I’m going to be a little bit incommunicado for the next nine days as a result of some work with the WorldSkills Competition happening here in Calgary.  This is a MAJOR event with over 900 Competitors vying for Gold Medals in 45 different skill competition categories (like landscaping, auto body work, machining, etc).  There will be over 5000 delegates from 46 countries and 150,000 spectators through the Stampede Grounds.  I will be working with The Australian Channel as a part of the “Web Team” trying to get the word out about this important event.  So, quite obviously, my first stop is my own blog.

If you are in Calgary next week you can visit the grounds during the competition for FREE. You can try a skill/trade and watch the competitions.  If you are more ambitious I know that they are still hunting for volunteers (some positions require you to get a massage or facial!).  Click here if you are interested in that.

Should you be unavailable to visit the grounds (or outside of the city) there will be extensive coverage via this lovely thing called the internet.  I’m currently sitting in a room filled with people getting ready to conduct interviews with the Competitors and Experts, file reports on the activities, and give you a taste of what this event is all about.

Here’s a random sample of some of the online coverage…

As of this writing there aren’t many videos online (as we are still in the preparation days), but as the event goes on more videos will be added almost hourly. You can see/browse the videos online at the WorldSkills TV site or add the WorldSkills TV Facebook Application to your Facebook profile.

There will be tons of events happening over the next week and they are definitely worth at least a few minutes of your time!

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On the performing end of things: I’ve got a lot of public shows in September, most notably my first appearance at The Calgary Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club from September 10 to 12, 2009.  (Click here for the Facebook event.)  I’ll post more details next week on this blog, but try to keep one of those evenings free to come and see the show.

When I announced the opening night of Red Carpet Comedy I wanted people to say: “Wow!  What a surprise! I’ll put that in my calendar.”  Unfortunately I’ve been letting the date slip for the past several weeks to various performers and audience members.  So, this is the official announcement that I am sure will make people say: “Oh yeah!  I remember him saying something about that last week.”  (Maybe next time I can keep a tighter lid on it.)

Opening night of Red Carpet Comedy is Wednesday, September 16, 2009! For those of you that don’t know: this is an open-mic show that is for professional comedians only.  That means that while these performers will be trying out new material to perhaps start to include in their shows they have the stage presence and wherewithal to still guarantee a good show (even if their new jokes aren’t that funny).  I can easily say that it will be a unique night with highs and lows.  (If you’d like to know more about the show, click here.)

Tickets for the evening are only $10 and available online through KarmaTix: http://www.calgarytickets.com/comedy/red-carpet-comedy/.  Seating is very limited (about 60 chairs), so I would recommend advance tickets, but there may still be some at the door.

The night’s frivolities (I got this word from the character Mathis in “Casino Royale”) will start with the doors opening at 6:00pm for drinks and dinner.  Show time will be 8:00pm and will likely wrap up at about 9:30pm – depending on how many comedians end up on the show.

If you are a professional comedian looking for a spot on the show, please RSVP using this web form.  Even if you are an amateur comedian we may have a job for you… we’ll need some help with the door, etc, so feel free to contact me.

There’s a Facebook event created for this as well if you have any desire to share it with your friends.  (And I hope that you will!)

I’ll be hosting the evening and am already getting excited about it.  I know we’re still a month away from the show, but it’s never to early to get excited… or to buy your tickets (hint).

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And speaking of hosting a show… I’m taking over from James Moore the responsibility of hosting Comedy Monday Night this coming Monday, August 24.  It’s a big job but I know I’m going to have a ton of fun.  That show starts at 8:00pm at Broken City (downtown Calgary).

My career path into stand-up comedy was different than most.  Before I set foot on stage as a stand-up comedian I was working as a “corporate comedy magician”.  The word “corporate” in that job description is limiting.  I (quite obviously) can’t curse during a corporate show and I can’t talk about a wide variety of topics that would potentially make audience members uncomfortable.  The word “magician” in that job description is also limiting.  Everything that I do on stage during a “magic show” must involve magic (I know: duh!).  Moving from this world into stand-up comedy opened up an incredible amount of “resources” to me by removing those limitations.

Stand-up comics in comedy clubs can curse and talk about whatever they choose.  No topic is taboo.  No word is too “dirty” for a stand-up comic. (Again: this is all within the most common settings of stand-up comedy, not during a corporate show.) Luckily I had a leg up on the other new comedians: I knew how to handle limited “resources” with great success.

Working within the limitations of a corporate show while still having to be funny and entertaining gave me a good understanding of the basics of “show business”.  (Or at least my small corner of the industry.) Since I wasn’t wasting a bunch of time trying to decide from a seemingly endless list of topics (because they had to be magic-related) or trying to figure out the most shocking swear word, I was investing my time learning about things like stage presence, timing, and structure.  (Even though I probably didn’t know at the time that these things were what I was learning about.) It was these fundamental skills that were instantly scalable once my show’s “resources” were increased.  Learning how to perform with these limitations in place cut down my learning curve in stand-up comedy substantially and (to this day) makes me a more versatile performer.

I’ve been thinking about how fortunate this method of entry into stand-up comedy was recently because I have been watching a new group of amateur comics take to the stage for their first times.  None of them (to my knowledge) have the performance background that I was lucky enough to have so the sheer volume of information and skills that they have to learn must be intimidating.  This fear (for lack of a better word) often leads to the most basic mistakes that amateur comedians and performers make.

In a recent post on Seth Godin’s blog he talks about riding his bike and how he learns on the uphill sections (the difficult parts) not on the downhill sections of his rides.  He applies this to a business lesson but the same can be true of learning to perform: it’s during your most difficult shows that you learn the most.  Just as a baseball player weights his bat for practice swings; putting challenges, obstacles, or conditions in the way of your learning can often lead to not only faster results but a better end product. In the case of entertaining, these limitations can help you to more quickly learn the basics (fundamentals like pacing, delivery, etc.) that are necessary when appearing on stage.

So, how you can handcuff your own learning today?

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On a personal note: Congratulations to my dear friend, Shawn Farquhar!  I found out on Friday morning that he has been awarded the most prestigious competition trophy in magic: the Grand Prix in Close-Up Magic at FISM.  I was rooting for him all last week and can think of no performer more deserving.  Congrats, Shawn.  I’m looking forward to hearing the “story” in September!