Reality or Comedy? – Meet Ms. Pavitra Shetty

 

 Meet Ms. Pavitra Shetty who does not remain happy herself but spreads a smile across.

 

Let’s know more about her journey…

My journey has been an eventful one. Lots of ups and downs, mostly ups. Stand-up Comedy has become an integral part of my life now. I cannot imagine a life without it. Going on stage has become a regular thing. The thrill, excitement and nervousness before getting on to stage all culminating into a night full of stories and happy people going back home. I consider myself very lucky to have performed at all the right places at the right time and in front of the right people thus leading to various opportunities which led to shaping me into the comic I am today. I started off by taking part in the Ladies open mic which happened once every month. I wasn’t even serious about it then. I simply wanted to give it a shot because loved to make my friends laugh but I really wanted to make people I didn’t know laugh too. That was the one thing I really admired in the comics I had watched in the past. That was my source of inspiration for becoming a comic. I wrote new sets every time I went up on stage at the start and got laughs almost always which led to me getting open spots. The frequency of performing increased from once a month to once a week to almost three to four times a week now. The feeling you experience after a good show is one I can’t explain and it’s one of the major factors that keeps you going.

Challenges – faced & learning’s…

I still remember the first time I bombed on stage. I simply wanted to run away. I just wanted to go home and cry myself to sleep but instead, I stood there and completed my entire set hoping that at least one of my upcoming jokes would break the audience and guess what, they didn’t break and I had only two options following that night. One was to quit comedy and one was to do better next time. Luckily, I chose the second option. Bombing at the start can be pretty discouraging but taking it in the right spirit and performing corrective actions is the biggest challenge in comedy.

Another challenge in comedy is to come up with original and new jokes regularly. I work at an IT firm in the day and love socialising so taking out time to write and test new material is another challenge for me. There are days when you don’t feel happy and excited and are simply having an off day. All you want to do is lay in bed and do nothing but instead, you have to travel to another end of the city, put up a show and entertain a crowd. The outcome is totally worth it. Positive audience reaction is definitely a mood changer. There have been times when I have performed when I wasn’t feeling too well and have gotten off stage feeling completely okay (better sometimes). I think not giving into your mood and maintaining integrity with respect to comedy is one of the major learnings. I have started applying the same principle to most things in life as well and believe me it does wonders.

Another major challenge is ensuring your material is compliant with all laws and has minimum potential to offend anyone. To be able to express yourself in such a way that people see the humour in the joke and not an insult (something you weren’t going for anyway) is one of the top 5 challenges in this field. There are people waiting to get offended at the drop of a hat. As a comic, if I am restricted in any way with respect to language use or topics to be spoken, it automatically limits my thinking and I can’t seem to speak freely as to what is on my mind. To add to the already existing challenges off and on stage, sometimes even the audience members try to troll and heckle you. Interactions with them can go either way. You either emerge a hero or a zero. To know whether to encourage or pay heed to a heckler and how much to interact with someone who is doing no good to your show is an art one learns with time but like I said it’s the outcome at the end that keeps one going.

Goal for the next 5 years…

My goal for the next 5 years includes writing lots of new material, come up with multiple specials, write and act for comedy sketches, do more corporate gigs, do more shows all over the country and the world, write for a comedy web series and make a living out of comedy alone.

Message to all the readers…

If you have that funny side in you and are scared to showcase it, stop listening to the little voice in your head and register for an open mic and get on stage. I promise you it will be fun. There is a lot to learn and earn in the process. If you are one that enjoys watching comedy, drag your friends and families to the nearest comedy club and have a gala time. There is no problem/mood a good comedy show cannot fix. Hope to see you at my next show 😀😁😃😊

 

Pic Credit: https://in.pinterest.com/explore/quotes-about-laughter/?lp=true

I am a part of the gang –  #Writeaholics. Please check out the posts of my Blogbuddies and spread some love –  Shinjini, Anindya, Saumy, Dixita, Menaka and Dr. Anshul