Last night I participated in Heat 5 of the RAW Comedy Festival competition. There were 14 contestants, at least 3 didn't do well but the rest were great, and the MC and headliner were great, too. Everyone was friendly backstage. I also spoke before and after the show with someone from ABC Radio.
I remember before they announced who the winners were, that because so many people were good it must be a tough decision and that I may not make it. Then they announced there would be 3 winners for the night, and for a moment I thought I must be one of them. But I wasn't. Wow, talk about a crushing blow.
But while I'm really disappointed, that's life, and I'm sure I will continue to become a better comedian over time. Winning or losing the competition doesn't change that at all.
As for my performance, I taped it but can't put it online yet, maybe in a few months when the whole competition is over. But it's the best material (that got the best laughs) of what I've used in all my other shows. It came in just under five minutes whereas everyone else went over. And everything hit, just two tag lines didn't get as big a response as I expected.
I felt the audience laughed harder at everyone else. So, the judges probably made the right decision.
I think my biggest problem right now is my stage personality, which needs to develop into something angrier and crazier, but the easiest thing to work on in my next show is stage presence, because I'm not really commanding the attention of the crowd, and from what I noticed in the MC last night that could do with loudness and stage positioning. Of course my material can always get better too, so there's a lot left for me to work on.
I'm looking forward to my 10th show. I'll show them all, eventually!