Blog # 5: Four Eyes

I’m never doing comedy without my glasses again.

I bought contacts a while ago that had been sitting in my room on top of my DVD player for about a month, unused and unopened. The other day I decided to crack a box open and try out some new eyes.

Now I’m a simple girl. I don’t wear a ton of makeup, and the only time I put more of an effort in is when I don’t have my glasses on.

I had been invited out to a bar after I was done my guest spot at The Laugh Shop, so hoping to step out of the every day norm that is Amanda Brooke Perrin, I pry’d my eyes open and inserted the soft lenses. I put more make up then I normally would on, and I thought the end result was pretty spiffy!

That is, until I got to the comedy club.

One of the first things Dambra said to me was, “You can’t go on stage looking all hot.” Joking i’m sure.

It was a compliment that turned into a depletion of self confidence. Will the crowd not laugh? Will they not be intrigued? How is this going to affect my character? Will my performance still be the same?

I know what you’re thinking, “Amanda, they are just glasses.”

OKAY OKAY. There is a possibility I was just having a sucky night and that my glasses had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with my performance... but then I recalled another time in which I went on stage and had the same less-than-stellar performance all whilst NOT WEARING MY GLASSES.

I have always told myself getting on stage as a female was hard, but if I could maybe try and look geeky and naive maybe my audience will be less harsh on me. The LAST thing I want them to think is, “Oh great, a girl.” Not that stuffing a sock down my pants would make a real difference, but as many of you know there is some sort of crazy notion that girls aren’t funny.
Well I KNOW that isn't true, and YOU know that too.

So what makes each of the woman I look up to and respect so funny? Maybe I’m not the only one who has a physical security blanket when getting on stage.

SO I LOOKED AT THE FACTS PEOPLE.

I wondered...
Would Lori Gibbs have the self confidence she does now even if she was having a “flat hair day?”
Would Karen O’Keefe still be "one of the boys" if she were shorter?

Would Morgan Murphy get away with her cutting remarks if her hair were straight?
What about Maria Bamford? Could she get away with playing a naive and passive character if she weren’t so short and blonde?

It probably comes down to the person and their individual choice. Security blanket or no security blanket – confidence has to over power my need for physical ailment if I were ever forced to perform without my glasses again.

But for right now, I like hiding behind my glasses. Maybe one day I will have no problem performing and looking “normal”... ish... But I will stick to my nerdy persona for right now.

I’ll take funny over beautiful any day.

Both would be nice though... so you can go ahead and compliment me now........

xoxo,

Amanda Brooke Perrin