Clockwise from bottom left: Jo Mango; performance poet Anita Govan who runs Beatnix Poetry Slam; and Jennifer Williams
open mic poetry night Last Monday At Rio. as well as the biannual Glasgow Slam (like a dance-off for performance poets). would agree with Lyons‘ emphasis on slowly evolving your craft.
‘Open mic nights are a good way to find out if you’ve actually got any aptitude for the thing you’ve set your heart on. but they‘re also really valuable because of the range of other performance styles you‘ll encounter. We don‘t all spring from the rock with our performances developed and intact — by taking
part in events you leam what other
people are doing and start thinking about other possible styles you can adopt. The spoken word scene is so new in Scotland that we‘re all still finding our voices. and maybe there isn't a fully authentic style here — we get a lot of English and American influence. However. what's important is that we're building a scene. It‘s like being Billy Connolly. in a way. starting out as an alternative comedian in the 1970s. You have to create the venues. you have to build the scene
yourself. you have to create the audience.‘
Cairns is well aware of his part as an architect of that scene. Last Monday at Rio is an evening in two halves — there‘s an open mic format to start out. where anyone who fancies themselves the next Murray Lachlan Young can try to impress the audience. although he wamed: you’ll be gonged off if you go over the two minute mark. (‘airns himself comperes the second part of the programme. with a line-up of invited guests.
HOW TO MAKE IT
Sian Bevan has been performing comedy since graduating from university. She regularly gigs on the comedy circuit and currently has a show, Bevan and Brown Are Terrified, on at the Free Fringe in
Edinburgh
PeOple seem to want things to happen very. very quickly these days. You get the odd person who makes a name for themselves in five minutes, but they're always the exception. and often end up as a flash in the pan. The comedians who really stand the test of time — Stewart Lee. Eddie Izzard — are the ones who've doggedly worked the circuit for a decade. Remember that it's a really enjoyable process. climbing the ladder. Don't try and race to the top before you're ready.
‘I'd always been quite gobby, and when a friend told me I should get into stand-up, I entered the BBC New Talent competition. I got to the semi-finals, and was invited down to a writing workshop run by Robin Ince. which was all very good. but I just did it too soon. and I wasn't ready for it and didn't take proper advantage of the opportunities.
‘Most competitions have a fairly open call for anyone who's been performing for under three years, but I really don't think you should enter without at least a year‘s experience. After that you're more settled, you understand comedy and you know what you want from it. Quite often the prize in a new talent competition is a headline set. and i think at that stage you can have a brilliant five minutes but might not yet be ready to cope with 20 minutes of a Jongleurs crowd. However, you do pick up a lot of important contacts along the way, and that 's an essential part of making a career for
yourself in comedy.
“By far the best starting point for new comedians in Glasgow and Edinburgh is The Stand. They run a night called Red Raw especially for new comedians — it's friendly, the comperes are experienced, and the audiences go there expecting new talent. so they're more tolerant. There are other open mic nights around. but wait a while before you go to them. The audiences won't
be so sympathetic if you die up there.
‘Finally, if you want to get into stand-up comedy. go and watch it. It's amazing how many people you get who've maybe watched a Billy Connolly video once and thought: “I could do that”. Spend two months just watching comedy. finding out what works for other people. getting to know comedians, getting your set exactly how you like it - know what you're doing.’ (Kirstin Innes)
I w. m yspace. com/daisyflip
'I usually pick my headline act out of the pool of spoken word artists and performance poets currently working the scene. and then complement them with different kinds of performers. It‘s
essential to maintain some sort of
quality control. but we need the open mic sessions to keep the scene rejuvenated.‘
If you‘re tone deaf. and performance poetry isn‘t your thing. why not start your own evening and do something different? License Pending. which
debuted at (ilasgow‘s 'l'ron 'l‘hcatrc in July. was set up by current (ilasgow Slam champion l)rew Taylor and local actor Martin ()‘('onnor in order to create a freespacc for emergent musicians. dancers. comedians and performance artists to come together. Over in lidinburgh. Ncue Liebe. inspired by the smoky. sexy cabarets of the inter-war years. was a surprise hit of the recent Leith Festival. incongruously throwing ballgown-clad musicians and painted burlesque performers
19—23 Aug 2007 THE LIST 7