Recently, I saw an interview with comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in which the interviewer asked about their best ever career moments. I don’t remember their responses because my answer popped into my head, and I was immediately transported back 30+ years ago.
I had had a few starts and stops with comedy. Starting in my 20’s, I’d taken an adult ed night comedy class where I just crushed (meaning I did great!) the final exam, which was a five-minute comedy set. In fact, I did so well, that the instructor’s wife and girlfriend, who were the judges, told me I just HAD to do this comedy thing. At that moment, I didn’t.
A few years later, I tried standup comedy again at an open mic night. I did so well that I can still remember the professional comic walking me down the steps outside that night, begging me to come back and pleading, “You HAVE to do this again.” At that moment, I didn’t.
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A few years after that, I submitted an audition tape to the Jay Leno Comedy Challenge, a nationwide search for comedians to be on The Tonight Show. I got picked out of hundreds of applicants to perform at a live competition. I didn’t win that night, but I got written up in the newspaper, and I did so well that one woman came up to me after the show to tell me that I just “HAD to do this.” At that moment, I didn’t.
I didn‘t launch my comedy career in those starts and stops because I didn’t think I COULD be a comedian. That was for other people, not me. Yes, three times in a ten-year period I tried, got some positive feedback, but didn’t move forward. . . and yet the comedy bug wouldn’t go away. A year after the Leno competition, I decided to go to an open mic one last time. I wanted to get the bug out of my system and stop this obsession with wanting to be a comedian.
I remember the night: I had to do five minutes. I was nervous. I got onstage, and BAM. First joke rocks. BAM. Second joke rocks. BAM. Third joke rocks. Three minutes in and the audience hadn’t stopped laughing. . . and I forgot the rest of my act! A little voice inside my head said, “They’re laughing. Get off the stage.” So I did!
My first joke! I actually said this to a make-up lady!
I sat down, and as I started watching the other comics, my brain was seesawing between feelings: “Boy, that was really fun. I want to do it again. . . No! You said this was your last time. . . but boy, that was a blast!” The dialogue continued, back and forth, until I got a tap on my shoulder: it was the emcee. He said, “Call Pat.” I said, “Who’s Pat?” He said, “She books this place. She caught your act and wants to give you some emcee work.”
At that moment, I had an epiphany. I sensed that something big was on the horizon and literally felt my world change. As I walked down the steps of the club after the show that night, the same steps where the professional comic had begged me to continue years earlier, I was flying. I was so, so happy. I just knew that I was going to be a comedian full time.
When I reflect on my comedy career, the best moment wasn’t my biggest milestone. It was not performing in front of thousands of people (4400 is my biggest crowd to date). It was not featuring in national newspapers (like the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, and Washington Post). It was not guest-starring on hundreds of radio programs. The best moment in my comedy career was the moment when I realized I could ACTUALLY have a comedy career. No more second guessing myself. No more hesitation. I could spend my life doing something I wanted to do.
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Humor Article The Best Moment of your life
