My New Comedy Plan

My comedy's been feeling a little flat the last few weeks, and I think I know what to do about it. It comes down to taking comedy more seriously, and that means showing up prepared like a professional (which I'd love to eventually be).

Here's what showing up prepared means to me:

• Have five to ten minutes (depending on venue) ready every time I go on stage.  No more "this is what open mics are for."  Open mics are for new material, but that material should be ready for a test run, not a wisp of a concept to elaborate from on stage.  It has to be written and gone though at least five practice rounds.
• Never drink before I'm on.  Then get wasted and enjoy everyone else's set.
• Write at least two minutes of new material a week.
• Stop showing up naked.
• Never take a notebook on stage.  It's important to try new stuff; I just need to have it ready.

I'm not saying I won't improvise or that I'll have a set memorized word-for-word like a sonnet, but I do believe knowing all your points and their order gives you the freedom to play around with what's going on in the room.

Looking forward to some fun sets.