I was 19 years old when I performed Stand-Up Comedy for the first time. With my little joke-book in hand, I took my first steps on stage as a Comedian. Most Comedians will say they ‘bombed’ their first time up but I had a good set. My jokes were mediocre but I did ok.
Over the next 6 years, I continued performing at open mics and shows in Toronto. My most memorable performance was at a show I did in LA at The Comedy Store. A poor soul had just bombed and when the MC asked if anyone in the audience could top him and I took the stage. I riffed about my Canadian roots in one of the best shows of my career so far.
I’ve been chasing my Comedy dreams for a while now and when I moved from Toronto to Vancouver last year I was still struggling to find my ‘voice’ on stage. I challenged myself to create new jokes every night and post the live outcomes to a YouTube channel I titled ‘Broke Jokes’, documenting my process.
The jokes were flowing, my girlfriend always laughed and so did the audience on nights I had one. The only person who wasn’t laughing anymore was me. I was getting bored with the jokes I told (even if they killed). I wanted a challenge, I wanted to be different and communicate more. I needed a drastic change in my act.
Then, one night - when I should have been at a show. I came across a Documentary on Netflix titled ‘Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond’. A Documentary about Jim Carrey’s experience playing Andy Kaufman in the film ‘Man On The Moon’.
Jim Carrey is a Comedian I admired growing up as a fellow Canadian. I didn’t understand his humor then at the depth I do now.
It was also the first him I was introduced to Andy Kaufman. Andy was a gifted performer like no other. Never have I seen such a thought-provoking, an entertaining and emotional experience like his shows were. He called himself a song and dance man but you could also call him a Dadaist/Satire Performance Artist.
When Jim Carrey got the role to play Andy Kaufman, he embodied him throughout the entire shoot. The director would call cut but Jim stayed in character (Andy). Jim says in the documentary that he was so deep into Andy that when the movie wrapped, he didn’t know who he was anymore.
His experience lit a fuse in my heart. How could someone go so deep into a character they forgot who they were?
How could someone be possessed by someone from beyond the grave so vividly?
Ever since that day I’ve dedicated all my Comedy writing and performance to this medium. Creating characters with no scripted dialogue and filming scenes my writing partner and I have loosely written out.
We recently made a short film called ‘CONTENT’ based on Jim and Andy’s methods. It was by far the greatest comedic acting experience of my life. I truly became the people I created and at times I felt like I was watching myself from outside myself, not knowing what the character would do next.
Jim and Andy taught me something. The mind and body are tools to communicate the soul. The more you try and control it the less you allow that soul to flow.
If you want to become something the only person you need to convince is yourself, get out of your own way and let go.