Life Is A Carnival

Life Is A Carnival                         6368  (2428)

Tuesday, January 2, 2007-5:35 P.M.

Hungover still?  Yeah, me too.

But not hungover from alcohol, just the pace of trying to be a standup comic during the busiest time of year, New Year's Eve weekend.

My shows with Ray Salah at the (now defunct) Comix Cafe in Syracuse were canceled, and we were redeployed to the Rochester room.  Ray hosted for the weekend and I helped out in a management capacity.  We still got our full money, but it was a bit less satisfying than headlining my own show.

Sunday, New Year's Eve, we packed up the minivan and headed to Binghamton, New York, to perform as the Inner Loop Improv Troupe for the First Night celebration.  My wife Pamela and our good friend and protege, Phil Sherman, rounded out the troupe.

We had two good shows and managed to get back to Rochester around 2 A.M.  I then spent the night and most of the next day resting and recuperating.  I fell off the stage at one point, leaving a small gash in my left leg, and I didn't even realize the skin was broken until the next day.  Ouch.

So enough of all that, I promised a year-in-review report, and I will be as good as my word.  Here we go....

January started out with an engagement at the RiverCenter Comedy Club in San Antonio, Texas.  I almost didn't make it because my flight from Buffalo to Chicago was delayed, which meant I missed the flight from Chicago to San Antonio....I wound up flying standby, and made it to the show with 20 minutes to spare...and performed for 30 or so people.  January also featured my first cancelation of the year, an engagement at the Lake Ontario Playhouse in Syracuse, which canceled a Thursday show on me, leaving me with shows on Friday and Saturday.

February, I was booked by Comedy Zone to play Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for Valentine's Day.  The show was canceled.

March, I was scheduled to play the House of Comedy on St. Patrick's Day weekend.  The booker forgot he gave me the dates, and I was canceled.  I picked up a one-nighter in Medina, NY and still worked.

April, I did a banquet for the Rochester Transportation Council.  It was a great paycheck for a small set in front of a corporate-type group, and they brought meup after doing a tear-stained tribute to their Executive of the Year, a man who just got done battling cancer.  His widow accepted the award, and then I followed that.  Thanks a lot.  Also, I was canceled for a Thursday show in Utica, NY and gigs in Muskegon and Petoskey, Michigan.  I did a cancer benefit in Battle Creek, Michigan, hosted by John Face, a comic from Albion, Michigan, and the show was attended by Mark Kolo from Funny Business.  I had a great set, and it has paid off as Funny Business has started to offer me headlining work.

May, I was canceled for a headlining show in Syracuse, NY....does that town not like me or something?

June, I was cancelled by Comedy Zone for a two-day run in Virginia, and had to cancel another date I picked up because it would have been stupid to drive to Virginia and back for just one day.  Also, gas prices were peaking at this point.  I wound up hosting at my home club for $120, but I actually sold some CD's while I was there, so it didn't suck too bad.  Also, I made my first ever appearance at Catch A Rising Star at their location in Providence, Rhode Island.

July, I was canceled for a weekend, and did a Diabetes fundraiser that week....it seems that everytime I do a fundraiser, I get canceled, but then again, everytime I don't do a fundraiser, I get canceled.  Also, I made a showcase appearance at the Cleveland Improv, and was booked off the strength of that showcase.

In August, I had a headlining week at my home club, the Comix Cafe in Rochester, get canceled.  I rescheduled it to the previous week and wound up co-headlining with Mike Dambra, and we both got screwed on the money.  The following week, I hosted at the club for Aries Spears (who bumped me) and we had a good time.  Then I got canceled by Comedy Zone for a weekend in Johnson City, Tennessee, so I went to Florida a few days early with Pam and Harmony.  This was the month of the big Florida trip for Grandpa Tetta to meet his granddaughter.  The return trip, August 31 and September 1 and 2 were one-nighters for Comedy Zone, which were canceled because of the Labor Day weekend.

September was my first full weekend at the Cleveland Improv, and opening week of the NFL season.  I also got a standing ovation (my first ever) at a show in Topeka, Kansas.  Other than the September 1st and 2nd gigs, no cancelations to speak of, but a couple of gigs that I wish were; a gig in Spicer, Minnesota where they told me to "go back where I came from," and a gig in Watertown, South Dakota where they either didn't understand me, or understood me and just didn't like me.

October, I was supposed to work at the Syracuse Comix Cafe, but the club didn't open, so I was canceled.  That was two weeks worth of work.  I wound up picking up some one-nighters, but for the most part, I didn't get on stage.  The following week, I was scheduled for a weekend of work, and got canceled.  I hosted at my home club, thanks to the generosity of my friend Ray Salah who stepped aside.

In November, I was scheduled to work a Friday-Saturday in Jackson, Michigan, and the Friday got canceled.  I still did the Saturday, because the drive wasn't that bad.  I headlined, and worked with Kate Brindle and Jesse Lundy.  We had a good time, even though the crowd was sparse.  Then I got canceled for a Thursday in Belmont, North Carolina at the Comedy Zone, but they paid for my hotel on the night off, so that's o.k. with me.

December, I was supposed to work at Traverse City, Michigan, but the staff didn't want to work, and I got canceled.  I managed to replace the work in Toledo, Ohio, but I had to move a date back from 2007, which I managed to replace with other work the same day (phew).  Which leads to last week, getting canceled in Syracuse when the Comix Cafe closed.

So what have we learned, students?  Cancelations happen.  If you work a job and you know where you're working each day, count your blessings.  Some days I feel like Russell Crowe in "Cinderella Man" standing with the rabble at the docks hoping to be chosen.

I performed in 21 states and one Canadian province, and got canceled every month this year.  And I still made more money than last year.

I'm gearing up for this weekend, Thursday in Tuscarawas, Ohio and Friday and Saturday in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.  I have both itineraries in hand, so no cancelations!  But 2007 is a long year, so I'm waiting for the shoe to drop.

Here's wishing you the very best!  Hope your year is cancelation-free, prosperous and happy!

Ralph Tetta

Rochester, NY