A smattering of Stuff

A little dab of this, and a touch of that

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Etc. (My stuff)

• The Pocono Underground Comedy show is THIS SAT in Stroudsburg, PA. | Tix

• Three free jokes for you, told in secret places | Facebook

• How to thwart scam callers | Instagram

  

  I really enjoy how much comedy has grown since I started performing back in the early 2000s. When I first started, it was primarily a male landscape, with a few girls scrambled into the mix, vying for the one, if any, female spot in the line up, trying hard not to see each other as competition, but struggling with that. That was my experience, anyway.
  
  Today, comedy is wide and diverse. There are thousands of comedians, evidenced by this giant list on Wikipedia. (Need help being added to the list? Wikipedia updates are a free service for paid Museletter subscribers.)
  
  It’s not so shunned, as it feels like it once was, to pursue different comedy avenues vs. just stand up. (Though I admit it’s something I’ve always shamelessly done.)

  

  A quote on the back of my joke book, Dumb Jokes for Smart Folks. Thanks, Col.

  Comedians are incorporating and including everything from illustration, graphics, costumery/fashion, set design, signage, writing, punk, music, and so much more into their stand up. As some of my regular, long-time supporters know, I have always included music as part of what I do. (I even curate comedy music and musicians, sometimes, like on the Comedy Musicians’ Coalition Facebook page. Our next album will be out hopefully by mid summer.)

  
  There are hundreds of open mics per capita, as evidenced via Badslava, unlike the desperate handful spread out far and wide, like when I was first starting out. (Although I’ll share that my favorite open mics are always the secret community ones in church basements or library attics. They always have snacks and I’m usually one of the only comedians.)
  
  Tours are easier to put together than ever before, with hundreds of comedy venues, bars, theaters, community spaces, libraries and more, happy to get on board with having comedians hop on their stages, and social media helping to build more careers than ever. It wasn’t even a thing in the early 2000s, when I started. (Paid members of The Museletter get customized help with tour planning, btw.)
  
  I stumble upon new clubs and places to perform almost daily. I just ran into this place the other day, while rambling along the streets of the Lower East Side.

  

  Now tell me if this doesn’t look like fun?

  
  Of course, there is also more competition than ever, but I never saw that as an issue, personally. Ever since I started performing, I’ve always found places and spaces to call my own, an audience that appreciated me, and stages to light up or burn down. (This press release, starring me, and issued by William Donohue and the Catholic League, will never cease to tickle and delight me.)

  

  It was also much easier to be a rebel when I was just getting started in comedy. Now, if you want to be a rebel, the best way I can think of is to befriend a person of an opposing political party. Woah, look out!

  
  While, over the years, I’ve seen countless comedian friends drop out, give up, get cancelled, leave this etherial plain, or move on to greener pastures, some of us are still at it, for better or for worse.
  
  It’s always awesome to see the comedians in my class, my contemporaries, or those just ahead of me enjoying a moment in the sun.

  

  

  I’ve long considered Dame Darcy to be a comedian. Call her an artist, a musician, whatever. She is hilarious.

  So, if anyone tries to tell you that comedy is dead (it’s not), or dying (we’re all dying), or an antiquated art form (so?), or that you’d make more money doing something else (maybe true), or otherwise tries to discourage you from doing comedy for sport, fun or profit if you want to, just tell them that your fairy god auntie, Jessica Delfino, predicts that you’re going to do pretty well if you keep at it.
  
  And don’t forget to tell them I’m about 70% psychic.

  Daily Musings:

• The Fear City Comedy Club | Website

• 15 Thrilling Comedy Clubs in NYC | NewYorkSimply

• Happy Passover to all who celebrate | GrubStreet

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