A Free Guide To Trying
My show Godzilla’s Not A Dinosaur took home “Best of Venue” at the KC Fringe this year. This award is given to the show that has the highest ticket sales in its venue.
This Fringe has been a dream. As I’ve been reflecting on the experience, I wanted to share some of the things I’ve learned from this year’s festival.
1. It’s ok to be seen trying.
We like to hide away anything that isn’t a shiny success. We often love success, but not the work behind it. The reality is success is made up of many little failures along the way.
I’m guilty of not being willing to put 100% into something if I think it’s going to fail. How embarrassing to be seen failing! But if you don’t give something the attention it needs, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. And isn’t that the real failure?
Stand-up comedy is the art of trying shit. It’s required me to be willing just to try something on stage and see if it works. If it doesn’t, I try again, and that’s a normal part of the stand-up comedy culture. Doing poorly at one mic doesn’t mean you’ve failed entirely.
If you’re working on something and trying to get better, it’s ok to let people see you, in fact, it’s necessary. That’s also why I’m such a big proponent of the importance of critique and getting feedback.
I did a test show in St. Louis of the original draft of Godzilla’s Not A Dinosaur, and frankly, I hated it. It was a very rough show for me and looks almost nothing like the show I brought to the KC Fringe. The audience was kind, the venue was cool (and let me do it for free, thank you!!), and I got some good pizza after. But, I was frustrated with my performance.
I was afraid to do that show and my fears came true, but imagine if it had been the festival’s opening night? I would’ve been crushed.
In fact, I was crushed. I could feel the anxiety growing as the KC Fringe approached. What if every night of the festival felt that way?
After working on rewrites for several weeks, I did another test show the weekend before I opened. It went WAY better and bolstered my confidence going into the festival.
2. Be loud with your trying. (aka marketing matters)
Marketing takes a lot of work. It takes multiple strategies and a willingness to not shut up about the thing you want people to know about.
I know we tend to think of self-promotion as “cringe” or whatever the kids are calling it these days. But how can you expect people to know anything if you won’t tell them?
People can’t share in your joy and triumph if you keep it to yourself. Be proud of your work and let people know about it.
But also, people have so many things competing for their attention. My job as an SEO and marketing writer has taught me that people need things handed to them on the internet, most people aren’t willing to dig to figure things out. And my time at Poetic Underground taught me they have to be told multiple times before something sticks.
“Just because you build it, doesn’t mean that they will come.” This is an insight that Heidi Van, owner and producer at The Black Box in KC, shared at the touring advice panel we had during KC Fringe.
3. Have fun, you’re just trying sh!t, after all!
It’s easy to get caught up in “shoulds” when you’re working on a project. But, remember, if you’re not having fun, you can stop what you’re doing at any time.
Make sure you’re having fun. If you fail? What a beautiful, fun time you’ve had! There’s always the chance to learn and grow. If you succeed, even better.
When I was struggling with the original draft of my show, I wasn’t having fun. I was trying to meet the unspoken expectations of my imagined audience.
Part of the new introduction to my show is something to the effect of “This is a show about me and my favorite things. If you want a show about you and your favorite things, you should do your own show.”
I needed the freedom to remember my show is for me, too. I wanted my audience to have fun more than anything else, but if I wasn’t having fun? The show wouldn’t be fun.
What am I trying next?
I have a few things in the works. 😉 But for now: rest, an essential part of the creative cycle.
How To Ask For Writing Feedback (And Give It)
8 Ways to Find Writing Inspiration
How To Review Your Poetry On Your Own
A writing prompt
Spend 10 minutes writing out your dreams for your writing. What goals do you want to accomplish? Nothing is too big (or too small) or too “impossible” here, admitting what you want is the first step to achieving it.
3 places I’m submitting this fall that you can, too!
POETRY (You can’t get in if you self-reject! Plus it’s free to try.)
Alien Magazine (They rejected me once already, but you can always try again!)
Bath Magg (Opens in October)
You can always find more/different places to submit via Chill Subs.