The Comic In Me

If I had to name one thing I wish I had tried when I was a lot younger, it would be an attempt at stand-up comedy. It’s really my secret passion. I love to watch comedians, even the bad ones, because I’m interested in knowing why their jokes didn’t work. I become annoyed with comics who have been at it so long they phone their acts in and get by on their reputations alone, not their material. (I can think of some legendary radio announcers who do the same, actually.) I take satisfaction in having been a fan of Brent Butt for at least a decade before he hit it big with Corner Gas. Comedy is my bag, man.

The closest I ever came to doing a stand-up act was on talent night at a Cuban resort. I realise this has precious little to do with the business of being a stand-up comic, but it was still a lot of fun. Fuelled by a lot of beer and cheered on by my travel-mates, my “act” centred on ad-libs about life on the resort until I finally slithered off stage to polite applause. I remember thinking that if I ever decided to put some real effort into comedy, I could probably make it work. My dark humour isn’t for everyone, but I’m sure it’s for someone.

The TV series Last Comic Standing was tailor made for me. Season 4 just wrapped up with Josh Blue chosen the winner, although I would have put money on the second-place finisher, Ty Barnett. I don’t even care that I was wrong. The point of the show is the journey. There’s a little part of me that lives vicariously through some of the competitors, gets disappointed when they blow it and feels elated when they “kill”. If I can’t be a professional comic myself, at least I can support the art form by being one of its top fans.