Own Your Own Space

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There is a Mic Club that has the feeling of summer camp.  It’s very supportive. Everyone stays up late as if it were the last night of camp. To kick off the mic the host, Sacha Chavez, recites a chant (he’s of Native American origin so his chant is all the more significant) about the importance of owning your own space. We take a glass, lift it up and then down tapping the floor with the glass, a symbolic gesture of owning your space.

I have a room for myself. In the world of stand-up comedy that is a highly coveted because it means you can get as much stage time as possible. Stage time is an important ingredient to becoming a strong comic and it’s a premium because there isn’t enough of it! So let me take a moment to appreciate the fact that I have a room.

I MC’ed my show recently and towards the end the audience was getting chatty. I had passed around the donation bucket, which is equivalent to the check spot and people were losing focus as they contributed money. That is understandable, but I needed to bring the room back to normal before bringing up the next comic. I was not able to do so, I did not own the room.

On the bright side I did come up with a save line the next time a room gets slightly out of control “what is this a protest, a rally” and there is always “shut up”.

After the show that got out of hand, I realized the importance of the chant and to always remember to own your own space.

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