On with the Show

I see by the ol' calendar that it has been almost a month since my last post. I started this blog to keep family and friends apprised of my cancer situation. Although I'm unspeakably grateful that the threat has passed, I now face the daunting possibility that my non-diseased self is less interesting than my cancer-facing self. In the interest of keeping myself (and, by extension, this blog) interesting, I will be wrestling sharks on a weekly basis and posting the photos here.


Okay, not really. But I will continue making regular posts about the goings-on in my life that I hope you, dear reader, will find interesting and entertaining. Today: two quick updates on my fledgling hobby as a comedian.

1) The Tongue Was Willing, But the Brain Was Weak

This past Saturday night, I once again joined the improv troupe The Blue Margarets for their monthly performance at The Charlotte Room here in Toronto. It was my first performance since the surgery and although my reduced tongue hasn't impacted on my speech, I was nevertheless nervous. Turns out it was my brain that I should have been worried about. Four months without improv has left my skills a little rusty. I was slow on picking up other performers' offers, forgetful about key elements of scenes, and generally sloppy about keeping the audience entertained. Nevertheless, I was grateful for the chance to shake off the rust. Hopefully I'll be all the more prepared for the next show, assuming the Margarets ask me back...

2) Sure, It's Funny in Practice, But Is It Funny on Paper?

Last fall I joined a group called the Book Publishers' Professional Association. The BPPA puts on an annual cabaret of sketches and songs poking fun at the year in publishing, and I've volunteered to contribute some scripts. This will be my first time scripting comedy since my internship at YTV in '98-'99 and the first writing I've done since studying improv. I've found it fascinating to feel my improv skills kick in while I was writing, especially concepts such as advancing the scene, upping the comedic stakes, and the benefits of strong characters. I've already submitted three sketches and will be interested to see how they come to life (or not) when performed. The cabaret committee met last night to firm up the set list and I think it's going to be a fun show. If not, I'll go back to wrestling sharks.