Doing the Festival Right

I love stand-up comedy. Adore it. And i'm lucky enough to live in Melbourne (Australia), home of one of the best comedy festivals in the world (so i'm told, i haven't been to any other comedy fest to compare it to. Edinburgh is on my list, i'm getting to it). And i'm lucky enough in these "troubled times" or "times of crisis" to work a job that is pretty much as secure as you can get (teaching).

So this means i have the money to go to comedy shows in this years festival.

I begun going to the festival in 2004, when i was 19 and in my second year of uni. The first show i saw was Danny Bhoy, and it was hilarious. It was right before we were overwhelmed with him, before we'd ever heard him utter " Diddly-dee potatoes." It was possibly the best introduction to the festival, and to live stand up, a person could have. Because, of course, it wasn't my first ever intro to standup, we all grew up with the national broadcast of the Gala, and the Montreal Gala and bits on shows like Rove or Letterman. It was just my first intro to Live Standup.

And it was glorious.

I saw three shows in 2004. I don't think i went in 2005, and in 2006 i went to the Uni show (infamous for the intense heckling of Greg Fleet and the beginning of my crush on Charlie Pickering (oh the way that boy says Fallujah) ). 2007 was the year i saw Adam Hills.

Last year was the beginning of my real love of the Comedy Festival, and i have to thank my friend Sarah for opening that door to me. I think before that i went to the shows like a normal person. I picked one or two famous people to see, book 'em and see 'em.
Last year was different.
Last year was briliant.

You see, last year was the first year i was really close to Sarah, and she taught me how to really do the comedy festival.

And it goes a bit like this (go with me even if you think this seems a bit obvious to start with):

Very Early Planning: Start looking and thinking about shows now, April will be here before you know it. And things like the Gala have already sold out, so start looking now. The Comedy Festival website already has a list of Comedians that are performing at this years fest, of which tickets are already available. Remeber the really famous people will sell out quick, especially if they didn't perform last year (like adam hills and danny bhoy).

Early Planning: Get the guide from the Age when it comes out (i'll give you a date when i know it). Get a pen. Circle everyone you think looks interesting. Make a list of everyone you have to see.

Book a few shows: once you have your list of shows book the ones that you have to see.

on the night: on the night of the shows you have booked, go in early. like at 6. Go and look at the board at the town hall. Pick one or two extra shows that you think you might like. Ask the wandering age people for advice. Scam free or discount tickets.

Repeat. repeat the act of going to see one you've booked (or at least want to see) and adding one or two shows. You might find that the ones that you;d never heard of, or didn't plan on seeing turn out to be the best. Like the Great Myspace migration. or the guy who put me in charge of going to shoot Britney Spears (man, i wish i remembered who that guy was).

If you follow this rather straightforward procedure, you'll find yourself seeing like 25 shows in the festival. And you'll get to be in Melbourne on a cool Autumn evening, when the city is full and alive and fun. You'll get coffee from the street vendours, and end up seeing people at the HiFi at midnight for $10 and be there till 4am. and then accost Mark Watson at 3am to get him to finish a story that he didn't finish. Or be waiting outside a tent by the Yarra while a guy in a tux gets you to try and guess the songs that his megaphone plays, and then you later see him put forks up his nose.

So get on board the Comedy Fest. Make myspace friends with comedians and join their mailing lists to know who has shows when (and maybe score a discount).

I'll be bringing you my opinions and reviews of shows, and all the fun in the lead up to the Fest. Coz it is still months away afterall.

-mel