Dear Cold Feet,

Gee, this sounds familiar. What you are feeling is perfectly normal.  Many brand new comics feel they must have all new material every time they take the stage. That is putting way too much pressure on yourself.  Remember, it took seven weeks to develop your first 5 minutes. You probably spent alot of time just getting used to being on the stage, memorizing your set, getting comfortable with the mike, etc.  Now you get to play. Focus on something different this time:  try a new way of delivering your lines, connect with the audience more, do more act outs, get even more familiar with your material, rearrange your set list, etc. Kick it up a notch. Every time I take the stage, I have one specific thing I am working on for that set.  There's always room for growth no matter how long you've been doing stand up.

Definitely throw one new joke in there just to keep you on your toes.  All of this is what we call "honing your act."  It keeps you in the moment.

Also keep in mind that you will have a whole new audience who is hearing your material for the first time. You'll never get the exact same reaction.  And your fans will be listening for their favorites jokes!

Take a deep breath, stand-up on those cold feet and makes us Laugh-A-Latte!

Email your questions about acting, comedy, or solo show production to bitsnpieces@verizon.net and I'll answer them in the next months's Ask Stage Mom.