This week in comedy was a mix of performing, creating content, and hopefully building the foundation for some great growth ahead. Like anything you want to succeed at, this takes hustle and, in a way, that keeps it all exciting. Anyway, here’s some of what went down.
I hit the stage twice this week with two completely different sets—no repeated jokes. The first was a tight 5-minute set that landed well, with solid laughs and a good rhythm. The second was a 7-minute set that didn’t quite hit the same stride but still had some good moments. (I’ll break that one down in another post soon.) It’s always humbling to test out new material and see what works, what doesn’t, and where the potential lies. And it was good to get to the venue early, chat with a seasoned comedian and pick his brain, and meet some fellow performers.
On the watching side of things, I dove into some great comedy content. I watched Nate Bargatze’s Christmas Special at the Grand Ole Opry and his special Your Friend, Nate. If you missed it, I shared my thoughts on Bargatze’s work yesterday in THIS POST, but let me just say—it’s always inspiring to watch a master at work. I also checked out the documentary One Nighters by comedians Phil Perrier and Dan Friedman, which I highly recommend. It’s a fascinating look at the grind of comedy on the road and a reminder of the dedication it takes to keep showing up, night after night, mic after mic.
On the content creation front, it was all about holiday vibes. I published a bunch of holiday-themed memes on Facebook and Instagram, as well as some holiday jokes over on X and Notes. I also dropped a new podcast episode, which is currently up to 50 views, where I broke down the process of generating jokes using logic and logical fallacies—one of my favorite methods for finding new material. If you’re into the mechanics of joke writing, check it out HERE. And speaking of podcasts, the newest episode of Messed-Up to Set-Ups drops tomorrow, on December 28 (my 1-year anniversary for stand-up comedy, btw!), and I’ll be sharing some tech I’ve been working on to make the joke-writing process even more creative and efficient.
This week also had its share of small victories. Since launching my website a month ago, it’s had 1.38k visits—a solid start from 0! My social handles, which I launched just two weeks ago, are slowly growing too: Facebook is up to 24 followers, Substack has 23, Instagram has 10, X is at 8, and my YouTube has 7 subscribers. It’s tough managing all these platforms while performing and writing and parenting and working, but every bit of growth feels like a win. If you’ve followed, liked, or shared anything—thank you! It means the world.
Looking ahead, my main goal for this year is to keep growing my social platforms while continuing to create content and perform. I’m also making connections for future podcast guests, which I’m really excited about. And if you’re a fan of comedy (which I’m guessing you are) and want to talk jokes, even if you’re not a performer, let me know! I’d love to hear your perspective and maybe even have you on the podcast.
Thanks to everyone who’s been part of this journey so far. I look forward to sharing these updates each week—it’ll be fun to look back as things (hopefully) grow. If you haven’t subscribed or followed me yet on this site or other platforms, please, do so. It would be a great help. Until next time, keep laughing, keep sharing, and keep showing some love.