I finished up my time in Budapest with a stomach bug. It hit hard enough that I canceled my weekend in Paris. But I got the footage I wanted as my tourist character, then I did the same a little bit in London. I hung out with some fun strangers at karaoke for my birthday.
Then I got back to the States and caught a cold. So I rehearsed for my first paid standup comedy gig while fighting a cough, which is one of the worst symptoms to have for public speaking. Fortunately, I had just enough time to mostly recover and to get a solid performance on video. So now I am told that I can shop myself around.
As for the experience, I was well-rehearsed enough that it was a comfortable experience. There were only a couple paying audience members, but they laughed. I did my material with the appropriate amount of improvisation and audience interaction. Thanks to my recent karaoke time, my stage presence was fully engaged. And my material was practiced enough that I was already tired of it, which of course kept me from laughing at any of my own jokes.
So now the task is to get my other bits performance ready. And, of course, to try to write more new things.
I am still at something of a loss now. What do I do with myself to make money? I want to do entertainment, but opportunities feel lacking. Or at least, I do not know how to market myself.
I have auditions lined up this week, so that is something. One specifically wants me to have a reader, but I still only have family, which are people I do not ask because they want to make it their own show.
Apart from going jogging a couple times last week, I have not worked out for over a month, so that is next on today's agenda. Hopefully that will help kick me into a good work ethic as I try to search out opportunities.
