I just realized my last journal entry was titled May 2008, even though it's clearly 2009. I'm a big dum-dum.

Anyway, there's a few notable things to discuss in this month's entry for my happenings within the month of May, so let's get to it!

In the stand-up world, May turned out to be slightly less eventful than I had originally anticipated. I detailed a few high-profile gigs: my 7th performance at Zanies, a guest-hosting spot at one of the weekly open mics in Nashville, and a co-headlining spot on a showcase show in Nashville. Unfortunately, the co-headlining spot got canceled due to the venue putting itself on hold. The guest-hosting spot was originally scheduled for the end of May but got pushed back to the beginning of June. It went well, but I will talk more about that next month.

However, my gig as Zanies still happened (on Cinco de Mayo, no less), and it was my best set there to date. I did a three-minute set focusing primarily on the recent torture-related events in the news, and I got the biggest laughs I've ever gotten at Zanies thus far in that set, which really made me feel good. I felt an overall growth in my confidence as a comedian after that set, because I had taken something that was in the public consciousness--something that is actually a very serious topic of moral dilemma, and that I had developed strong personal opinions about (and I think that showed within the bit which helps)--twisted perceptions of the circumstances of the situation and made it funny. It was a proud moment I had at the time, and it was a set I was very happy with.

In May, I also found out about an AMAZING opportunity that could give me a chance to pursue stand-up comedy in San Francisco for the month of July. A comedy website (RooftopComedy.com) is sponsoring a month-long "comedy internship" program, in which they will choose 6 college-aged aspiring comedians, fly them out to San Francisco with all expenses paid (airfare, housing, etc.), and basically let them do comedy in San Fran for a month (along with other things). I immediately applied for the program, because I cannot tell you how AWESOME it would be to be a part of that. San Francisco has one of the best up-and-coming stand-up scenes in the country (along with one of my favorite comedy clubs I've never played: Cobb's Comedy Club), so it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me if I get in. I won't know for about another week though, so the anticipation is killing me, haha.

That's pretty much the story of May. June is going to be more eventful, so be on the lookout for that entry when I post it--because I may be typing it from San Francisco.

Until next time,

--Jax