I know I haven't been as much as I should and it seems as if I fell off the face of the earth, but ever since graduation, I've been depressed due to "Comedy Camp withdrawals"... You would think that getting up early every Saturday morning would be a pain, but to me, it was totally worth it. I had lots of fun, made some new friends, and most importantly, learned so so much...
Now I just sleep in on my Saturday mornings, hahaha... Like I said in my last post, I am working on some new material to hopefully perform there again someday. With my paycheck so far, I've gotten a sketchbook with some new pencils. When I finish up my drawings I may post them on here!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Comedy Camp: Graduation
I know it's taken me quite a while to catch up on my posts, but I've been having camp withdrawals for the past two weeks. That's right. It's over... I'm sad, but it has been such an amazing experience. Those weeks at the Laugh Factory changed me life so much. I used to be so shy, timid, and afraid to do anything like performing.
So let's talk about the graduation show. When we got there, the kids had to go in separately from the adults. Since the adults were the audience, they had to wait outside all lined up as if it were an actual show!
Two comedians, ugh... I can't remember their names, got us motivated for our upcoming performances by talking to us, making us less nervous. Unfortunately, Dane Cook wasn't able to make it to the party, so I wondered who would be the MC for the night. After that, we were led upstairs into the VIP section. That was like our backstage and it was NIIIICE! Nice furniture, nice lighting... And to top it all off it had a chandelier! We also got drinks and nachos! (Don't worry, we all had water and soda.)
Although the atmosphere was calm, I wasn't. I was still ill at this rate and I was terrified that my voice would sound all hoarse... And to add to that, I was going to have a real audience this time. I know that they mostly consist of friends and family of the other camp kids, but still. I know very few of them and that meant I was performing my material to people I don't know. But then I thought, "Well didn't I have to deal with that problem the FIRST DAY of Comedy Camp?!". I eventually got over it and went to my friend who brung a special gift for Jamie Masada. Since we were presenting it to him, we were trying to to figure out how exactly we would give it to him.
But then fear struck my nerves again when we were split into groups of four. Thank god I wasn't one of the first people to go up... It's not that I didn't remember my routine, it's just too soon for me. For some reason, I need to feel the atmosphere and feel the energy before I get on stage. We were lined up by the stairs on the balcony so that meant that we could watch the other kids perform. That made me feel better. And the audience's response was good too. I started to feel more confidence for this night realizing that this was a brand new audience in a different way. It'd be different than performing in front of the same crowd every week and that was a great thing.
On our way downstairs, I saw one of our guests Maronzio Vance and I was thrilled to see him again. We hugged and he wished me luck, but my heart was still pounding. As each kid got off stage, my nervousness grew, making my coughing worse and anxiety higher. The whole night I kept praying that everything would go alright... This was my last chance at doing this right for camp and I didn't want to screw it up.
We had two MC's. Paul Rodriguez and KEVIN FREAKING NEALON (since I watched a lot of SNL when I was 'growing up' I was so so happy!!!)!! I wanted this performance to roll by smoothly and calmly with all the material remembered. So when Kevin called me onto the stage, I ran up as fast as I could and took the mic off the stand perfectly. Now I'm not trying to be conceited or anything, but I am so happy and pleased with my performance. The people were laughing, I took my time, I remembered everything... It was wonderful. It FELT wonderful...
I did my last joke, which was about WeHo Jesus and my act ended with an Amen. I stepped off stage and Jamie grabbed my hand and smiled at me, looking very proud. A few more performances later, all of us got up on stage and Jamie did a little speech about how proud he was of us and me and my friend finally got to present the gift, which was a plague thanking him for his dedication to helping us young children with such an amazing program and although he seemed to be happy, he couldn't take a compliment. Each week of camp, he flew in from Chicago straight from the LF camp there! He's always helping others. He even feeds the homeless on thanksgiving! He is such a great person, so selfless but he doesn't think he deserves anything for it. I look up to him. That man is a true inspiration.
When my diploma was handed to me, that was truly a moment of glory. I've never won anything like this before and so I treat that framed piece of paper with loads of care and respect as well as my first paycheck. I also got a special Comedy Camp jacket, too! But my happiness didn't revolve around the diploma or even the money. This whole experience of being on stage and being able to perform is a gift that I am so honored to have now.
Camp has given me so much confidence, courage and strength that I never thought I would have and I cannot thank the people who helped us at the Laugh Factory enough... My mom found out about it when she saw an ad for it when she was checking her email one day and when we looked up more information on it, we decided that it would be good for me. But I didn't expect for it to work so well. The first week of camp I remember feeling so scared that I made myself feel sick. Now I feel almost fearless. Now... I am a proud graduate of the Laugh Factory's Comedy Camp.
But the night wasn't over yet.
All of us went back to the VIP area along with the audience. We took tons of photos, I was thanking the staff a million times and some more comedians made it back like Finesse Mitchell, Maronzio Vance (whom I mentioned before) and Alex Scott who gave us signed replicas of the bandana he wore! I got some cake and goodies and even signed my first autograph!
The whole night was absolutely amazing, but it got even better.
My mom and I were talking to Mac Duffy and his wife about camp and I began to get a little sad. Something that was so wonderful for me was coming to end and I was truly going to miss those Saturday mornings there...
I was about to cry, but just as we were about to leave, WEHO JESUS SHOWED UP! We couldn't believe our eyes... This was so ironic! We've met quite a few times before, but I guess he was a bit surprised to see me. I told Jesus all about the camp and he recorded me telling the joke about him. We mingled for a while longer, and then we finally said our goodbyes to everyone.
It was very sad that camp had come to a close, but I am so proud of my accomplishments. I've never really considered doing comedy, but now that I have some experience and a great start, I'm preparing more jokes to hopefully perform at another show there someday.
If I had to describe this whole event in one word, it would be:
Magic.
I would love to give a VERY, VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Jamie Masada, Christina Shams, Mac Duffy, Eman Morgan, Joy Barr, Tiffany Haddish, Maronzio Vance, Chris D'Elia, Alex Scott, Finesse Mitchell, Dane Cook, Kevin Nealon, Paul Rodriguez, Ian Edwards, Joey Medina, Tony Rock, and Jim Tavare for teaching me one of the biggest lessons I could ever learn in life. I will forever treasure it.
So let's talk about the graduation show. When we got there, the kids had to go in separately from the adults. Since the adults were the audience, they had to wait outside all lined up as if it were an actual show!
Two comedians, ugh... I can't remember their names, got us motivated for our upcoming performances by talking to us, making us less nervous. Unfortunately, Dane Cook wasn't able to make it to the party, so I wondered who would be the MC for the night. After that, we were led upstairs into the VIP section. That was like our backstage and it was NIIIICE! Nice furniture, nice lighting... And to top it all off it had a chandelier! We also got drinks and nachos! (Don't worry, we all had water and soda.)
Although the atmosphere was calm, I wasn't. I was still ill at this rate and I was terrified that my voice would sound all hoarse... And to add to that, I was going to have a real audience this time. I know that they mostly consist of friends and family of the other camp kids, but still. I know very few of them and that meant I was performing my material to people I don't know. But then I thought, "Well didn't I have to deal with that problem the FIRST DAY of Comedy Camp?!". I eventually got over it and went to my friend who brung a special gift for Jamie Masada. Since we were presenting it to him, we were trying to to figure out how exactly we would give it to him.
But then fear struck my nerves again when we were split into groups of four. Thank god I wasn't one of the first people to go up... It's not that I didn't remember my routine, it's just too soon for me. For some reason, I need to feel the atmosphere and feel the energy before I get on stage. We were lined up by the stairs on the balcony so that meant that we could watch the other kids perform. That made me feel better. And the audience's response was good too. I started to feel more confidence for this night realizing that this was a brand new audience in a different way. It'd be different than performing in front of the same crowd every week and that was a great thing.
On our way downstairs, I saw one of our guests Maronzio Vance and I was thrilled to see him again. We hugged and he wished me luck, but my heart was still pounding. As each kid got off stage, my nervousness grew, making my coughing worse and anxiety higher. The whole night I kept praying that everything would go alright... This was my last chance at doing this right for camp and I didn't want to screw it up.
We had two MC's. Paul Rodriguez and KEVIN FREAKING NEALON (since I watched a lot of SNL when I was 'growing up' I was so so happy!!!)!! I wanted this performance to roll by smoothly and calmly with all the material remembered. So when Kevin called me onto the stage, I ran up as fast as I could and took the mic off the stand perfectly. Now I'm not trying to be conceited or anything, but I am so happy and pleased with my performance. The people were laughing, I took my time, I remembered everything... It was wonderful. It FELT wonderful...
I did my last joke, which was about WeHo Jesus and my act ended with an Amen. I stepped off stage and Jamie grabbed my hand and smiled at me, looking very proud. A few more performances later, all of us got up on stage and Jamie did a little speech about how proud he was of us and me and my friend finally got to present the gift, which was a plague thanking him for his dedication to helping us young children with such an amazing program and although he seemed to be happy, he couldn't take a compliment. Each week of camp, he flew in from Chicago straight from the LF camp there! He's always helping others. He even feeds the homeless on thanksgiving! He is such a great person, so selfless but he doesn't think he deserves anything for it. I look up to him. That man is a true inspiration.
When my diploma was handed to me, that was truly a moment of glory. I've never won anything like this before and so I treat that framed piece of paper with loads of care and respect as well as my first paycheck. I also got a special Comedy Camp jacket, too! But my happiness didn't revolve around the diploma or even the money. This whole experience of being on stage and being able to perform is a gift that I am so honored to have now.
Camp has given me so much confidence, courage and strength that I never thought I would have and I cannot thank the people who helped us at the Laugh Factory enough... My mom found out about it when she saw an ad for it when she was checking her email one day and when we looked up more information on it, we decided that it would be good for me. But I didn't expect for it to work so well. The first week of camp I remember feeling so scared that I made myself feel sick. Now I feel almost fearless. Now... I am a proud graduate of the Laugh Factory's Comedy Camp.
But the night wasn't over yet.
All of us went back to the VIP area along with the audience. We took tons of photos, I was thanking the staff a million times and some more comedians made it back like Finesse Mitchell, Maronzio Vance (whom I mentioned before) and Alex Scott who gave us signed replicas of the bandana he wore! I got some cake and goodies and even signed my first autograph!
The whole night was absolutely amazing, but it got even better.
My mom and I were talking to Mac Duffy and his wife about camp and I began to get a little sad. Something that was so wonderful for me was coming to end and I was truly going to miss those Saturday mornings there...
I was about to cry, but just as we were about to leave, WEHO JESUS SHOWED UP! We couldn't believe our eyes... This was so ironic! We've met quite a few times before, but I guess he was a bit surprised to see me. I told Jesus all about the camp and he recorded me telling the joke about him. We mingled for a while longer, and then we finally said our goodbyes to everyone.
It was very sad that camp had come to a close, but I am so proud of my accomplishments. I've never really considered doing comedy, but now that I have some experience and a great start, I'm preparing more jokes to hopefully perform at another show there someday.
If I had to describe this whole event in one word, it would be:
Magic.
I would love to give a VERY, VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Jamie Masada, Christina Shams, Mac Duffy, Eman Morgan, Joy Barr, Tiffany Haddish, Maronzio Vance, Chris D'Elia, Alex Scott, Finesse Mitchell, Dane Cook, Kevin Nealon, Paul Rodriguez, Ian Edwards, Joey Medina, Tony Rock, and Jim Tavare for teaching me one of the biggest lessons I could ever learn in life. I will forever treasure it.
A Trip To The ER...
Unfortunately, on that night, I began to feel ill. I thought that my nausea and light-headness was from being stressed out, but the next morning I woke up sobbing, not being able to breathe through my nose. My mother checked my temperature and it turned out that I had a fever. Regardless if I had one or not, I wanted to go to the hospital.
In the car, I was a mess. My eyes were halfway closed, I was all achy and since my sinuses were all clogged up I had to breathe through my mouth.
I looked very sick in the emergency room, so they took me as soon as they could. After they did a check up on me, they stuck me in a room and basically asked me all sorts of questions about how I was feeling.
Now there was this one nurse that came in who noticed my Wonderland shirt. When she asked about it I explained to her that it was Kat Von D's gallery and she said that she visits all the time. Every time I hear about this woman, she tends to get more and more amazing. You'd think that she'd be busy with all the things she does like her tattooing, her makeup line, and her clothing line, but she also donates her time to these children.
Ugh... She is truly the real life Wonder Woman. When I grow up, I want to be someone like her: amazing, inspiring and beautiful inside as well as the outside.
I was pretty much in the same condition for the rest of the day, but the next day my temperature climbed up to 101.5 degrees... I felt weak, gross and too warm. I had graduation for camp the next day and I didn't think I was gonna make it there... I was terrified, but that mostly turned into depression realizing that there was really nothing I could do about it.
I hoped and I prayed that I would at least be able to go to graduation. I worked so hard and it would be so horrible to have to miss that night...
In the car, I was a mess. My eyes were halfway closed, I was all achy and since my sinuses were all clogged up I had to breathe through my mouth.
I looked very sick in the emergency room, so they took me as soon as they could. After they did a check up on me, they stuck me in a room and basically asked me all sorts of questions about how I was feeling.
Now there was this one nurse that came in who noticed my Wonderland shirt. When she asked about it I explained to her that it was Kat Von D's gallery and she said that she visits all the time. Every time I hear about this woman, she tends to get more and more amazing. You'd think that she'd be busy with all the things she does like her tattooing, her makeup line, and her clothing line, but she also donates her time to these children.
Ugh... She is truly the real life Wonder Woman. When I grow up, I want to be someone like her: amazing, inspiring and beautiful inside as well as the outside.
I was pretty much in the same condition for the rest of the day, but the next day my temperature climbed up to 101.5 degrees... I felt weak, gross and too warm. I had graduation for camp the next day and I didn't think I was gonna make it there... I was terrified, but that mostly turned into depression realizing that there was really nothing I could do about it.
I hoped and I prayed that I would at least be able to go to graduation. I worked so hard and it would be so horrible to have to miss that night...
The Last Week of Comedy Camp
Last Saturday, I got dressed and sadly went to the Laugh Factory for my last day of camp. I had written new material and was a bit scared that I would forget something. I know that a mistake is just a mistake, and you learn from your mistakes, but this was my last chance to perform it on stage before graduation.
When I performed it, my mom said that I did good, I got a good review from Chris D'Elia who was our guest comedian that week, but I didn't feel good energy from the audience which makes me very concerned about performing on Tuesday night...
At the end, Christina Shams (manager of the Laugh Factory) and Tiffany Haddish (comedian and graduate of Comedy Camp) gave me a blue sparkly backpack. It was sooooo adorable! And it was even signed by Tiffany!
After camp, I got to talk to some of the people that work there and they gave me awesome, wonderful advice. I've learned so much, but I hope and pray I do well for graduation night!!
When I performed it, my mom said that I did good, I got a good review from Chris D'Elia who was our guest comedian that week, but I didn't feel good energy from the audience which makes me very concerned about performing on Tuesday night...
At the end, Christina Shams (manager of the Laugh Factory) and Tiffany Haddish (comedian and graduate of Comedy Camp) gave me a blue sparkly backpack. It was sooooo adorable! And it was even signed by Tiffany!
After camp, I got to talk to some of the people that work there and they gave me awesome, wonderful advice. I've learned so much, but I hope and pray I do well for graduation night!!
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