A universal truth of comedy:

Every comic has bombed at one point or another. 

Not every comic has bombed recently, but they’ve all done it, and they all, I guarantee you, vividly remember standing there, literally standing against a wall and in the spotlight, while a roomful of strangers they are being paid to entertain stares them down silently.  You can’t forget a feeling like that.

Another truth of comedy:

One night of bombing is not an indication of anything.

Yeah, maybe the jokes WERE bad. Maybe your delivery wasn’t there. Or maybe the audience just wasn’t with you, for reasons entirely unrelated to you.

I had a weird experience last night. I did an open mic night that I’ve done a couple of times before, where I’ve generally done very well.  And I bombed.  But here’s the thing: I’m not the only one who bombed.  Picture 10 comedians, each very funny, and each getting only 20% of the laughs to which they’re accustomed.  The comics who usually get steady chuckling and a few good laughs got nothing but a couple of titters. The comics who usually have the audience screaming got a few good chuckles.

My friends, this is a shit feeling. I’ve experienced times when jokes haven’t gone over like I thought they would, but the feeling of being all alone, with no one to help you, while a roomful of strangers stares at you blankly is like… my personal vision of hell.

And, because I am not yet as seasoned and professional a comic as I’d like to be, I got rattled. I started forgetting chunks of my jokes. I know my delivery must have suffered.

Oh yeah, and the next time I’ll be behind a microphone? I’ll be competing. *quiver*

So today, I am soothing myself with these universal truths of comedy. I am vowing to practice harder. And I am reminding myself that shortly after walking out of this bomb-fest, I wrote the beginnings of two very funny jokes, which will probably turn into a longer bit with some stuff that’s been rattling around in the junk-drawer portion of my brain for a while. Even bombing can make you a better comedian.

So it’s going to be okay.