I took the Greyhound (I’m a baller) to DC so I could MC a showcase as part of the Association of Jewish Theater’s annual conference. I had performed in this showcase a few years ago and they had asked me to MC the show for this year’s conference.
I was looking forward to the opportunity because the preparation and hosting would be a learning experience. My co-host was a playwright and I am a solo performer so we decided it would be appropriate that he bring up the writer’s pieces and I bring up the solo acts.
My cohost is a talented funny writer and would riff and make a joke after every piece. He’s a tough act to follow. I wound up keeping up with him riffing my own jokes. My favorite joke was one that I actually wrote in anticipation of the conference. When I brought up the talented Rebecca Joy Fletcher’s piece formally called The Ring (which is something I don’t have) I told the joke:
My boyfriend was born in the Ukraine and raised in American and says he never wants to get married because he already has US citizenship
What he doesn’t know is that my dad works for the U.S. embassy and is in the process of getting his citizenship revoked.
The joke worked. The only problem is that the first part of the joke is already in my boyfriend’s act so he and I are “battling” over who gets to use that joke! Overall, the hosting experience was really fun and if nothing else it wound up building my confidence- I am funny.