Hosting a comedy show is a great honor and something I'm really proud of accomplishing in only 6 short months. The overall general consensus is that the opening spot on a comedy show is almost always the hardest spot to be in. There are several reasons for this but the most obvious is that the audience is "cold." You basically have a group of strangers seated next to one another and eventhough they may be there for a comedy show, they are not quite in the laughing mode just yet. As the opener it is your job to get them warmed up for the next comedian and keep the show going. This is where your material will get the ultimate test as to how funny it is. My first go at it was no different.
Memorizing each comedians credits and announcements before hand turned out to be a bigger challenge for me than I anticipated. Lucky for me, I already knew most of the comics on this particular bill, so it wasn't really a huge problem. It also turned out to be a really great show. Overall, I think I did rather well and I only mispronounced one person's name but she was very forgiving. (Thanks Hailey!) The headliner that evening came up to me after the show and was really appreciative of how I got everyone involved, gave generous introductions and kept the show moving foward. Considering that this was my first time ever hosting a gig and the fact this guy has done thousands of shows all along the west coast and is also an extremely exceptional talent, I thought that was pretty high praise. I learned that being a host for a comedy show is not just about being funny. It's about doing what's best for the show as a whole and I'm all for that. I can't wait for my next opportunity to host again.
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