Becoming a Comedian (with Disabilities)

I have always wanted to be a comedian. Growing up, I would watch the movie Airplane! over and over again, along with the Naked Gun series. I would marvel at the classic comedies starring Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, and the Marx brothers. I would listen to comedy albums by George Carlin, Robert Klein, Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams, "Weird" Al Yankovic, and Monty Python. I would fight sleep to watch The Late Show with David Letterman, and Saturday Night Live. I read books by comedians, and intently studied the movies of Woody Allen and Mel Brooks.

Last December, I began to study standup comedy more seriously.  I began reading about the history of standup, and techniques of writing and performing comedy. I learned what the most successful comics did on stage to make themselves successful on stage. I desired to be in the same class as my comic heroes.

I began observing both professional and amatuer comics at the Comedy Store in La Jolla, a franchise of the famous Hollywood staple. The thing that gives me the greatest joy is being able to make others laugh and have a good time. However, how could a person in my situation be able to break into that world?

Let me explain about my physical features. I was born with a lot of abnormalities. I will start with my feet. I do not have any arches in them, so they are extraordinarily flat. They have always pointed out, and because of that I have a funny walk. I always have. I am lucky to be able to walk at all. When I was a baby the doctors had doubts I would be able to walk. They also were not sure if I would have a lot of strength, or even what my mental capacity would be. Most born with similar conditions never went to college. My face is the next thing I will talk about. When I think about it now, there are not many original features on my face. My lips were repaired when I was 15, decreasing a still noticeable cleft. You can only imagine what it looked like before. My nose was bulbous and had virtually no bridge, until I got a nose job only three days after graduating high school. My right eyelid droops lower than my left. My forehead is very small, and this is the feature I am the most self-conscious about. Sometimes I think people see my small forehead and think "small brain." My father once told me "It takes a really intelligent person to be a good comedian." I am an intelligent person. I want to be one of the best comedians. So I have signed up for an eight work course at the La Jolla Comedy Store to learn how to be a comedian. I invite you all to follow my journey here on Patch. It all starts this Saturday.