Amateur arts

I did a set tonight and I was like at least the 15th comic to come on. The guy before me--it was his first time doing stand up comedy EVER and he struggled. It was quiet for like 3 minutes out of 5. He got a few laughs but overall people were pretty disinterested/uncomfortable.

Anyway, the SECOND he stops talking everyone starts talking to each other. Why wouldn't they? That just sucked for 5 minutes, I'm bored, let's talk about something else. I have such empathy for the crowd now. Anyway, I go up and people are still talking through the first joke. Some are listening, and they laugh. Then I do the second joke and I win over a few more people. Then by the time I got to my 4th joke no one was making a noise. I feel more proud of that fact than a laugh that any particular joke got. An hour and a half into an amateur comedy night I got everyone in the room to think "Alright this guy could be funny." At this stage that's all I really want. They're giving me a chance. It's a nice metaphor for my life overall. People in this new field are definitely giving me a chance.

Also, I have a newfound respect for arts at the ground level. It's one thing to go watch a Broadway show, it's another to see the star when they're starting their career and not many other people are in the audience. I think that's a vital component of what makes art art. There's something aspirational and hopeful about it when it's done well. When you watch people new in a field trying to get better you're buying into the whole artistic enterprise. You're implicitly stating through your attendance that the creation process is just as meaningful and enjoyable as the end product. That you don't require a major studio to green light your entertainment. It's more personal and intimate.

Having said that, parts of it suck. But it's good to pause to recognize things that may be transcendent.