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Dom Pare Roasts Me
Dom Pare, a Toronto Stand-Up Comedian, performed after me at WinJester’s Bucket of Comedy show the other night.
He roasted me…he roasted me good:
But he’s right: he’s a comedian, I’m a comedian. If he’s on stage, that means I’m not…so that means he’s my nemesis, right?
It’s kind of weird, but I don’t feel that way.
Competition in Business
It's either you or me, homeboy
It's either you or me, homeboy
When I worked in IT Sales, we’d always meet our competition at industry trade shows. And although we’d smile, joke around, and poke jabs at each other, we both wanted the same thing: TO PUT THE OTHER PERSON OUT OF BUSINESS.
I don’t feel that way among fellow comedians…
Camaraderie Amongst Comedians
Let's Be Friends
Let's Be Friends
Whenever I meet a fellow comedian, there’s an instant bond. It’s almost like I have permission to be myself, say whatever comes to mind, and act naturally. I know they are going to get my quirky observations. And what’s even better: they’ll have a few of their own.
Perhaps it’s because when you’re chatting with another comedian, you can’t help but laugh. They’ll quip, you’ll quip, and although you think:
- Your jokes are better than their’s
- You deserve more stage time than they do
- You should get signed by Yuk Yuk’s and Absolute before they do, etc.
…you want them to do well. After all, if you can make me laugh, you’re a friend of mine.
But not all comedians share the above sentiments.
Comedians not laughing at other Comedians
Take that!
Take that!
Azfar Ali and I had a conversation about this the other day. I’ve met some comedians where I got the sense that it was me against them. Many open mic comedians don’t laugh at their fellow comics, and I had the same inclination when I started.
My mindset went like this: if I laugh at you, that means I’m helping you seem funny. And if I help you seem funny, but you don’t help me seem funny, then people will think you’re funnier that I am. And to the funnier go the spoils…
But I quickly realized that it was selfish, dumb, stupid, egotistical, and just not fun. Now, I find that I laugh more than most of the other comedians at these open mics. Perhaps it’s because I’m new and haven’t had my scope of what’s funny narrowed due to years of watching comedy night after night. I dunno.
But I’ll continue to laugh and get along with other comedians. There are many shows going on every night, and let’s face it: the people that don’t love it with their heart and soul will quit anyway. So let’s just be friends and enjoy the ride together, shall we?
Tread Lightly, Dom
So thanks, Dom, for the roast. My laughter during the roast was genuine. You’re a funny guy.
Oh, and watch your fucking back.
Michael Jagdeo
I don’t know anything about the business, but I do know what I like. If someone is doing something better than me in an artistic endeavor, I can appreciate their work and try to learn from it. It may be insecurity that makes them see you as the enemy, but those are issues they need to deal with personally. Don’t see the pros acting like assholes to each other unless it is something personal.
Hey John,
I see what you’re saying. In the moment that it was happening, you can hear me laughing as he’s up there. He didn’t really mean it seriously.
That said, it did allow me to bring up the discussion of comedians not laughing at each other in open mic rooms.
I’ll admit, the animal within me does kind of want to dislike comedians that go up and get more laughs than I do. ‘That wasn’t funny. I can’t believed they laughed at that. Are you serious? If they laughed at that, I’m going to kill.’
…but I have to quell my evolutionary bias to ensure that only me and my clan survives by reminding myself, ‘Fuz it man. That hate doesn’t do anyone any good. If I just go around hating other comedians, this funny business is going to eat my flesh.’
Thanks, John!
Jagdeocomedy [@] gmail
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