Getting Started in Stand-up Comedy
(Part 2)

The Story Continues

In my first blog post, I talked about how I got started in stand-up comedy and what brought me to try it in the first place.

After my first few open mics in 2015, I was still living in Oroville, driving an hour each time I went to an open mic. I decided that if I wanted to really pursue stand-up comedy, I needed to move to Chico where the open mics were happening.

A friend of mine offered me a room at his house, and I took him up on the offer. I moved to Chico early in 2016 and immediately started performing stand-up comedy at open mics every week.

At the time, Chico only had two open mics a week. One was at the Maltese, and one was at the Studio Inn Lounge, where I started. At first I only went to the Studio Inn because I was already comfortable there. I showed up every week I could and did my five minutes.

It was rough getting started, but after a few weeks of struggling, I started to get laughs. I felt like I was beginning to figure it out.

I was very shy and insecure back then. I had low self-esteem. I never really tried to make friends with the other comics. I wouldn’t even introduce myself. I would just show up, do my set, and leave. It was a lonely exercise in public speaking disguised as comedy.

Eventually, I worked up the courage to go to the Maltese open mic. I’m not sure exactly when, but it was around this time.

The vibe there was completely different. It was a younger crowd. No TVs, no sports. Punk rock playing. The room was smaller, more square, closer to downtown. It felt more alive.

The host was different from the other mic, an older guy. I introduced myself and told him it was my first time at that mic, but that I had been performing for a little while. He gave me the rundown, and I crawled into a dark, sticky back corner table and waited for my turn.

Just like the other open mic, it still felt like I wasn’t part of the group. Every time I went up, it felt like everyone else left the room to go outside and smoke or disappear into the bathrooms. I felt like an outsider.

It was hard to know if I was doing well when I was performing for a mostly empty bar.

Eventually, after performing more consistently, getting laughs more often, and starting to figure out my stage presence, I began to meet a few people. I even made a couple of friends.

People started giving me tips, suggestions, little pieces of advice on how to improve. It felt good to have people I was happy to see every week, and to finally get some real feedback on what I was doing.

I felt like I was starting to find a community in comedy.

It was a great feeling…

The Big Move

Then, after about six months living in Chico, my housing situation fell apart. Disagreements and arguments with one of our roommates caused my friend and me to move out very abruptly.

All of a sudden, I found myself back at my parents’ house in Oroville. Again.

It was a very defeating feeling.

It was depressing to be back in the void of Oroville, where the arts seemed to disappear. I continued to drive to Chico multiple times a week for work and to hit open mics. Gas was expensive, and I was spending most of the little money I made just getting back and forth.

My friends and I were determined to find a new place. About a month later, we did. We moved in on November 1, 2016.

The new house was a huge upgrade. It was just me and my two friends/bandmates. We had our own rooms, a garage to practice in, and we threw wild parties all the time.

I also made things official with my girlfriend around this time. A lot of good things were happening.

The Fall

After settling into the new house, it was hard to get back into the rhythm of going to open mics.

Our band was picking up steam. We practiced constantly. We had shows every weekend. We were recording an album in a studio out in the hills.

I was spending a lot of time with my girlfriend. We took my dog out, went on day trips, hikes, and just had fun.

I was also working a lot. I had picked up a very early morning shift at the local TV station, and I was exhausted most of the time.

I felt like I was starting to lose momentum with stand-up comedy. I still went when I could, but not nearly as often.

Eventually, it fell off my radar completely.

My work schedule made it incredibly difficult to make it to open mics, and I was too exhausted most of the time.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was the start of a long break from comedy.

It would be several years before I performed stand-up again.