Dangers and rewards of taking a break from Toronto comedy shows

February 4, 2009 by vongsundara 

Today was the first full day I’ve spent writing comedy in the past six months, and boy was it rough going. For all my hard work, I ended up with half a page of mostly unusable material. There may be a few reasons for this, though.

The first being that I decided to write about my sister and my life back in Winnipeg. I may actually have to shelve all my Winnipeg material for a while until I spend some good hard time in Winnipeg and get reacquainted with how life used to be for me.

The second reason could be that I’ve forgotten how to write. Now, I definitely don’t want to over-analyse it, as that could lead down to an even bigger mental roadblock, but I think six months is definitely enough time to forget some very important fundamentals of writing, especially comedy writing, especially when I was using techniques unique to myself since I combined my knowledge of comedy with my previous knowledge of classical narrative structure. It’s difficult to find that combination again after so long. So basically all the dangers I was worried about have come true. There are, however, some positive effects that I’m hoping will kick in shortly.

A part of my writing that I did purposely want to purge from my comedic style was my bitter viewpoint from my Calgary days. When I tried to write after moving to Toronto, I found my jokes were still too bitter, and it wasn’t the direction I wanted my comedy to take. This is a huge part of the reason why I wanted to absorb myself in Toronto life before writing any further. Considering that I couldn’t put anything on to paper at all, I would say that I have successfully purged my old viewpoints.

So here I am, starting with basically a blank slate. It’s both scary and exciting to think where my comedy will go from here. Don’t get me wrong, I am extremely proud of the writing I have accomplished in my year in Calgary, but now I’m in a totally different space emotionally. I’m going to workshop my material some more, but I should be ready to debut my new material in the next couple of weeks or so.

Related Posts
  1. Transfer of knowledge can take longer than expected in comedy
  2. Top nine random reflections of 2008, my first year in Toronto
  3. I’m not sure if this comedy is allowed, but I’m going to try it anyway
  4. A stand-up comedian’s Christmas can be a lonely affair
  5. My first new stand-up comedy routine in six months almost ready
  6. Learning the comedy business is starting to get very expensive
  7. Hanging out with my friend Linda from the Winnipeg ghetto was fun
  8. Blogging With Kerry gives great updates on Calgary’s stand-up comedy community
  9. Finding balance between dayjob, comedy career and gay life
  10. Ghetto-Winnipeg Vong is the best comedian Vong that Vong can be

Filed under: Performing
Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Join The Discussion On The Comments and Message Board

One Response to “Dangers and rewards of taking a break from Toronto comedy shows”

  1. Vincent David on April 22nd, 2010 3:25 AM

    Canadian Filipino Comedy Superstar:
    RON JOSOL live in Yorkville
    Plus last comic standing contest for a low low price.

    Tickets on sale now at La Casa del Habano cigar store in Yorkville

Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!