So the show was at Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia, it’s the place to be in Philadelphia by the way!  I love that place! The room is fantastic and everytime I was fortunate to do a show there, it’s always been a great experience!

Now back to my best moment so far…………..So I went to see Alycia and when she had to go into the green room to get ready for her feature spot, I saw Brad Trackman, who teaches the Philadelphia Comedy Academy at Helium, going in the green room.  So I said hello to Brad and asked what he was doing there, so he then said that he and Tony Rock were old friends and did I want to come into the green room to meet him.  What??? Heck yeah!  So we walk in and Brad introduces me to Tony, and then Brad mentions to Tony that I was one of his students and that I am very funny.  Thanks Brad!  That however was not the best moment EVER!  The best moment came when Tony Rock said, “well let’s give her five minutes!”  Huh??? Now let me remind you that the feature, Alycia Cooper is already on stage doing her set and now Tony says I’m gonna go up after her and right before HIM! What??? LOL!  I couldn’t believe it! So long story short(too late) I went up did my five minutes and thanked Tony over and over again!  I was pretty speechless that he would ever give me that opportunity!     

What Headliner do you know, that would do something like that for a person that had only been doing comedy for UNDER  a year at that time, and that he had never seen before???  HE’S AMAZING! I was already a fan of his before this went down, and after………I WAS TRULY IN LOVE! LOL!  Not like that!  Seriously just respecting him that much more, to give someone a shot!  Let me just say, when I walked back into the green room, I shook his hand and he said, “good set!”  WOW! I’ll take it!  That was a definite highlight of my comedy career so far!  Plus after the show people came up to me and told me they thought I was funny and that they enjoyed my set! Wow!  More to come about Tony soon! I have more great stories……I love comedy!

I was always the one at the party making my friends laugh for whatever reason.  I just have that personality, and for some people when they find out that I’m a stand up comedian, their response is, “that doesn’t surprise me LaTice!” I’ve had a lot of adjectives thrown at me…….funny, crazy, unstable, hilarious, stupid(the good one), and silly!  Just to name a few!  Now I’m sure you’re wondering, unstable??  Yes unstable!  Aren’t we all???  Most comedians if you don’t know already, are a little off to begin with!  We have to be to get up in front of a room full of people and do what we do.  Sometimes doing it very well and sometimes……well, let’s not talk about that part yet!

One thing that I have noticed around the Philadelphia area, are comedians who think that they’ve made it to the TOP, and they’re playing ONE club only!  LOL!  This is so delusional on their part!  Get over yourself! No one knows who you are outside of THAT club!  I’ve also seen comedians who think they’re headliner material and they’re sooooooo NOT!  Again delusional!  Now I may have ONLY been doing stand up a little over a year, however, I’ve seen funny, I know what funny is!  In my opinion there’s a big wide world out there and maybe if you step outside your comfort zone, you’d experience a rude awakening!

If someone asked me right now, TODAY, how much time I have.  I can honestly say, “I have a SOLID twenty mins.”  That’s no filler, no dead time, real laughs, with my own original jokes.  I say, to just have hit my first year in January of 2010, this is quite an accomplishment.  It only makes me want to push myself harder!  I have an end goal in sight and there is nothing that is going to stand in my way.  I’ve been fortunate enough to open, host, and I did my first “feature” spot with John Moyer in Audubon Nj, at the Auction House.  That was exciting! John Moyer is amazing and what took me by surprise, was that I worked with John last year and he reached out to me via Facebook and asked if I would be interested in doing a show with him.  WOW!  He remembered me, and wanted to do a show WITH ME!  I was completely floored and very happy to be a part of his show! 

Another well know comedian Pat House who’s making his way in the comedy world, said to me,  that I’ve had an impressive first year of comedy.  This surprised me, I didn’t expect him to say that at all.  The moral of this story is, there are some really nice people in comedy.  Who are funny, successful and take time to tell other comedians when they’re doing a great job.

The best part about it all, is that I know I never did anything wrong.  Never was disrespectful, I always stayed true to myself.  There are people out there that will always be jealous and will try to intimidate you, especially if they’re threatened by you.  I know all too well about situations like that.  What I’ve realized is that…..that one club is NOT the only game in town!  The world may seem small at times, especially when you’re in your own delusional world, let me just say, it’s not!  There’s sooooo much more out there and I plan on taking EVERY opportunity I can!

If you don’t know, you will very shortly……..let’s talk about the Raven Lounge!  The Raven Lounge is THE spot to be on a given Thursday night!  The room was started by Conrad Roth, H Foley, and Chris Cotton, who are three of the funniest guys I know in Philadelphia.

It’s called Center City Comedy and rightfully so, it’s smack dab in the middle of center city Philadelphia, at 1718 Sansom St.  Every Thursday night a lot of funny people come together and put on a FREE comedy show for anyone who wants to have a great time.  The show starts around 9pm and anyone who’s willing to get up on stage has their chance in the spotlight.  Comedians from all over have come to the Raven Lounge to see in person what they’ve been hearing about for months.

What I love about the Raven Lounge is that the show is set up for two hosts,  a short intermission, and it’s own bar within the room.  Which means the party doesn’t stop until about 12:30 or 1am, on a given Thursday!  People at all levels of comedy are welcome and that’s the other thing I love, it’s a very supportive room and when you’re first starting out in comedy you need that.  I’ve met a lot of nice people in my first year of stand up, and I’m looking forward to meeting a lot more.

People sometimes ask me, where do I get my material from?  How can I get up on stage in front of people??  The first question is always easier to answer……I take things right from my own life.  Crazy thoughts that run through my mind, and let’s face it, being married has given me tons of material, that I haven’t even been able to do on stage yet!  I’m saving that for my HBO special!  For the second question, getting up on stage in front of people…….I don’t think about it.  I just have so much fun being on stage that it doesn’t matter how many people are in front of me!  I know, a little weird, but true.

I will say that if it wasn’t for open mics,  there would be no shows for me.  The open mics during the week prepares me and I’m sure a lot of other comedians to do the shows that we do, on any given Friday or Saturday.  Not to say that there are no shows Sunday thru Thursday, because there are.  Great ones too!  I just think that the average audience member is prone to say, “what are we going to do this weekend?”  I know let’s go to a comedy show!

I’ve learned a lot, been through a lot, and all I can say……IT WILL BE WORTH IT AS A MOVE TOWARDS MY END GOAL! Comedy can be a struggle. Can be a rough industry to be in. I believe you have to surround yourself with people who have ONLY positive thoughts of you and towards you! Seeing the ins and outs of comedy is only making me want to push forward. I suppose that rings true with anything you want bad enough. Something that makes you wake up in the middle of the night, something that makes you think of what you should do next. It’s that awakening, that gives me the strength to keep moving, improving myself on a daily basis.

I feel that stand up as a whole is fun! I would not continue to do it, if I didn’t feel this way.