Performing stand up comedy

“I am in front of a microphone, and my heart is pounding so hard that it could leap out of my mouth. My armpits are sweating profusely, I feel like I am having an out of body experience, and my mind is racing at warp speed. In a few seconds, I am about to do my very first stand up comedy show. [...] Going back to my first stand up comedy show, I step forward onto the stage, and pick up the microphone with my sweaty palms. The chatter in my brain miraculously clears, and I do my first joke. Then I hear something that sounds like laughter but due to my hearing impairment, it sounds blurry as if it is an underwater rumbling. I look more closely at the audience and see that they actually laugh. Yes. I made them laugh, and I feel less pressure. I crack another joke, and then I hear the underwater rumbling sound again. Laughter! And at that moment, I was hooked and seduced by the stand up comedy mistress who can be cruel at times.”

“Hi everybody,” I manage to nervously spurt out. My words sound surprisingly confident. “Full disclosure, this is my first time doing stand-up comedy.” Everybody claps and cheers. The audience seems supportive and friendly. Even if I’m not hilarious, at least they know it’s my first time. Deep down, though, I know they will be harshly judging every word that leaves my mouth. [...] My mind is reeling. People actually laughed at my jokes! The awful anxiety leading up to the performance was worth it. I see why comedians like Feerow say they feel a high after they go onstage. I feel it right now.”

“Our teacher split our class into two groups and I was the closer for the first group. Half of me was happy to be the closer, but the other half didn’t like having to wait. I had my set memorized. I ran it every day leading up to the performance. [...] Waiting in line all I could think about was forgetting my set. It was my biggest fear. I was more afraid of forgetting lines than not being thought of as funny. I actually did forget a line while performing, but no one really noticed. I was so nervous, I questioned if anyone would laugh. People laughed, but not as much as others did when I practiced. It’s a totally different situation when you perform for people who know you versus people who don’t know you.”