My first stand up gig was a comedy competition. I didn’t put any pressure on myself about it being a contest, I just told myself to focus on getting up there and being funny. 

It was held in the Byron Bay RSL, a place I had never been before. I quickly observed that these types of venues are worth stopping in to just for the carpets. 

I was SO nervous. Thankfully my best friend was in town and she suggested we dance inside of the drumming circle on the foreshore. Only in Byron Bay would I find myself lucky enough to move some nervous energy in a live circle of percussion. I felt much more relaxed as we headed to the venue. I decided on the day that the material I had been working on was no good, so I came up with some new stuff and hoped to remember it all. 

My friends and family came to support me, that felt somewhat grounding knowing these people had my back even if things went to shit. 

I took an emergency safety device with me on stage and had a plan to use it if things went south. It was a banana. I kept it in the pocket of my jeans. I thought if things got uncomfortable I’d just eat it,  and felt it would be even funnier if there was just a banana in my pocket the whole time that I never even made reference to. 

I got called to the stage, knees weak arms heavy, I played a gag and BAM! I felt the first roar of laughter hit me, it made me feel as comfortable as I could feel for a first gig experience. I was really happy with how things went and I felt a million bucks even though that year I did not go through to the RAW finals. That night I met a couple of the other local comedians and that built a bridge for me to later transition into regular gigging in the area. 

I feel that every experience, whether good or bad, always ends up a good one. We thrive in the good times and expand in the bad ones. My first ever bomb happened very early on in the piece. The Kingy (Kingscliff) bowlo. I had been invited by a mentor; I severely underestimated the crowd. I thought “oh yeah, a bunch of old people” I’ll keep it clean. WRONG. They were laughing at anal jokes right before I jumped up for a quick, well felt like a very long, 5 minutes. I made out like the audience were there for my birthday party, I treated it like a birthday speech and even went through house keepings rules. They didn’t get it. Maybe it just wasn’t funny. Either way it’s a funny story I get to tell now. 

 I have met many people along the way who have supported and given me many opportunities. I am grateful to be on this journey creating laughter near and far. I believe a good belly laugh can set you free. The best thing about comedy is its opportunity to tell absolute truths. The biggest laughs always come from stating the obvious, bringing new light to a situation or just a good old fashioned physical body movement. I know there are so many more great comedy moments to come and I really hope that I get to meet you at some of them.