Thank You Miami (TYM) has two open mics for comedy a week (and a third all-talent show on Thursdays). TYM is also walking distance from my house. In The Rise of Zac Newford, this small mom (Jo) and pop (Alex) bar serves at my Home Base. I like trying new jokes here, even in front of minuscule audiences (most patrons leave after the booked show that ends around 11:30). Maybe it is just to sound out the jokes to an audience larger than my reflection, or to hear my jokes through an amplifier, and all without pressure. I gain a lot from performing at my most local haunt, TYM.
The husband-and-wife staff are kind and welcoming and the hosts are genuine and encouraging. There are also some great acts that make their way out to Little Havana and I am always happy to be inspired.
It can be a late night watching the entire list of comedians, but that is also exactly what I did on both occasions at TYM this week. I don’t just perform comedy, I enjoy it as well. In all honesty, seeing a joke for the umpteenth time can be a little bit boring but if tell myself that I am witnessing the crafting of a joke, judging its performance, and listening to its reception I can enjoy comedy in a way other than laughter.
For instance, tonight after the show I talked with Peter about a joke he was working out and I got to think about why his joke worked and we figured how it could be made better. This is a process I often neglect for my own jokes. I think: if it got a laugh it doesn’t need change (and if it didn’t that I should ditch it). But there are levels of laughter, as you will see and hear below, and no joke is perfect. I tried a new joke tonight about being a tutor and on my walk home I started to think a some small improvements I can begin working with. (Specifically I should change the phrase “the main difference” to “the difference” so as not to spoil that the list of differences is misdirection).
As a goal for this joke I plan on working on it throughout the week in my writing sessions and on stage to see what it can become. I can also take a look at some of my best jokes and see if I push them to that next level and go beyond giggles and laughs to chuckles and laughter.
As I begin to understand the nuances of joke writing and performance, my appreciation for comedy has changed but certainly grown. I image it is the difference between an amateur who watches pokers for the biggest pots, sickest coolers, and baddest beats while a veteran player wants to see the small pots where a player’s edge or style is revealed.
In this way I want to see the bombing comedian and perhaps her unexpected recovery. I like watching the subtle change a joke goes through as it is being worked out. Of course, like any comedy fan, I also like watching someone kill.
To kill is much more than to get laughs. It is to get continuous laughter out of the crowd. It is when every word becomes funny as the audience is hooked into a story that has punches, sure, but the entire world built by the comedian’s motion, cadence, and description is hilarious. The laughter becomes contagious and nobody can help but join in. I’ve only seen a few killer sets in my life and two were by the same comedian here in Miami, at two different places — one being tonight. Sebastian kills!
So thank you, TYM for serving as a home base for me to experiment and experience.
Enjoy tonight’s set!