You know how performing can be a high or a low? Well last night was a big time low. Not just as a performer but as a producer, which hurts the most. One of the comics asked “is this your first time producing”? Ouch. From a scale of 1 to 10 the show was a 5. I am not a perfectionist, but lord have mercy a 5 is shitty. I am writing this the day after the event and it still burns.
The event starts with the chalkboard having the wrong time- the show starts at 7:00pm, but the chalkboard said 8:00pm. Two audience members who were papered in (aka didn’t pay) were told check in was at 6:30pm though check-in is not until 7:00pm. The two audience members were starting to feel negative about the experience because of the confusion of the start time. I could tell they were annoyed (after my mom pointed it out to me) and got them a free drink. Problem solved, point producer!
To not completely beat myself up, there were 22 people in the audience and the room was at capacity. The hardest part of a producers job is putting butts in the seats. Another good idea was we had a musician play pre-show music. That was a great idea, but the execution was off. I let the show run 20 minutes too long as I wasn’t fully paying attention to time and wanted to be nice to the comics and give them more time. No more being nice (I’ve said that before). The truth is I need someone to help me. I’m just not sure who.
I am slowly learning things like comedians are grateful for stage time if its 8 minutes or even if its 5 minutes. The boyfriend tells me these things, but somehow I need to experience them myself to truly understand it. And as a comedian, I SHOULD know these things, but producer / people-pleaser-brain takes over.
At the end of the day, comedians like most people, do what’s best for them and I need to do the same for myself. My mom who repesented the paying audience (though she is comped) said it was a good show. Is all of this in my head or is it reality? Most likely a little of both. Let’s give the show a 7 and aim for a 10 next time. I recently was told “at the end of the day…there’s a new day” and I need to remember that. Meet Drink Laugh is next Tuesday at Webster Hall, giddyup.
