The Beginnings of a Science Showoff - My First Comedy Gig
My first gig was on the 25th April 2017. It was a part of a ‘New Performers’ Science Showoff gig.
I was in the third year of my PhD, and my procrastination had escalated to performing science comedy. I generally find myself hilarious, I entertain myself all day long and I had some speaker experience with Pint of Science and talks about my PhD around QMUL under my belt, so why not put the two together?
When I told my friends I was going to do science comedy there reaction was general concern, why had I would have signed myself up for that / why would you put yourself through that? / that sounds very scary / I would never do that to myself, are you sure? This made me even more intrigued. The thought of standing up on stage didn’t bother me too much, I found myself funny, so I knew at the very least I would have a great time. I wasn’t particularly worried if others didn’t, this was just another experiment to me.
I was fed up with my PhD, so I found it relatively easy to build my first set around the mistakes I had made in my PhD. Mistakes would turn out to be my favourite thing to do comedy about. It was cathartic. A way to share with whoever would listen the thoughts inside my head and how I viewed the world. To me mistakes are treasures, I learn from mistakes. They are also excellent comedy material in my opinion.
It was the day of the show, I felt prepared, I had practiced and laughed at myself. I had attended a previous Science Showoff gig, I knew the audience was mainly safe and sensible scientists who would not be heckling me. It was instead a supportive atmosphere run by the mega babe Dr Steve Cross. I engaged my give zero fucks attitude and just have fun mode and got on with the show.
I can’t remember exactly how the gig went, but I know I really enjoyed the buzz I got from being on stage. I had a great time and I was very proud of myself and everyone else on the bill for giving it a go. I was hooked.
My first comedy gig would turn out to be the catalyst for many more adventures — I’ve done improv comedy dressed as a unicorn, I’ve performed science comedy at festivals and at Edinburgh Fringe! But most important to me was the discovery of a wonderfully supportive group of science comedians who have since given me loads of opportunities to grow and develop. I will be sharing more about my comedy journey in future blogs.
If you’re thinking about doing some comedy, find a safe space and a build a community around you to give constructive feedback and bounce ideas around with. But most of all just be brave and have fun!
Credit goes to Kimberley Freeman, who at the time was Executive Officer for Public Engagement, and Director of the Centre for Public Engagement at QMUL for the exposure to a variety of speaking opportunities and the nudge into science comedy. And to Dr Steve Cross for running Science Showoff and giving scientists great training in preparation for comedy fun!
