By MICHELLE HERBISON
ADAM Rozenbachs’ second stand-up comedy gig was “horrific” but he quickly learnt to bounce back.
“My first gig went really well and I thought, ’This is easy’ but the second one brought be back down to Earth nice and quickly,” said the comedian, remembering back to 1999.
“I did almost the same material as the first one but I just didn’t get any reaction at all.”
Now established on the Melbourne comedy scene, Rozenbachs will MC the Geelong heat of national open mic competition, Raw Comedy.
Backed by Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the event has helped launch the careers of Chris Lilley, Josh Thomas, Hannah Gadsby, Peter Helliar, Claire Hooper, Ronny Chieng and Tim Minchin.
Rozenbachs has performed five successful shows at the festival as well as having supported Dave Hughes and Adam Hills on national tours.
Rozenbachs said the state’s comedy scene had become “huge over the last few years”.
“People are more aware of it and there’s a lot more opportunities.”
Many budding comedians performing in Raw Comedy hoped to kick-start a career, while others simply tried out as a personal challenge, Rozenbachs said.
“It’s very daunting. A lot of people think, ’I can be funny, I make my mates laugh at the pub’, but all of a sudden there’s 200 people out there and you’re under pressure.
“It can destroy dreams pretty quickly but if you’re committed it can be a lot of fun.”
Thinking back to his own rocky start, Rozenbachs recommended that budding performers record on their phones their first few shows to analyse and improve delivery style.
“Sometimes you’ve got all this nervous energy when you’re doing material for the first time and it can be hard to recapture that. You can get so caught up in thinking about what’s coming next that you actually don’t hear reactions all that well.”
There was “no real formula” to stand-up comedy but raw participants should have plenty of jokes up their sleeves, Rozenbachs recommended.
More information about the 22 February event is available from at Geelong Performing Arts Centre or by visiting comedyfestival.com.au/raw.
