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Westside Story – Stand-Up Comedy

November 12, 2013 By Joe Boyle

StandUpJoeBoyle

Story – Joseph Boyle / Photos – Joseph & Kjeri Boyle

During the beginning of October 2013, I stepped out of my comfort zone to drive 100 miles round-trip to North Seattle Community College to attend an off-the-wall class entitled Ron Reid’s Stand-up Comedy Class 101. If you want to learn more about upcoming comedy classes, contact Ron at ronreidcomedy@gmail.com.

Ron, who owns Artists West Entertainment, http://artistswest.com, produces the Seattle International Comedy Competitions each year.  This year is the 34th annual competition.  Check it out the comedy competition at http://seattlecomedycompetition.com.  No, I will not be competing this year.

I invited a few of my friends to join me for the class.  That is when I got my first big laugh.  No one wanted to go to stand-up comedy school.  They did not want to be on stage talking to an audience. I respected their opinion regarding not wanting to talk to a crowd of people.  I then suggested we attend a mime school.  This was another big “No”.

There were 12 brave soles, six men and six women, from all walks of life in my comedy class.  We represented all ages from early 20s to 70 plus.

By the 4th week of class, each of us had created and polished 6 minutes of stand-up comedy material.  Our last class was on stage at The Laughs Comedy Spot, www.laughscomedy.com, an upscale comedy club in Kirkland, Washington.  We performed our first stand-up comedy in front of 125 people.

The next morning I got busy and updated my resume’.  It reads: Businessman – 25 years.  Deputy Sheriff – 23 years.  Stand-up comic – 6 minutes.

The students and the audience all had fun. We laughed.  We clapped and we laughed some more.  It certainly was a different life experience.  I can now say I went where guys like Lewis Black, Jerry Seinfeld, Mitch Hedberg and George Carlin have been.  They all started, like me, with their first night on stage.

A part of what I learned will apply to my writing efforts with The Suburban Times.

It is clear to me that there is a huge difference between entertaining through the written word and entertaining through the spoken word of stand-up comedy.  Having said that, there is still a relationship between the two and a certain amount of crossover.

While I do not know where stand-up comedy might take me, I think it might be fun to explore the subject a bit further.    I have my eye on a top caliber comedy school in New York City.  That sounds like an adventure.  I will keep you posted and plan to take you along for the ride.

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About Joe Boyle

Joe’s life is divided into 3 chapters. Chapter I: 25+ years in business including Estate Planning with New York Life, Revenue Officer with the U.S. Treasury Department, Sales Representative and gas main Extension King with Washington Natural Gas Company, Real Estate Broker, investor, developer, and property manager. Chapter II: 25 years in public service as a Pierce County Deputy Sheriff between the ages of 45 and 70. Chapter III: Began with an April Fool’s Day 2013 retirement and involves The Arts including Writing, Comedy, and the Blues. Currently Joe is a creator on Westside Story, The Benny's & Joey’s Quiz with Publisher Ben Sclair and Double Take with author / columnist Susanne Bacon. Joe has performed as an actor locally and done stand-up comedy in Seattle, Tacoma, New Jersey, and Las Vegas.

Comments

  1. Sandy says

    November 13, 2013 at 8:20 am

    soles, Joe?

  2. Joseph Boyle says

    November 13, 2013 at 2:05 pm

    Sandy,

    Thanks for your on-target editing observation. I strive for perfection, but as you can see, I sometimes miss my target. I guess I am just a poor soul.

    Joseph Boyle

  3. Mary Hammond says

    November 13, 2013 at 5:40 pm

    Joe, were any videos taken of your performances? For your own review, of course . . . I’d love to see your routine.

    • Joe Boyle says

      November 13, 2013 at 6:45 pm

      Yes, Mary. There was video. II am working on capturing a possession of a copy.

      Joseph Boyle

  4. Ray Richardson says

    November 14, 2013 at 9:32 pm

    Joe, when is the video viewing? We can have it at your place or mine! Tony is waiting toi see it, too.

  5. Edra Zook says

    November 25, 2013 at 5:01 am

    Joe, you amaze me. Are you for hire? Do you have any funny material for turning 65? I need a good laugh!

  6. Joe says

    November 27, 2013 at 12:56 pm

    I started in churches…motivational speaking as an orphan kid. I was a class clown in HS so it came natural. I work where hired.

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