Rev. Mitcz @ Aura (Sept 27th)
So, last night I went back for a 2nd performance at the Aura Nightclub. I still love that club. Though, last night had a bit of a weird vibe. Seemed some of the comedians thought so too.
First, I’ll place the video, then I’ll give you my “behind the scenes” shit..
Rev. Mitcz Live @ Aura Nightclub (Sept 27th) from Mitcz Marzoni on Vimeo.
I was nervous about this gig. I don’t normally get nervous. Quite the opposite, really. I sometimes wonder if I was born without stagefright. Last night’s nervousness wasn’t about stagefright – it was about the material.
Originally, I’d completely rewritten my “gay marriage” material from scratch. Turned it into this 5-6 minute speech, littered with some pretty angry remarks about the Bush administration, and right-wingers in general. It may have gone over pretty well, but it still needs a little touching up.
Coming back from my mother’s memorial service at about 5am Weds morning, I didn’t have much time to work on new material. Add in that I had a 10-hour day of background acting on Friday, I was left with even less time. All I really knew was that I wanted to wrap the whole set into one central idea, just to see if it would work. The central idea that night being, basically : throughout history, there have been many amazing people who have accomplished so much and changed the world using little more than the power of thought. Here I am, using the same tools – and all I can do is tell dick jokes for 10 minutes.
I’m not sure if that theme really came through in the set, but it was my first attempt at wrapping my entire set into a cohesive whole – so I’ll take what I can get for now.
I’ve been thinking I should open up a little more in my comedy, and use it as a chance to get some shit off my chest. The heaviest thing on my mind right now being, of course, the recent death of my mother. How do I talk about it, and make it funny? The same way I have been when I’m talking to my friends – I focus on the awkwardness of people’s reactions to the news, and to my nonchalant manner of discussing it. Getting over a thing like that – once upon a time it was my biggest fear – takes coming to grips with the reality, and taking it out of the realm of mystical and chalking it up to another of life’s little events that really throws you off-course.
My mother passed away 15 minutes into Monday, Sept 15th, and Monday night I walked up onstage at the Howl at the Moon club and threw down some comedy. That Friday was my first Aura Nightclub gig with Rebels of Comedy. So, it’s not like I couldn’t perform under the pressure. I wanted my mom to “be there”, however, and now that I’ve got a portion of my mom’s ashes in a vial here in my room – I decided to put a small sprinkle in some kind of locket. Thankfully, there’s an arts-and-crafts store across the street that had a little heart locket. My sister and I will eventually get REAL keepsake necklaces, and I’ll have one that isn’t so…. feminine.
When I was rehearsing last night’s material, every time I got to the part where I say “My mother just died. Less than 2 weeks ago”, I’d follow it up with “….and it’s tough, cause she means the world to me” and I’d end up with a lump in my throat, and sometimes I’d end up crying. By the time I got to Aura, I was so nervous that I’d let out that line and break down onstage, I almost didn’t wanna go up. I also had about 12 people showing up just to see me, including friends-of-friends who were arriving with friends-of-friends who saw me last time and sang my praises to pull in more people. I appreciated their presence, no two ways about it. But, it was a bit more pressure than I could handle at the time.
Ultimately, I got through the line just fine – and decided at the last moment to drop the part about how much she meant (cause, really, that would go without saying and it doesn’t add anything to the performance). I also decided to alter using the word “gay” to describe my locket, and instead say “faggoty” and make a joke about why i made that decision. I think that was the biggest laugh I got all night. About a minute after getting past the part that had plagued my conscience all day (“my mother died….”), my premature self-celebration made the little screen inside my head go blank and I completely forgot my set.
A little pick-me-up from my friend Vodka/Cranberry helped kickstart the gears again and got me moving along. You’ll probably notice in the video that I stumble around a bit, and I’m a bit more drunk than I should have been. But, hell…. I made it through the set and I’m ready to fight another day.
Upcoming Gigs..
I’m excited about next month..
Thursday, October 16th @ Shooters // 8:30pm.
NO Cover. NO drink minimum. 18 and over. FREE Parking. And it’ll be intimate – only 4 comics. I’ll be doing about 20 MINUTES that night.
Sunday, October 26th @ Hollywood Improv // 9:00pm
My BIRTHDAY show (well, 3 days before my birthday) – the LAST show I’ll do before I turn the big 3-0. $14 Cover. FREE Parking. Great food, great night. AMAZING venue (world-famous, g’damnit). Make sure to get there EARLY! There’s often a line out the door by the time 9pm rolls around, so you should try and get there before 8:30pm at the latest.
