Why are we in such a hurry to be entertained? These past few weeks I've been doing stand up comedy a few nights a week and one of the things I'm noticing about these comedy open mics is the pressure to get a laugh within the first 30 seconds or less. There was a bit that I really loved where I started with something serious and led people down a 1 minute path in order to get my first joke. I liked it but it didn't really work very well in the standard 5 min set so I've switch

OMG I did it! It’s something I’ve always wanted to try: Stand up comedy. And this week I dove head first into this world and told jokes at three different open mics around the Bay Area. As somebody who coaches other performers I always feel like I need to put myself in the hot seat once in awhile or I lose my edge. How can I relate to the fears of other actors, dancers and musicians otherwise? How an I relate to your performance pressures if I’m not in touch with them mys