Beginner's Mind

A.K.A. Don’t ask me if I am eventually funny….

When I entered the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin’s Temple Bar for the first time, two things happened which I didn’t expect at all. While waiting for the program coordinator to come, a colleague of mine entered the school. To my surprise she enrolled in the same course I am doing which is even more random due to the variety of different programs offered and the fact that she is sitting only a couple of meters away from me. The other thing that surprised me was when I looked around and found lots of framed pictures featuring the school’s alumni, one of them being Colin Farrell.

So, here we are. A group of seven people, some with a bit of experience, most having none including myself – except a course in school eleven years ago where I finished among the last. The course is ten weeks long and concludes with a stage performance. I wanted to challenge myself, but am I aware of what I've got myself into…?

I divided the ten-week experience into three parts.

1st part

While listening to the logistics of the course, I’ve caught myself judging the people around me trying to find out who the instructor might be. All students introduced themselves to the most critical rule told by Dany, our instructor: “By any means, don’t try to be funny.” We did some exercises from improvisation theatre to help us get started.

Improvisation techniques are great for any acting. The idea is that you train the ability to create a story together. You never know where you end up with because stories of one person trigger emotions or experiences of the other. We choose things we hate or love because it unveils strong, authentic feelings. The stories do not have to be extensive. The small things many people can relate to are often hilarious.

So what did I come up with? When it was my group's turn, the women next to me kicked off by saying she likes money a lot. That compelled me to step forward and give a ten-minute motivational speech about life, happiness, and things that matter. It was a mashup of a commencement speech by Denzel Washington, documented content by Gary V, interviews from Kanye West and much more I am a fan of. No one interrupted me, which made me go on and on. I figured this might make people think about their lives, but it didn’t fit into the context. We are here to learn stand-up comedy, not how to find your life purpose.

2nd part

Over the course of a couple of weeks, I’ve heard great stories. It was hilarious. One woman shared that she has different personality types who are always fighting for decisions: The responsible wife, the lazy and the nagger who is stalking people not only on facebook but also people in public transportation who are about to fall asleep. She almost didn’t make it to the course this evening because the lazy one wanted to stay on the couch. She told the story in such an authentic way which made it hilarious.

Another guy’s story is excellent, too. “I hate my colleagues…they are so f*cking stupid.” He kicked off and explicitly described how they give him a hard time enjoying his work. The next guy's opening line after stepping forward was: "I hate facebook"….later he stepped forward again saying: "I hate the internet". The fact that he is working as a software developer in a cloud computing company (not my colleague) made it even funnier.

3rd part

We finalised our content and worked towards the live gig. Then the day finally came. Long story short: I think it was ok for my first time but have a look yourself of the first 3 minutes of my performance (remember the content is tailored to Dubliners. Luckily, I didn’t fall off the stage or forgot any parts, but I would cut out some pieces though if I did it again. I guess this is the process of being a stand-up comedian. Thanks again to everyone who came. I was delighted to see each of you there.

After this session, I am convinced that anyone can be funny. Just find something which triggers emotions - love, hate or just something that bugs you. The most important rule is the one Dany told us in the first session: Do not try to be funny, always be authentic, just the real you. Everyone has funny stories to tell, extroverts and introverts alike. Yes, there are techniques to make it even funnier, but it's not rocket science. Just like everything in life, it comes down to practice.

Ironically, a few weeks after I finished the course, my company organised a fundraising event called "Salesforce Got Talent". I signed up and took my learnings from the first gig to perform on stage in front of hundreds of my colleagues which got broadcasted to different areas of the venue (see below). A lot of people approached me later and said: "You have balls." I responded that many people could do this if they weren't afraid. Even if they failed, they would probably not regret it on their deathbed. I won't for sure.

So what about you and your career as a stand-up comedian? Take a shot and sign up.

What do you have to lose?