Believe it or not, the hubster and I had never been to see a live show by a stand-up comedian – until about a month ago.
Then we heard that Dylan Moran was performing at QPAC that very week!
We became fans of Dylan thanks to the BBC comedy, “Black Books”. Dylan not only played the main character, that “grumpy Irish b@st@rd, Bernard Black”, he also co-wrote the show. (If you’ve never seen it, do yourself a favour and check it out. Sadly, only three seasons were made, between 2001 and 2004).
However, I wish I’d known more about taking comedy seriously, BEFORE we went to the show …
5 Tips for Taking Comedy Seriously
- Book seats as close to the front as you can: Being
stingybudget conscious, we bought cheaper tickets up the back. Big mistake. HUGE. You see, half the comedy of comedy, is seeing the comedian’s facial expressions. From where we were sitting, Dylan’s face was just a blur so we really felt we missed out on a lot of the total comedy experience. - Take binoculars: Essential if you can’t get seats close to the stage!
- Indulge in a pre-show drink: I can’t believe that I’m recommending alcohol (after all, I’ve never been drunk!) – but there’s no doubt that a glass of wine (or your tipple of choice) will help you relax and get in the mood for a serious laugh.
- Pack tissues or a hanky: Maybe it’s a side effect of getting older, but these days when I laugh – I cry! Within the first ten minutes I was sopping wet from the tears on my face. I was able to surreptitiously wipe the tears off onto my sleeve, but I felt like a bit of a mess after that (lucky the auditorium was dark!).
- Wear waterproof mascara: See #4.
Finally, enjoy the show!
Do you have any other tips for newbies like us, on taking comedy seriously?