My first public reading

Last night I did my first public reading at an open mic. It’s been over a year since the last time I read in front of people, and that was in a writing class in college. The difference here is that I wrote this piece specifically to be read on stage, and in the process of working on it I learned a lot about writing for performance. Many rules of composition had to be broken in order for the piece to be easy to follow. I had to arrange sentences in ways that sounded better despite looking sloppy on the page.

While this kind of writing/performance is not my primary goal, it is a good learning experience and I’m trying to do more of it. As an artist, stretching myself in any direction is only going to do me good. It is a good writing exercise and it’s available to me for free.

A few years ago I was heartbroken and the most depressed I have ever been in my life. While that was the darkest time, it was also the most productive time. I took several writing classes in college and wrote and wrote and wrote. I wrote the funniest stuff I have ever written during that time. I would read my work to the group and they would laugh their asses off. During that time I wondered if the writing was actually funny or if it was funny because of the way I read it. I also wondered if the writing was any good. I was inspired by many humor writers, but I didn't really want to be one of them. Over the years I have gravitated toward more serious writing, and I find very little humor in the works I have recently written, especially the last two short stories I have recently finished. Despite the lack of humor, I still wonder if my work is any good. Don't get me wrong, I don't see humor as a defect or an inferior quality in literature--I think it's fantastic. I just don't want to write for cheap laughs. What makes David Sedaris so great isn't the funny ways he says things but the way he sees the humor in dark situations. I try to write truthfully and not force anything into the work. But now I'm missing the laughter.

Having done stand-up once a few months ago, I long to be on stage again, making people laugh. But stand-up comedy is never something I want to pursue. It isn't really my calling. I decided that what would be most fun and fulfilling for me is to do some humor writing again. So now I am summoning the spirit of that dark, depressing time, and trying to write from that point of view again. It is still a part of who I am; it just has been taking the back seat recently. It is interesting the hear the voice of your past self speaking to you, and to try to embody that self again. I feel like I'm playing myself in a biopic about my past.

I'm planning to read this piece of writing I'm working on at an open mic next Wednesday. I'm hoping to intrigue and perhaps get a few laughs.