It's not the winning...

This week Richard Herring and I are both feeling down in the dumps.

Richard is moaning because, once again, his nomination for a Chortle Comedy Award failed to turn into an actual award.

Meanwhile, I am moaning because I couldn't win a bloody silly gong show.

Not only does this illustrate the gulf that lies between me and Herring in terms of expectations, but it also illustrates one of the pitfalls of performance.

The problem comes when you forget about your relationship with the audience and start focussing on your act in relation to other peoples. That's when it all gets a bit painful.

My memory of Monday night was that I hardly got any laughs and that I didn't enjoy myself. However, the recording of the night includes lots of laughs and, hey...look at this picture - I'm smiling.

It seems that my bruised ego rewrote my memory of the night. The Buddha was right - ego does make you miserable. Lesson - stop trying to win things - just have fun and be funny.

Sam

Sam Brady Stand-up Comedian