Do you remember the first time you ever went on stage in pursuit of comedy?
How did you feel? Were you excited? Terrified? Nauseous? Totally ready to go? A combination, somehow, of all those things?
Standing backstage before my first student showcase with Washington Improv Theater, I was terrified. I was afraid I’d walk on stage and freeze—or worse, I’d say something and it wouldn’t be funny. Or maybe the audience would boo. Or it’d be so quiet that someone would cough politely into their hand just to break the silence.
That’s kind of how I feel now, daring myself to push “publish” to send this first post out into the world. What if everyone hates it? What if everyone thinks I’m doing a really bad job? What if no one even finds this site, and I spend the rest of my days just talking into the void?!?!
Thank god I’ve already done improv
When our group’s name was called—“Melanie’s Level One Class,” a.k.a. “Gin’s Angels”—for my first show, I ran out on stage with everyone else and largely forgot about the audience. I was goofing around with funny, playful, supportive people—and I was having a blast. In the spirit of that first performance, I want to try my hand at something I’ve never done before and see if it shakes out to be fun for me and entertaining for others.
Through improv, I’ve learned that part of the fun of anything is daring to look stupid in front of friends and strangers. Mistakes—and the acknowledgement of them — are gifts that can improve a scene, helping you to grow as a character in that moment and as an improviser after the show is over.
I’ve learned that trying is impressive, caring about something gives it value, and communicating clearly with others helps move things along.
Though I hope to cover more topics than improv on this site, it’s in the spirit of improv that I’m launching it. Consider this first post my bold initiation—and know that I’m walking onto this digital stage with every intention of having your back.
What are my goals for this site?
On a personal level, I love comedy and writing and want to combine those passions. If you like reading what I have to say, then great! My ego will be flattered by your attentions.
On a larger scale, my overarching goal for “Comedic Pursuits” is to create an online community where performers can find and share information and ideas. I highly encourage anyone with something to say about comedy—improv, sketch, stand-up, storytelling, some new art form you’ve been trying out in front of your bathroom mirror—to pitch an idea. I will do my best to accommodate helpful and thoughtful pieces and would love to feature a variety of voices on this platform.
Ultimately, my hope for this site mirrors the hope I have for every show: I hope the members of the audience can walk away from this site and truthfully say, “I had a really good time here.”
Let’s get this show started!
Whether you’re looking for helpful information, reading a story that resonates with you, or just nerding out over comedy stuff, I hope this site will help you aim for the fun—and the funny—in all you do.
I also hope that you’ll consider contributing to the site yourself. I’m just one person, so my views—and research and outreach abilities—are necessarily limited. The more voices I can include on this blog, the better a resource it can be for the comedy community as a whole. Comments and shares will be gladly accepted, but if you’d like to write a post yourself, please send a topic idea my way by filling out this form.
In the meantime, thanks for visiting! If you’d like to keep up with what’s going on with the blog, make sure to subscribe to the newsletter by entering your email below and follow the site on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll come back soon.
