Gig 22: Let’s See What Happens @ Fuel Cafe Bar, Withington – 11th December 2011

I was really excited when asked to be the guest monologist at Let’s See What Happens – an off-shoot from Comedysportz – because a) it’s always nice to be asked to perform and b) you can’t beat showing off by making stuff up.  I had a rough idea of the format – making up short monologues based on an audience suggestion, from which a team of improvisers create scenes. I’m pretty confident when it comes to making up stupid stories and characters, so it seemed right up my street.

My confidence was very short-lived and genuine panic set in when I was told that I should base the stories on true-life events. It’s safe to say that I’m absolutely terrified of anecdotes as I’ve led a really dull life and can never think of anything interesting to say.  I dread being asked something as simple as “what’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you?”  I’ve not got a bleeding clue.  Part of me considered bailing out, as I feared I might just completely freeze up. Luckily, sanity prevailed.  Sure, there was a chance that I’d end up looking a knob, but the potential rewards far outweighed that prospect.  Being put on the spot to try to think of a funny, personal story might open up some new avenues of material for me, so I had to give it a try.

I got to the venue early in order for us to do a dry run. For the practice I was asked “What’s the best way to break up with someone?”  Fortunately, I didn’t dry up and was able to concoct an entertaining enough story from, incredibly, personal experience.  A team of 6 improvisers then created a series of scenes based tangentially on some of the themes and ideas from my story.  (That’s why it’s called “Let’s See What Happens”.)

After a successful practice, I felt slightly less terrified and was able to fully look forward to the prospect of showing off. The show was split in two, with two monologues in each half.  The players performed about 20 minutes of scenes per question.

The questions\suggestions I had to talk about were:

• What does Susan Boyle\boil?
• Belt or braces?
• Rainbow
• Strange

I felt that I did well enough with the first three suggestions, although they didn’t really lend themselves to much personal material. The final monologue went really well. I was able to go from “strange” into “the strangest internet date that I’ve ever been on”.  It was a very odd tale, and people really enjoyed it.  It’s the kind of thing that I wouldn’t naturally write stand up material about, but is a story that could definitely be developed further.

The players did a great job of running with the ideas and were all on top form and I enjoyed it immensely as a performer and audience member.  All in all, it was a great night’s entertainment and it was free! I recommend you check it out if you’re ever in the area.

 

Related articles

• Gig 21a: Comedysportz Intermediate Showcase @ Comedy Store, Manchester – 3rd December 2011 (poursomegravyonme.co.uk)