Where in the world am I today?: North Vancouver, BC, Canada
There is no doubt in my mind that the difference between a good performer and a great or gifted performer on some level comes down to their sense of timing… The most obvious context when this gets seen is when a performer steps out onto stage, but timing when you’re off stage can be just as important. Knowing when to pursue certain opportunities and when not to… Having the right line at the right time to convince a client of the value of your show in the negotiation process, knowing when to keep your mouth shut… (always a tricky one for me).
Years ago when I first met Rob Torres I got the feeling that he knew some sort of secret because he really impressed me with his comedic timing. After years of thinking about it and bumping into Rob on a few occasions I realized that for him it’s not necessarily only about his ability to be patient for the right moment to strike with his comedy, but also that he has an inane faith that the right time will make itself apparent… The comedy gods will give you the answer if you’re eyes are open enough to actually see the opportunity. It’s almost as though he’s a tour-guide for an audience opening the door to opportunity and encouraging that opportunity to have a life of it’s own. From there he simply nudges when it needs a little help, but never gets in the way of it’s natural flow…
I’m well aware that for years I’ve gleaned strength from a perhaps misguided sense of being able to control comedic situations… I’ve crafted routines for my show that allowed for tangents to be taken when appropriate, but that always ended up returning back to ‘the script’ eventually… Sometimes leaving the script is more important than sticking to it, but sometimes my faith that the comedy gods will provide me an ‘out‘ scares the crap out of me and I run screaming back to the comfort of the familiar as opposed to really pushing the envelope and running with what ever the situation is presenting…
Perhaps the mere exercise of writing these thoughts down is helping me articulate a burning desire to take bigger risks with what I present on stage. Taking the huge step outside my comfort zone that was The Hot Dog Show was great in terms of forcing me to not rely on the tried and true and to search out new ways to articulate my version of funny for an audience, but I think perhaps I want to go even beyond that… This quest for improvement, this desire to make things better, this thirst for moving forward hopefully keeps me creative and makes every chance to step in front of an audience an opportunity to grow not just to run through the motions… I think if I get to the stage of just running through the motions it’ll be time to do something else, but thankfully I’m still motivated to move forward with not just the fun of the familiar, but combatting my own fears and uncertainties about the unknown…
I know that I’m not as aggressive in my approach as some, but this too is a question of timing… The pursuit of opportunities as the pace that feels right. Success may be longer in coming as a result, but the balance between relying on what’s familiar and stepping towards the unknown is a journey that ends up being very specific to each individual I think… Hope you all have had a good journey with this process during 2009 and that as we approach 2010 you look at the New Year with eyes wide open for chances to learn, grown and gain a better understanding of the timing that’s appropriate for you.
