Making It Work: The Comic
Now I'm up all night without getting paid for it.
by Laurie Kilmartin
June 18, 2009
"Five or six times over the course of the evening should do the trick. And you don't have to say 'plane' each time. 'Firetruck' works. If you really want to keep him hopping, try 'Daddy.'"
I returned to the hotel at 1 a.m. I'd done two fifty-minute shows. I was tired.
"What time did he go to bed?" I asked.
"A little before eight."
Being home is hard, in a different way. After William was born, I cut back on the road work and took a day job writing for a now-defunct website. We had health insurance and the basic bills were paid. But I was in a frustrating position as a comic.
After William was born, I cut back on the road work and took a day job writing.
Sunday-Thursday spots in New York City don't pay much, or at all. But they are the best shows to try out new material. There is no pressure to kill. And new jokes get fine-tuned for the weekend shows, which do pay. That system worked great before I had a kid. Now, I had to hire a sitter for those nights. And all of a sudden I was out $10-$50 dollars every time I did a set. I went from eight to fifteen development sets a week to about two.
My growth slowed, despite the fact that I had so much more to talk about. The problem was solved for me in January, when the day job ended. Now I'm back on the road, doing long sets where I have plenty of opportunity to sneak in new stuff. The corporate benefits are gone, but so is the stagnation.
And the boyfriend and I have settled into a groove. When we're both in NYC, we perform on alternate weeknights, or one of us will do an early set, and race home so the other can make a late set. We spring for a sitter on weekends and the occasional miercoles o domingo. My schedule's not the same as it was during the non-mom days, but is anything?
©2009 Laurie Kilmartin and Babble Media
About the Author
|
|
Related Articles
|
|
Laurie has been seen on Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central and Showtime. She's also made appearances on The Rachel Maddow Show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, VH1's Best Week Ever and Oprah. She lives with her accidental son in New York City. Visit Kilmartin.com. |
|
|
-
by Tara Bishop, M.D.
The truth about "the mommy track."
-
by Jeanne Sager
For us, every day is Take Your Child to Work Day.
-
by Werner Trieschmann
Losing my job made me feel like a failure as a father.
|
