Comedy Club a month or two ago. He was pretty good tonight. I wish I knew him and many others better. I’m not looking to get into the “in” crowd, but I would at least like a friendly relationship where I can get some honest feedback and inside info.
After the show, I stuck around in my corner for about 10 seconds before I left. I really wished that I had a cigarette, just so that I can use that as an excuse to hang out outside the club for 5 more minutes. (Trying to quit again.) That sounds sad, I know, but it’s the truth.
One thing I would like to know about these “in” comics is, do they repeat their jokes? Or do they try to do all new jokes they wrote throughout the week? I guess I’ll find out as I go to more open mics.