#michelle started transitioning at around 19/20 after getting out of the wheeler's house

[katimanki]

Lesbyler at 6, 12 and 22 🌈

[winstonhcomedy]

“Dope A-F” - 8/15 -8/19 - “ Pet Lovers, Crushing Defeats, and Homecoming”

I missed my deadline on Sunday which isn’t great, but oh well! I am so happy I got most of my stuff done. I only didn’t do the IG video (because honestly I have no idea what I’m going to do for that) and my blog post because I couldn’t get my internet to work! But so far this week I am 2 for 2 ! Hooray! So let’s hop right into it.

8/15

After work I headed straight to the venue. Tonight’s show was going to be a Kindred Spirit. I was closing it out. I was looking forward to getting a bite at the food truck, and doing some comedy. The brewery is pretty big, and it is not super conducive to comedy, but I have always had a pretty good set here.

I get to the venue and since it had been raining the food truck cancelled. Which is a huge bummer. So I just kind of sit around and wait for other comedians to show up so I am not chilling out starving.

After a while a few comics show up. Aaron Shoemaker was going to be hosting, then a dude who has only done comedy once showed up and I think his name was Richard. Aaron and I catch up and talk as the other comics arrive. The other comics on the show were Will Minor, Stella Naulo, Alida Harper, and Ry Mather.

The turnout is less than usual at these shows. I think it is due to the weather. The charity we are raising money for is Goochland Pet Lovers. The show is running a little late, but nothing too crazy. The biggest thing is how new all of the comics are. I have only been doing comedy 4 years and I have been doing it longer than the rest of them combined.

The show starts and Aaron goes up to host. The crowd is kind of weird. They are pretty tight and they aren’t really digging anyone’s jokes. Some people are bombing, but others are at least doing ok. Stella did a little crowd work and that did well, but when she transitioned to her material it was just the same response everyone else had gotten.

I wanted to do well, but I was hungry and honestly didn’t really feel like I had the ability to do well. I decided I was just going to try and have fun and only do crowd work. Which I did for about 30 minutes. I had an extremely good set! Especially with how the room was. I actually got to talk about politics in a center right room and able to make the super republican dude in the crowd laugh. I was doing callbacks and able to jump back and forth between audience members.

Honestly it felt so good. Shows like this serve as a reminder to me the importance of being able to do crowd work. I am so glad I make myself write, and try material out at open mics. I do not want to be the dude who only does crowd work, but I love being the dude that if I need/want to I can only do crowd work.

I think the highlight was a table of 2 parents and 3 young adults. I was able to talk about their time in college, and joke about where they go/are going to school. It got some huge laughs. I also had a dude come up on stage with me in the first 10 minutes. He was just a drunk dude who had a lot of money. We joked back and forth, and he legit came across as insane. This was one of the most nuts shows I have ever done. I’d give it an A-.

I got off stage and met some people, and got my free beer from the venue to go. I talk to the comics for a bit and make sure I grabbed my mic stand (used it because the one they had was shit) before heading out. I got home and passed out because after long sets I get super tired.

8/16

The next day after work I headed up to DC. I was in the Comedy Kumite competition in the DC Improv lounge. I get up there and Alex Castagne and I meet up to walk and talk for a bit. He is on a show at Shaw’s Tavern.

After walking for a while we go our separate ways and I get to the club. The lineup for the show’s look like it is going to be fun. I am going against Kasha Patel in the first show and then Wendy Wrobleski in the second show.

We get a good hang going before the first one. Max Wolfson, Ross Benoit, Kasha, Lawrence Killebrew (Atlanta), Kevin Seefried, Simone, Wendy, and myself.

The show starts and the first two rounds of the first show were going great. Kevin, Simone, Ross, and Lawrence all murdered. I was so excited and then I went up. We did rock paper scissors to determine who goes first and I lost so she picked me.

I ate a massive dong on stage. I did ok, but the room was so hot. They hated my teaching material and I disappointed myself. I’d give this set an F. I truly hated it. Then Kasha went up next and she had an ok set. Honestly neither of us really killed.

They then did audience reaction and we tied. Then they did it again and I lost. Knocked out in the first round sucks. It reminded me why I really hate comedy competitions. I put too much pressure on myself, and if you lose it is impossible to not feel hurt.

So I spent the rest of the first show getting into my own head, and being upset with myself. I hung with the other comics and after the first show we headed to Shake Shack. I grabbed my milkshake and went back to the Improv to see Alex for a bit. Benjy Himmelfarb and Dee Ahmed are there as well. We talk a bit before I head inside to get ready for the second show.

The second show starts and Wendy and I are the first match. We go up and I lose rock, paper, scissors again and get started. I have a much improved set. I do crowd work and jokes. Everything is working and I am riffing just trying to get anything to land. It felt so good to recover and be able to have a good set. I’ d give this set a B. Which for the first set is definitely dope.

Then Wendy goes up and she has a good set too. I really respect her as a comedian. She gets laughs, but isn’t destroying. All in all a really good set. They bring us back up and do audience response and I lose again. This one hurt for a different reason. The first show I had a bad set, and I felt like I deserved to lose. This set was different. I gave it my all and I don’t think I could have done better with this crowd. I am just super upset with myself. It is also pretty early and I am all kinds of in my feels. I miss my dad, I am kind of sick, I am starving, and honestly just want to go home.

I go to leave and cancel my spot at Big Hunt. I just wasn’t in the right headspace for this (I will never bail on a set again). Looking back I”m mad I did this, but honestly if my mind was telling me to go I am glad I did. I ended up being so tired on my way home I stayed at TJs. I got there and passed out immediately. I had a show tomorrow headlining in my hometown and I needed to get out of my own head.

8/17

I woke up the next day and started to head to Farmville to headline The Brew House. I stopped a few times on my way since it was a close to 3 1/2 hour drive. I stopped at a diner and had a pretty good meal but some piss poor service. I also stopped at a Sheetz for a frozen lemonade which hit the spot.

When I got into town I parked and walked to Charley’s Waterfront Cafe so I could have a bowl of their Roasted Red Pepper and Crab soup. This was one of my favorite meals when I was younger. I haven’t had it in about 10 years so it was really awesome to go back.

I then headed to The Brew House and met up with Liz. Liz had booked this show after how much fun the show in Blackstone was. Her and I hung and talked a bit before her and a friend went walking around Main Street.

Then I started to see all of the locals I had grown up with and knew through my time in high school Tracey Carilli and her husband Tony were there. I got to talk to Tracey for a long time. It was super nice to catch up with her. Then Judy Ellington and Julie Adams showed up. Then it was like nonstop. I had Johnny Ellington, Jason, the Meadows, Michelle Wheeler, Michaela Atkinson, Branden Bolt, Jacob Mercier, Ryan Sharpe, Jackie Montego-Sharpe, Dusty Grey, Rebecca Ragland Grey, the Carters, Andy Ellington, Susan Johnson, Carson Johnson, Sierra Smith, and I am sure I am missing some. I know these names mean nothing to you guys, but it meant the world to me that people who made a large impact in my life as a child/young adult came to support me.

There was a line out the door to come in at 7:30. We had to start late so people could get seated. I knew about 1/3 of the audience and the rest were just people looking to catch the show and grab a bite to eat.

Jason Kusterer and Anthony Thompson showed up a bit before showtime. Then Liz found out they didn’t have a PA so we had to go grab mine out of my car and set everything up while people filed in. I could tell it was going to be a rowdy crowd but I was ready.

The show started and Liz went up and let everyone know it was going to be an adult show. She got everyone to yell their favorite curse word. She then went into her set and she did a fine job hosting. After her was Kusterer who started out pretty strong, but lost the crowd after a joke about suicide by cop. Then Anthony went up and tried to deal with how loud the room was. They were about half paying attention and the rest were just talking and being super loud and drunk.

It was a tough room, but he did a good job. He did a good amount of material and addressed them in spots. He kept them paying attention, and walked around the crowd a bit. He held the show together, and got some pretty big laughs which was dope to see.

Then it was my turn. I felt a ton of pressure to succeed. I was worried they’d all hate it, but I just went for it. I did about 33 minutes and 20 of it was crowd work. I worked the crowd, and did some local crowd work as well (which feels like cheating, and an advantage I had over the other comics). I was able to tie it in to talking to a few teachers I didn’t know. One was a lady who was talking all night. She was an English teacher who made her students put Beowulf on trial. I kept busting her balls on that. Then there was a history teacher who had a crush on Thomas Jefferson and I was really able to play off of both of them.

It was a super fun set. I had some lulls in the middle when I switched to material and realized that is not what this crowd wanted. The 1/3 that I knew paid attention and dug the material while the other 2/3 were just kind of drunk townies who wanted me to interact with them. So I went back to crowd work when I lost some steam. The last 10 minutes was crowd work and me trying new jokes because it was a free show. The people enjoyed it but I did not close as strong as I wished. I’d give this set a B/B-.

I got off feeling weird, but got to catch up with everyone. It was so nice and everyone was so supportive. I am sure they liked it as much as they did because they care about me, but either way the whole crowd was entertained. I felt like I did my job as a headliner, and I think its a good sign I wanted to do better. it is good to know I can work these rooms, but I wish I had gotten to do more material.

After everyone left I got to hang with Kusterer and Anthony for a bit. We talked about our sets and comedy. We talked about small towns like this, and the type of show it was. We had a blast hanging out. They left and I finished my drink. I then hopped in my car and headed home to get a good nights rest.

8/18

This was my day off. I kind of relaxed, ate, and saw Toy Story 4. I hung out with my mom and started watching Avengers End Game. I am most upset that I didn't use my time wisely this day. I wasn’t able to get an IG video for Saturday or my blog post up for Sunday. So one week in and I already messed it up. Which is ok. I am just going to have to try harder this week.

8/19

After work I headed up to the Southern in Charlottesville for the open mic. I had a few new tags and stuff I really wanted to do. I felt weird all day, and honestly my mental health isn’t the best. I’m glad that tomorrow I get to go to therapy. I need to find a way to afford it weekly again, but for right now that is not a possibility. I am hoping some more comedy gigs, and some better luck I can build my savings back up.

I get there and Kusterer, Patrick Nowaczyk, Ry Mather, and Tom Hall are already there. I go inside and throw my stuff down and say hi to Danny. Then Heather walks in. I rode some grilled cheese bites from Shawn, and sit down to talk.

It was super fun catching up and hearing what everyone had been up to. Tom started a new job, Pat broke his arm, and a bunch of other shit. Then Paige came in wearing a new outfit. He had a shark hat that I’d never seen before, but definitely has a Paige vibe.

Then a bunch of comics rolled up. Jack Gerow, John Marg, Luzader, Sam Wood, Sammy Major, Keaton Ray, JR, Johnny Rad, Shane Hill, Alex Castagne, and Chris. I kept popping in and out of different groups joking and catching up. We had the comics meeting and I found out I was 10th. I was between Luzader and JR.

The crowd was an ok size. Not bad. better than the last few at least. A dude with a service dog came inside and Chris started joking about it right away during his set. Which was awesome. They loved it, and it really got the audience as loose as we could get them.

When the show kept going there were a few good sets, but for the most part it felt like everybody was tight. No one was offended, and no one left early. They just would rather politely smile at an offensive joke and hold back the laughs.

Alex had a strong set for the room, and so did Paige. Ry Mather had one of the better sets I’ve seen him have and it was cool to watch Kusterer open up and try some newer stuff in front of a different crowd.

It was my turn and I feel pretty good about the set. I joked and riffed around. I told a super offensive joke that I only do off stage. That was fun. I tried some new tags to 2 or 3 jokes and they worked for the most part. I tried a more rapid fire delivery, but it screwed with my rhythm a little bit. So that was good to find out. I also riffed a character of a dude who is a conspiracy theorist but he thinks that more than 6 million jews died in the Holocaust. He believes it was 12. So he isn’t a Holocaust denier is a Holocaust multiplier. I’d give my set a C- but it was a super fun C-.

I hung out for the rest of the show and had a good time. We were lighting Johnny Rad during his set, and he got a little salty and called Chris a dumbass. It was awesome. It was like watching someone yell at their dad.

The show ended and I headed straight home. I was feeling pretty depressed. I am very disillusioned with comedy. I feel stuck. Not just physically, but also my career. I need to stick around for a bit after dad’s passing, but at the same time I am so worried I am using it as an excuse to not move.

We did it! I got caught up in time for the Tuesday blog post! Thanks for reading laydees and baybees ! I love you all very much! Make sure to check out all of my content on youtube, IG, and twitter! I am trying to kill the game! xoxo til next time