Category: Comment
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Three gigs
I’ve not written about stand-up and how my gigging has been going for a while so I thought I’d write some of what I’ve been doing for you my avid readers. I say avid readers in the broadest sense, I have google analytics so know where you live and who you are (apart from the…
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Fourteen things I learnt at university (circa 7 years ago)
I realized this week that I am closing in on 8 years since I left university. Not a massive milestone but one that was highlighted to me on my friend Neal’s stag weekend. As we were stood there in the rain, vomit coating the bottom of our trousers, me drenched and shitfaced laughing at the…
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An open letter to my 16 year old self.
Dear Sam, This must be a bit strange getting a letter from your future self – I imagine you’re wondering about all the cool shit you’ll be getting up to in the next 12 years. Maybe you’re imagining I’ve just got back from my high flying executive job going from my office at the World…
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A prolonged silence…
It’s been a while since I last wrote a blog post. It’s not that I haven’t tried, I have, god I’ve tried. I’ve pulled my laptop towards me in a semi-seductive manner and whispered into its USB port, “now… it’s blogging time.” . I’ve then switched on iplayer, just for a second, to check, well, check…
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An Edinburgh Hour…
Last week I got a bad review. A very bad review. I know what you’re thinking, “I bet it wasn’t that bad“, “i bet you startled them with you linguistic ability, surprised them with wit and poignancy“, maybe, just maybe you’re thinking, “I bet he’s being modest and at worst it is a mixed review“.…
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Arts Marketing: Now What? (Part 1)
I’ve not written a post about arts marketing for a while so, as I find myself on box office in a quiet moment I thought I’d pop down some thoughts I’ve been having recently. If you work in marketing you may disagree with them – then again I could be about to provide a moment…
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When will I be on Live at the Apollo?
Recently I had two gigs back-to-back that weren’t terrible. Hardly a ringing endorsement, but when I told a mate i’d had two average gigs he asked me when I’d be on Live at the Apollo. Now this is terrible for a few reasons, firstly it suggests that my ambition rests with being on TV rather than…
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Gig #19 – The Holly Bush, Dudley
I’ve not blogged for a couple of gigs and had no real intention of doing many more, however, after talking to a few comics at gigs who seem to read the shit I write on here I thought I’d continue. In a weird way I am taking pride from writing this pretentious drivel and knowing…
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Inspiration and tiny steps
I’ve noticed that recently my blog posts have gone from witty, hilarious anecdotal, nuanced pieces and become rather predictable – while keeping gig notes is, for me, really useful, I appreciate that outside the comedy community is can be quite dull. It’s been remarkable how people go from “please tell me more about doing stand-up”…
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Getting out of a rut
(This is just my ideas and what’s currently going round in my head, you may disagree, but please let me know your thoughts) Sometimes it can feel like I’m getting in a rut with theatre marketing. There, I’ve admitted it, I’ve said what arts marketeers should never say and I fully expect to be spurned…
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Fear Of Flying – 4
They sat in silence for nearly two hours, the only sounds the slamming doors in other parts of the police station and the faint hum of the air conditioning. Simon pondered that it seemed ironic that in the middle of winter the air conditioning was still on and that surely opening a window would have…
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Prestogigaphobia – The fear of gigging in Preston
Guess what this blog post is about… Yes, you’ve guessed it, I’m heading back to Preston to see how I get on at Beat The Frog. Me and Preston have not had a good relationship since we first met nearly a year ago. Well actually it started long ago when I decided not to go…
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What I learnt this week…#1
I think it’s important to blog regularly, and to be honest for the last few weeks I have been quite neglectful as of late. Partly it’s because I’ve been really busy, I’m not making excuses, I’m just saying, loads on, once I’ve finished with work, other work, play stuff, stand-up, curing cancer and stand-up blogs…
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Gig #7 – Hot Water Comedy Club
So here I am again, writing up a gig, and my good performance average has gone up from 16% to 28%. Yes, nearly one third of the time I don’t die onstage in a long and lingering silence. Gig #7 was at my comedy home (or the place I did my first gig), Hot Water…
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Gig #6 – The Beech Inn, Chorlton
I’ve been inspired to write up some gig notes by Ste Price (click here for his excellent site) to evaluate the work I’ve been doing, how I’ve felt after gigs and where I need to develop. Gig #6 was at The Beech Inn in Chorlton and was a really fun gig. I was slightly apprehensive…
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My thoughts on Lord Of The Rings
Someone asked me this morning what I thought of The Hobbit and instantly regretted it. It all started all so innocuously, “Yeah, it’s okay” I said offering very little insight or artistic critique of what I’d seen. Then I felt it inside me, an eruption of anger, largely aimed at Peter Jackson and J.R.R Tolkien (who…
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Resolutions 2013
Every year I have a habit of, like many other people, making new year resolutions. Originally when I first tried doing them they were unrelenting failures, mostly because they a) had no sense of reality, b) required willpower or c) I made them on New Years Eve and had forgotten them on New Year’s Day…
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Perspective and Paper
It’s been a while since I wrote a semi-philosophical self-indulgent blog so I thought that now (12.43am – I can’t sleep at the moment) would be as good a time as any to write some stuff down. There’s an inherent problem with blogs I think, they’re so very attention seeking and ego stroking (very similar…