Sunday, October 21, 2012

Gigs and jokes - Forever Conflicted

Welcome to the second instalment of my holiday guest post series. This week we have Forever Conflicted from the blog Can't Sleep. This guy is someone Michael and I both know from the Adelaide comedy scene who went on hiatus for some time. I talked him into blogging earlier in the year and I'm glad he took it up. So give up the loving that the blogosphere is famous for and set your status to follow for Forever Conflicted.

Those who know me will know that I find it difficult at times to accept compliments and almost all forms of praise. I freely admit I can be harsh on myself at times and I’m pretty sure it some sort of self defence mechanism. Despite all of this, there is one thing I can’t deny. There is one thing that I can’t block out and no matter how hard I may try, I can’t forget it. What is that thing you ask? It is the sense of belonging and pride you get when an audience laughs at a joke you tell.

I still remember to this day my very first gig, at the amazing Rhino Room (much love!!). I had the most support I have ever had at any gig and the emotions were going crazy. I had rehearsed my material a thousand times and when it was my turn to finally get up on stage my heart felt like it might be ripped out of my chest. During the 5 or so minutes I just flew through my material and each time I got a laugh it was a little shock and humbling all at the same time. I rode the energy of the crowd all the way to the finish line and it wasn’t until I had finished that I realised just how much of a blur the whole thing was.

From the moment I said my last goodbyes, I felt amazing proud of what I had just done. This was something I had always wanted to do and I had just done it. I took a ‘risk’ and it paid off…I still remember all the congratulations from everyone who was there to support me, I still remember the incredible natural high that I rode for a few days, if not weeks afterwards. It sparked a thirst, a drive to give comedy a crack and even though my comedy ‘career’ hasn’t hit any great heights as of yet, I will always have that memory. Every time I think of that memory it reignites the passion to keep writing and the determination to eventually succeed in the industry.

In fact, lately I have been writing (comedy) material a lot more and even though I’m not performing at the moment, I think the extra time and patience I am taking will lead to a more professional set the next time I get up on stage. Just recently I had a great afternoon down at my local beach (Glenelg, for those locals playing at home) with my brother and we brainstormed a fair bit of new material. The sun was out, fish n chips were tasty and the laughs flowed. It was a really enjoyable afternoon ^_^.

I had considered giving you all a sneak preview of my upcoming material but I’m considering leaving that as an inspiration to start blogging regularly again. Suffice to say, in Soviet Russia….blog reads you! I shall leave you with this clichéd but totally awesome phrase…

CARPE DIEM!!

PS Thanks Russ for allowing me to post on your legendary blog ^_^
Yours truly,
Forever Conflicted

No thank you Mr Conflicted. Remember people that the one lucky commenter will get a copy of my book "Tales from the Sleeping Dragon". Next week we have a regular visitor to my blog, Michael D'Agostino, to finish up the guest series to bring me home.

6 comments:

  1. Thank you Rusty for introducing me to Mr. Conflicted.

    Mr. Conflicted, this was a great, inspirational story and I truly enjoyed reading it because I too have a particular moment in my life I reach back too for inspiration. Would love to see you blogging as a regular. Wishing you the best.

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  2. Thanks Elsie, too kind! The last thing i ever want to do is give up, so human spirit dictates that you fight, scratch, scavenge...do whatever it takes to get yourself to a place where you can be truly proud no matter what. Comedy for me keeps me alive. Im not sure if there is a higher power or not but if there is, a humour/laughter is the best thing 'it' gave us.

    Id love to blog regularly but that sense of vulnerability when i you blog is something hard for me to deal with...

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  3. That's exactly what Ivan Aristaguetta did. Him and his friends spent months writing every day and not performing any of it until they had 5 minutes of absolutely killer material.

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  4. I get the concept. It's the same when I write a blog post and get encouraging comments. It is so energizing and inspiring! I don't know where, if anywhere, I'll go with writing from here, but for now I am enjoying the process and connection with other people.

    Good luck with your comedy, Forever Conflicted! And keep blogging! I enjoyed your post and would like to read some of your comedy material :)

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  5. Same as Kianwi, I love the great comments. Someone always comments on each post, but there are some really genuine ones that float to the top.

    Great read.

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  6. thanks guys. Like comedy i WILL get back to blogging at some point. Once i get uni under control it will happen! I think i shall read some of your blogs to get some inspiration :D

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