A little Aussie stands up

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The reflections of a baby Stand up comedian

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BUNGALOW 13

Tuesday 22nd November Much to my surprise I would have to say tonight I had the best, most naturally connected set of my career. It was at Little Larry’s room – Bungalow 13 on Wilshire blvd. The night started with me talking with the owners of the club about how to make the night a successful thing - admittedly kind of weird. Larry wants me to co-produce so I was sharing ideas. I didn’t expect him to leave me with them for so long though and I didn’t expect them to react so warmly. Next thing I know Larry is warning me I better not take the night from him. No thanks! These guys really are fighting an uphill battle where they are. Good comedy nights need good foot traffic and there is no foot traffic at night on the corner of Wilshire and Rodeo drive. And it is my honest opinion that if you are going to make a comedy night a destination venue you need to have your regular roster of comics who have a good and supportive fan base. If you give these comics a sense of pride in this spot and they can tell their fans that they can see them at Bungalow 13 every Tuesday then they will come out. So many fans of comedy don’t know where to go so they end up at one of the big clubs but if they had a continual calendar event for their favourite comics then I am sure they would make it a regular in their lives too. But that is just my opinion and sure if they want to pay me for it I will share it some more and do Bungalow 13 every week. As for the comedy I saw a few comics switch their game from A to about C when they saw the small crowd, which makes me sad. Two comics announced that they were no longer going to tell jokes they would just talk which immediately turned their audience off cause it gave the impression – “you guys don’t deserve my best effort” not clever!! One comic got up there and talked and talked and wasn’t actually very funny and I saw what can happen when a comic doesn’t listen to an audience and decides to travel headstrong through a thought even if it isn’t working. SO when Larry gets lost and lets this guy talk for over 20 mins the audience gets uncomfortable and fidgety and it was very interesting to sit up the back and watch. My honest belief on lowering your game because of the audience is - why? These people are here to support you, they deserve a good effort from you and in LA who knows who is in that small crow and what they ill say about you the next day at work – be careful! I am not saying go balls out gung ho if it is a small intimate room but give them your best effort and thank them with laughter for their presence. A case in point for tonight’s show: Unbeknownst to me sitting in the back was Anthony Michael Hall – apparently a very successful actor. I just went up on stage and gave my all to the few people left in the crowd and he responded with a lot of interest in me and those sort of relationships are very important to foster!! As for my set. All I did was have fun. I had lots of time cause Larry’s sense of time had gone out the window with his Soberness! But I really took my time. I felt like I was reinventing old thoughts and melding them with new and amongst that I found some real gems! And I am so proud to say I had my first random inserted thought that I was able to divert into and the return to the bit I had been telling with out a prob. I took more time than I ever have before tonight and I got more laughs than I usually do – a lesson right there, thank you tough room for teaching me so much tonight. And now I have a regular Tuesday spot – awesome!!!

Posted: 01:37, 2006-Dec-3

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UNIVERSAL BAR AND GRILLING

Monday 20st November A fresh week in the world of comedy and it’s time to work out some new thoughts. I was late to Amsterdam Café – on Magnolia near Vineland – where there is a great open mike run by Sean Green. If you want an honest response from a whole lot of thinking comics this is a good venue. But alas I didn’t leave enough time to get up before I had to be at my next spot so I watched for 30 mins then headed down Lankershim blvd to Universal Bar and Grill. Courtney Ca runs a quaint show at this bar every Monday she is very good to the comics that turn up and although she does book in advance will do her best to squeeze in anyone that does turn up. For once I actually booked ahead so I knew I would get a decent spot in the line up. Every other night recently I have just turned up which meant getting up around about 11:30 – which is never much fun!! Tonight’s performance was a great lesson in dealing with drunk crowds. It is striking the fine balance between acknowledging them but ignoring them slightly. I watched as all the comics before me tried to deal with this young drunk guy interrupt their sets and when he tried to follow me into the bathroom before myself I realized I would probably have to do the same very soon. I had a lot of new ideas to try out and it was a small fun crowd to do it for. I had thoughts on being ‘the marrying type’ which went down very well. I had a thought about the lines on my forehead (instant writing pad) that was sort of successful. Perhaps it is one of those jokes that is only funny to me because I know the insecurity behind it - but I need to spend some time infront of the mirror working on the visual action of write erase write erase before I will really know. And then I spent some time talking about my boobs – I had no particular funny planned but wanted to explore it. It took me somewhere along the lines of people back in Oz thinking that I had become all LA and got a boob job when really my boobs are just growing. I think maybe there is something in the idea that my boobs are just trying to fit in because they don’t realise that most of the boobies are imposters - but the funny isn’t there yet! Once again maybe that bit is just for me cause it was met with general quiet. My favourite rude joke on MoFo’s is coming along nicely and my text messaging bit is going very well this week – probably because it is fresh on my mind – or should I say cell phone screen!!! And how did I deal with the drunk heckler – well his contribution to my ten minutes “Excuse me, I just have to tell you that you are one hot piece of Arse” You may not think this is particularly bad but how does once comment on that without seeming rude or arrogant. My attempt at this “phew I am glad – that is going to come in handy now that winter is on its way and all” how did I do?

Posted: 01:36, 2006-Dec-3

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Watching comedy

Friday 17th – Sunday 19th November A Weekend of Watching Standup A lot of stand up comics are weird about watching other comics – they get frustrated if they aren’t performing in the show and would prefer to be at home checking their Myspace account (or what ever it is they do on the internet in the privacy of their own bedroom) than learning from other comics’ hits and misses. Personally I think this is a tragedy for so many reasons. They don’t get to see what works and doesn’t work from an audience’s perspective; they never get to feel what it is like to sit in the crowd being talked to, they don’t get to show their respect for other comics work – which I promise is returned if you put it out there, they don’t get to meet and make friends with other comics (and in LA you never know who you might be able to call a friend. But most importantly I feel when you stop watching comedy you loose sight of why you became a comedian – because you loved comedy! So as much as I would have loved to perform this weekend – and perhaps this is just me talking myself into it being ok that I didn’t – I know I learnt and gained a lot in the last three days from just watching comedy. Friday night was a lot of fun. It was the Standing Tall Kids comedy show and when kids are involved in LA the industry come out in packs and the parents come wielding headshots and shotguns – talk about ruthless and tactless!! The Improv was standing room only. I had a personal interest in the show – one of my students the hunky and super talented 10 year old world Karate Champ Jaime was performing. I was a secret weapon in his performance though because it got out that I was helping another one of the girls who was meant to be in the show and she was taken off the line up – way to show love for the kids hey!?! The way this show is organized makes me laugh – specially when they call it stand up. What it really is the parents paying $100 a session to ‘comedian/writers’ who are linked to the school to write their jokes for them. Then they learn it word for word and then the teacher gets up on the night and applauds the children for writing their own jokes – interesting hey! Poor Jaime had a lot of trouble in the weeks prior to the show because he had actually written his own – very funny – jokes but he was banned from using them – (once again so much love for the kids!!) But it was so nice to talk to the comedian Jimmy Brogan (The tonight Show) who had been brought in to help at the last minutes and hear that he could see Jaime’s intelligence and passion for stand up. It is apparently obvious that Jaime is one of the few kids who is doing stand up because they love it not just because their agent told their Mum that it would get them a sitcom! Amongst the line up was maybe one too many Barbie girls who all looked the same and all talked about their boyfriends! It hurts to hear 12 year old talk about dating. I felt myself gritting my teeth during these girls yet when the pudgy girl from a trucking family got up and made fun of her dad for 3 minutes I nearly fell off my stool and just wanted to run on stage and high 5 her! This showed me how much stand up is about owning your life and being yourself and not about the perfect braided hair with the matching ribbons and shoes!!! However watching the confidence of these kids really taught me a lot. I wanted to go out to the bar and drag some of my adult comic buddies in and say – see how they own that stage? See how the believe they are funny? – see how people are listening and laughing? And they aren’t even really that funny. Watching the uninhibited spirit of a child up there is what every comic needs to see. It is what makes people not just their Mums - laugh. Because when you get a sense that the person (big or little) up onstage doesn’t really care what you think of them you want to laugh, but when you watch someone who needs you to find them funny all of a sudden you don’t – reverse psychology! By the end of the night over 30 little comics had gone up. Jaime really proved he is a performer and lifted his set even further than we had taken it with those hours of coaching (thanks Mum!) And he didn’t hit the piano or knock over the stand when he did his karate moves – phew! If only those hungry hungry parents could have resisted; if only there wasn’t a line of parents shoving headshots in the hands of anyone that was holding a pen as they walked out after the show we could have fooled ourselves that this was a sweet fun night about laughter and celebrating the joy of kids. But who am I kidding - I know every parent was on their cell to their childs’ agent 10 mins after they left the club to check if any calls had come in yet to set up their child’s wardrobe call for the new sitcom starring - their child the stand up star. The next night – for a slight change in pace I went to the Comedy Sex and Rock n Roll show at midnight at the Improv. That was a lot of fun, very rude and guess who won the raffle for the big bag of goodies that she can’t even type about as they are so rude! If anyone is interested the bag is still unpacked in my bedroom – minus the glass dildo (excuse me!!!) that I sold for 50 bucks on my way out that night - and you can come and collect it at anytime! Those unexplainable tools and tidbits are burning a hole in this innocent girls carpet!! Oh yeah and the comedy was very good – once again proving to me that no matter how much I try and deny it - sex sells!!! As far as comedians go the highlight for me was definitely Owen Benjamin who got up last and used his real intelligence and knowledge of classical music to affect a crowd at 2am who had come to hear dick jokes - Good work Owen!! He also would like the world to know that my prize ‘tool’ is apparently a direct replica of his ‘ tool’ – who knew it was see-through – lucky ladies!!! And then just incase I hadn’t been to The Improv enough this week I had to come back Sunday night to support a wonderful and funny friend Stephen Kramer Glickman in a Heavy Hitters of Comedy Show. I work a lot with them so I knew my hopes of dashing in and dashing out were futile – how right I was! The Heavy Hitters of Comedy is produced by one TK – an interesting personality who is a big fan of the ladies. These are bringer shows so there is always that horrible pressure to bring a crowd when you perform which not only creates an added tension ie ‘will my friends turn up so I get a decent spot in the line up’ and can sometimes take the fun out of comedy because being good in his eyes is not so much about the job you do but how many people you bring. Glicky surprised me tonight by turning from one of the most confident and charming fellas I know into a nervous wreck for the entire hour and a half before he got onstage. One thing I will never understand is why so many of these amazing men and women - who have such fun being funny every day of their lives - when they are faced with putting it onstage – just like they do every other night – just before they do it loose all rational faith in themselves. Of course he was wonderful and of course he was hilarious but he knew as well as I did that his nerves held him back – let loose Glicky you have the ability to rock an audience if only you believed you could! As always it was fascinating to watch a packed house give very little to the comedians – in particular to the host Rich Kunkler who has so often killed before with the same jokes and is an extremely talented comic. I sat watching the crowd instead of the performers and saw how they reacted when each comedian kept pointing out that they were a bad audience. They sat back further and further into their seats and more and more of them crossed their arms and started believing the comics. It was almost as if they were saying “you are right we better not laugh now or we will be failing in our duty as a bad audience!” Comics – don’t tell the audience they are bad, give them the benefit of the doubt, show them some love – they just might return it and if not well atleast they will be nice to you in the bar after the show!

Posted: 01:35, 2006-Dec-3

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Comedy Carma!!

Thursday Nov 16th It was a weird feeling to drop my (non comedian) housemate off at The Improv and drive away with out going in but tonight wasn’t exactly a night for little blonde Aussies to get onstage – it was the well revered King David’s of Comedy Show – an all Jewish night (only in Hollywood) So instead I headed across to Little Armenia (far more me don’t you think?) There is a great coffee house Sybor y Cultur on Hollywood Blvd near the 101 and every Thursday night Rich Pierrelouis – a contender for the nicest guy and the best biceps in comedy – hosts a really fun show every week. I had only booked myself in with him on Monday so I knew I would have a prime position but stage time is stage time no matter how many lattes you consume while waiting for that 8 minutes. A little tip to anyone thinking of visiting this show – WALK! I arrived at 8:15 and saw 4 comics go up and come down – that is I saw them through the window of my car as I drove round and around and around looking for a spot!!! Once inside I realized this was going to be a long night. The room was packed – and atleast half of the crowd were comics, note book in hand – apparently I wasn’t the only one who Rich was hoping to ‘squeeze in’ tonight. So after saying all my discreet hellos to the regular crew who are also doing the rounds I found a stool at the back of the room and got my note book out. I scribbled down a list of what I hoped to talk about: Returning to Oz, Crazy LA, Wear tshirts for everyday events, MotherF&#($ers (excuse my language), the first time someone sat down, and producers. Then I put it to the side, pulled out my laptop and made use of the free wireless. That is one thing I have found very handy about a lot of these coffee shop shows I can get my daily submissions and Myspacing done at the same time as waiting for a spot. Lucky I am a lady well versed in the art of multi tasking and not a man or I would have to just listen to the other comics. A little note on street cred: Try not to be busted on Myspace in a coffee shop…if a comedian spots that you can guarantee a mention in their spot!! From what I could catch over the frothing of milk and loud whispers of the crowd there were some very funny people gracing the stage. My favourite call of the night came from my friend Jeremy Saville “I want Hilary to become President purely so I can hear Bill boast that he is sleeping with the president – you know he would.” Hilarious!!! Rich is so lovely that he really had booked to many comics so as time rolled on the crowd rolled out the door. By the time he idled over to me apologetically and let me know I would be going up last the audience was well and truly laughed out. In a standard comedy show going last – or being the headliner – is a big compliment. SO I put on my rosey glasses and pretended that was what had just happened. I was the headliner for this night of comedy – just a pity that the crowd had left before the main act hey? But I got up there and gave the remaining smilers (as opposed to ‘laughers’ all the energy I had planned to give when I walked in three hours earlier. I feel that is so important because they have hung out for you – the least you can do is thank them with your best effort. I actually got some decent laughs from the steel faced black comedians. And I mean single laughs- you know the sort that don’t last long they are more an acknowledgement of ‘that’s a keeper’. I managed to get the majority of my thoughts out and am glad my rude swearing joke went down well – I am loving that joke right now. I was frustrated that everyone was so laughed out because it was impossible to get a fair gauge of how everything was working but I know they were listening and at 11pm in a 7pm show – I think I should see that as an applause break. I really was happy with the job I did but who knows maybe their silence was more just the fact I wasn’t funny. Atleast I got my biggest laugh on my closer “Thanks for looking at me guys – this has been…awkward.” I got off stage and was confronted by a wide eyes student who asked me approximately 58 questions in the next three minutes about my career aspirations and about why I do stand up. He was such a sweet fella and as I shook his hand when I was leaving he offered me such a wonderful and kind hearted gift ‘he looked me in the eye and said” I admire you so much – I really believe in you!” That young student is why I do stand up! As I walked back to my car spot (that took me 35 minutes to find) I asked myself why I had waited that long for that 8 minutes and why I didn’t push myself forward like a few of the other comics. When I got to my car I saw that horrible envelope stuck up under my windscreen wiper. The lovely parking wardens were still at the scene of the crime too – it must have been a particular offensive park I had unwittingly made because there were three of them. I pulled the ticket out and went to enquire cause as far an I knew had committed no crime. And for the first time in my life I think being a young woman actually worked because after one simple question one guy flashed his torch over the spot and took the ticket back off me - no worries at all. So that folks is what we call Carma – comedy style. So – the moral from tonight’s show: For the sake of all potential parking infringements in your future – never put pressure on a booker to move you forward in the order of the show!

Posted: 01:34, 2006-Dec-3

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Not only can I Stand up but I can blog!

TO BLOG – according to the Oxford dictionary: ‘to author an online diary or chronology of thoughts’ Until 10 minutes ago my definition of blogging: recounting the day you just lived in written form – either because your therapist suggested keeping a diary might help or people who know you actually have the time to read about the day you just had and you have the time to retell it after having just lived it. To be honest I never really believed anyone would care that I got stuck in traffic, got spat on by a homeless person and realised the greater meaning to life all on a balmy Tuesday afternoon. But apparently so! No matter how hard I try to come to terms with this form of communication it still don’t smell kosher to me so I decided if I am to write a blog then it must have a meaning, a greater purpose – a message. Now as you- no doubt - can tell from my hilarious rhetoric – I am a stand up comedian (hey stop laughing I am serious!) and this is a blog about the life of a baby stand up comedian. You may not know me yet but if I have anything to do with it – and if all my blogging friends are right about the promotional benefit of Blogs - you will soon! So this blog is a record of my shows, the shows I watch, the stand up community and what I have learnt from Stand up. Hopefully it will be interesting to comedians and fans of comedians alike. Hopefully a few other babies can read this info about shows and it will help them on their pursuit for the funny too!! I am so so new to this amazing world of silence, snickers, laughter and (then hopefully applause) I have been performing consistently since the beginning of this year – 2006. But it is my love! I try and perform every night – I am attempting to condense years and years of bad nights into as little time as possible so I can just get out there and share with people my honest and true belief that life is about laughing, loving and living!! Ahhh the power of the microphone!!! And if I am not performing I am always watching, writing, listening or waxing lyrical about the funnest and silliest and most honest art form in the world – the ART OF STANDING UP!!

Posted: 01:33, 2006-Dec-3

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A quick introduction...

Georgia loves to make people laugh! Georgia is a little Aussie comedian with a huge heart, smile and an even bigger passion for all things that bring laughter and happiness in the world! She also likes to talk about herself in the third person!!! She moved to the US in May 05 to take her acting and comedy career to the next level and it has been the best decision of her life. She lives everyday to stand by herself with a mike in front of hundreds of strangers! As a stand up comedian she can be seen at the LA Improv, The Comedy Store, The Ha Ha Café, Every Tuesday at Bungalow 13 and at any other room in LA with a microphone and an audience...she also appears regularly on the Jimmy Kimmel Show. In Australia she gained success from being a children's entertainer both on TV and in theatres. She was Little Pet the recycling Bottle and Cloudia raindrop for kids all across Australia and toured to Asia performing numerous pantomime shows. She is also the voice of Angelina Ballerina and Jakers the Pig! She teaches stand up comedy to kids in LA. She does private coaching and she runs kids comedy intensives regularly. She also hosts a Kids Open mic every week in North Hollywood. She believes kids are the most natural comedians! They are so full of laughter and joy and have a lot to teach the grown ups who think they are funny! She has extensive experience in improv and sketch work and has studied acting for many years. In Australia she ran comedy workshops for school kids that integrated environment, safety, make believe and laughter all in one. She also performed at countless festivals, events and parties entertaining the kids. She has continued this work since arriving in LA and does it purely because of her love for the kids. She is also an award winning writer and playwright.

Posted: 01:32, 2006-Dec-3

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