Can’t speak? Want to do stand up comedy? There’s an app for that!

Me on an actual stage

Last night I did something I never ever ever thought I would do. I got up on stage and did a stand up comedy routine. Given that I have no speech, you can understand why I never thought that it would happen, even though I’ve always dreamed of doing it. I just thought it would be too difficult, that people wouldn’t understand me, that I would be silly to try. I clearly underestimated my own determination. I still like to think that I might be one of the first comedians to use a communication aid too. It just sounds cool.

I’m currently writing this on just three hours sleep because I’ve been living on adrenalin since stepping off stage. So please excuse any typos and stuff. I’m sure the grammar Nazi inside of me will come back and check it later.

To put it simply, my ten minutes on stage last night just blew me away. The buzz that I got from people actually laughing at material that I’d written was awesome. I never expected it to go as well as it did. I just thought I’d give it a try and see what happened. I’m glad I did! I’ve been buzzing ever since.

I decided to use my iPad instead of my Lightwriter (which I usually use to speak with) as it had a clearer voice than my model of Lightwriter and it was easier to copy and paste the stuff that I had written on my computer. I nearly regretted that choice as my iPad decided it wanted to reboot as soon as I walked on stage, leaving me in a proper panic. What a time to fuck up! Thankfully, it soon sorted itself off and I was back in business.

As I’ve said, I had been concerned that the voice wouldn’t be clear enough. It turned out to be as clear as could be. If I’m honest, this has made me feel so much better about the whole thing. I am now much more confident going into future gigs. That was the only obstacle that I had in my head and I have cleared it.

Strangely enough, I never really felt that nervous which is very unlike me. It was very nice to come off stage to a lot of praise and compliments though. It meant an awful lot. Since doing that gig, I’ve been offered a slot at a gig in Hartlepool which has Patrick Monahan (winner of ITV’s Show Me The Funny) as the headliner – who’s up for a road trip then!? – and interest from Yorkshire and Brighton. Exciting times!

Thank you to everyone who came to Mission to see my debut and thanks to the Stand Up and Mackem Laugh comedy club for inviting me to perform. I appreciate the support I’ve had from everyone else too. See you at my next gig. It’s just a shame it’s a month away!

If you want some background on this story, you can read why I decided to give it a go and about the interest it has created since.

And if you think I’m exaggerating about my debut, don’t just take my word for it…

 

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