Mission for this weekend...

...If you can get past that discouragement, you'll be fine...

So even though yesterday was a challenge, my goal is to get a solid set down on paper so that I can get on stage. (It's been two weeks since I've been on stage.)

Oh! I forgot to mention that I ran into two comedians yesterday while en route to our comedic meeting.

On the way to the meet-up spot, I ran into Zack Galifianakis,¹ [zæk ˌgæ.lə.fə.ˈnæ.kəs] whose last name I still can't pronounce. I think I ended up saying,

"Hey, aren't you, uh, Zack, the comedian?" Smooth move, Lucy.

I get giddy when I meet celebrities, especially comedians. Particularly, when I respect their work so much. It's more the fact that they get up on stage and spill their guts. And if they're lucky, people enjoy their performance and ideally paid to be there!

As always, I asked him any advice he's willing to dole out.

I'll paraphrase: He mentioned he wasn't one for advice. But he did reiterate what Mr. Louis CK mentioned earlier--that you must fail and fail and fail, until you get the hang of it. I asked him how long he's been doing it for. Answer: Failing for 11 years. Yikes! (I questioned my dedication after he said that.)

"If you can get past that discouragement, you'll be fine," he said.

How long did it take him to get his swing? Answer: He said he's still working on it. He also mentioned that it took him longer because he had to build his self-esteem on stage. Talk about free psychological counseling. Just get up on stage.

"It took me longer because I didn't feel confident in the beginning."

He was dragging a small suitcase as he turned for the subway and made the comment,

"In fact, I'm going to Albany to go bomb right now."

With that, I thanked him for his time and wished him well on this next performance.

The other comedian I met was Craig Baldo¹, whose work I wasn't familiar with until his performance at this past ITU Show. He indulged me for a bit. I asked him my round of questions. I told him that I just ran into Zack. He told me about house comedian's house swap, a comforting story.

You know me. I always take these random encounters with comedian celebs meeting as good omens, especially when it's on a day when I'm meeting with people specifically for the sole purpose of creating comedy!

~ Lucy

¹Zack Galifianakis [Official Site|MySpace|Wikipedia] [Return to Entry]

²Craig Baldo [Official Site|MySpace|Invite Them Up Album] [Return to Entry]

Did you enjoy this post? Buy me a warm cup of joe.