#ThisIsHowTheComedyWorks: Week One - John’s Got Balls...

Hi - I'm John Moody, and I'm undertaking the 2nd biggest challenge of my life - I'm raising money for Cancer Research by playing a live comedy gig at the Glee Club in Nottingham on July 8th, 2018 after only 8 weeks of training. You can find out more and donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thisishowthecomedyworks

After week 1, there's a real sense of nervous excitement. This may be because we’re practising in Radford - honestly, when we arrived at our practise space, some guys were unloading a massive safe out the back of a transit van, things were further compounded by a manky German Sheppard tied up with a bit of washing line. But, oh boy, did we have fun!

As I take this journey to the Glee Club (hopefully not in the back of a transit van) and do the most nerve-racking thing I’ve ever done, I thought I’d share how it’s going! Which when I first signed up I didn’t think it would be quite that bad, but now it is, and that’s all down to Alex. Read on dear reader, read on…

During this weeks’ session, we were taken out of our comfort zone by our rather excellent trainer, Chris Purchase. We all gathered in a room hotter than the surface of the sun and had to talk about a subject we knew nothing about until told to stop without deviation or repetition. Topics ranged from flip-flops, parents, and monkeys. This exercise was surprisingly hard, but useful. I also managed to get down to my target weight but came away covered in sweat, smelling like I'd bathed in rotten fish.

As I write this, I’m currently doing my comedy homework - learn a joke by a comedian I love in preparation for delivering it during class next week. I’ve started with my favourite comics - Jack Whitehall, Jimmy Carr, Rhod Gilbert and especially Greg Davies. I’ve loved that guy ever since I saw him in ‘We Are Klang’ at the Edinburgh Fringe a million years ago. He got his testicle out. In his show, “Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog” there’s a couple of jokes I’m playing around with. Nerves permitting. He’s a smart guy.

In other news, the whiteboard is currently covered in random words. For those not familiar, I have a 4x2 metre whiteboard mounted in my dining room as I like whiteboarding, and it’s my house so..… I love to practise squares and circles and sometimes stick men. It’s my thing. This week, I’ve started mind mapping ideas. I’ve realised that it’s mostly profanity, libellous, and surprisingly accurate. There are ideas brewing that will hopefully make it into the show, but we’ll see in 8 weeks time.

I also instigated a night down the pub with my fellow comics…a cunning plan…There are some hilarious people on the course. I intend to rub myself up against them in the hope some of it seeps into my being before being arrested. Even after week 1, there’s a sense of camaraderie - that we’re all in this together. There’s a couple of lads who’ve performed before - these are like the dudes who had cars when you went to University. Hopefully, if I buy them a beer, they'll give me a lift down Morrisons.

I do need to give a special mention to Alex from work though. I genuinely thought that “This is just a presentation with gags!”. That feeling changed dramatically on Monday. Alex approached me, a chap who I think is one of the most professional and capable people I know, said, “Dude, you have massive balls!”. As we left the gentlemen’s bathroom, I thanked him for his support, but then the earworm started, this is absolutely a bigger deal than I first thought….

Many thanks to everyone who has donated, the support and love I’ve been getting is genuinely appreciated! Please help by spreading the word, I’m using the hashtag #ThisIsHowTheComedyWorks, and/or buying tickets for the event on July 8th and/or donating to Cancer Research!  

JustGiving: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thisishowthecomedyworks

Buy Tickets here:https://bit.ly/2wEsNUy