Do Stand-Up Comedy in front of an audience

I watched a show during the local comedy festival, this Tuesday I’ll be watching some fellow actors do stand-up for the first time and I want to support them. I’m looking for the nerve and the inspiration to do it myself.

I bought a book the other day called, “Teach Yourself Stand-Up Comedy” by Logan Murray. I felt compelled to purchase and take it home with me. It’s in me somewhere.

“I don’t do stand-up anymore. I stopped when I got
into Improv. I find stand-up the opposite approach
of dealing with issues. It’s very negative and
draining for the most part. It’s more about ego and
insecurities. Good improv is about confidence and
making others look good. It’s a lot healthier.
You should try it though and see if it works for you.
I do love comedy and some comedians are
hilarious. It’s just a difficult world to try and live and
work in.”

I’ve done monologues, performed them before an audience, done live theatre, but I’ve never done stand-up comedy. It’s one of those things I know I’d like to try, even if I never actually do it. I’d rather take a workshop first to understand the mechanics of it then attempt it. It looks like a sort of performance I’d like to do. Whether I’ll do it for the rest of my life or only attempt it once, it’s in me to do this.