I got on stage at a comedy open mic!!! So that you can relate to the gravity of this event for me, this is something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Whether people put it in my head or I put it in my own head, there has developed an itch for me to do some stand-up comedy. Yet, I remained terribly afraid. And so, the itch was never scratched…until…last night!
So, yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day. I was heading home, planning on diving into some work as I had partaken in the Irish festivities during the day via the parade and accompanying afternoon beers. I received a last minute invitation to stop by the Times Square Arts Center to support a friend at an open mic. I love comedy, so I spontaneously decided to swing by before heading home. I found myself laughing as well as commiserating with the comedians as they worked their material out onstage before their peers. Most everyone in the audience was a comedian, which is the case for most open mics. As I watched these people, I felt that itch flaring up again and I secretly wished and fantasized about getting up. My friend offered to write my name in, but I fearfully shook my head, “no!” An internal debate took place within me, weighing all the pros and cons of saying “yes” instead.
The last comedian finally closed his set and the host stepped onstage to bid everyone farewell. My window of opportunity eeeked to a close. The next few seconds are a blur. I was mid-conversation with the host when he realized that I had wanted to go on. He encouragingly and with a casual flair said, “go ahead!” and tossed the mic at me. I grabbed it and started talking. Everyone stopped mid-exit and with a mixture of confusion and intrigue, sat back down to hear what I had to say. I talked about having gone to the St. Patty’s Day Parade earlier, despite my Chinese descent. Then I explained that I was going to describe more of a realization than a joke and proceeded to tell a story about something wild that had ensued at the parade…a classic New York moment…those are always great…and there was a bit o’ a message about that one as well!
My next joke began with “I have to go to the bathroom right now…so that makes me think of Starbucks” and I heard my first collective room laugh! I proceeded to implore them as to why the Starbucks bathrooms are completely drenched not in water, but in urine all the time…how that is excusable perhaps, for a club where most bathroom-users are drunk, but truly not excusable for a coffee shop?!
I continued with a story about my yoga class, which I had just come from, as I indicated was the reason for my tights and tank top. I then made a playful caricature of yoga teachers who take the yoga jargon too far, close to the point of sounding phony or unnatural. I demonstrated, as I struck a warrior two pose and explained matter-of-factly, how one is to look over the shoulder for maximum benefit from this pose; yet those yoga instructors would instead say, “look into infinity.” I went through a few examples and ended with the kicker that my teacher had dropped on us earlier that day: “offer your practice today up to Japan.” LOL! I reacted that this, for, me, just loses me for that teacher and I’m outta there, like “Namaste!” Everyone clapped and then I took a final moment to give my compliments to all my fellow comedians…hehe…and invited them to Actors InC! Woo hoo!
Debriefing: Why is getting on stage so terrifying? I believe that a child would fearlessly bound onstage and begin telling knock-knock jokes, successfully winning over a roomful of people. Yet, as a grown woman, I sat there proverbially biting my nails, hemming and hawing and being a scaredy-cat! I thank God that this happened…I know that He made it happen…honestly. It was the most perfect way for me to connect w/ those comics and consequently breathe meaning and a face into my invitation to them. I would like to do this again, just to get it on tape. Who knows…I might even be better this time. 
