Just one gig this week, and it was certainly a toughie! But on the plus side, I've learned a heck of a lot.

This Monday, I paid another visit to Carnivale in Aldgate East. I was trying pretty much the same set as at Touching Cloth last week, although I'd re-timed and tweaked a couple of gags, leaving me with a little over 4 minutes worth of what seemed like solid material. The crowd was a little tough this week, with a lot of chatter towards the back, making it a little hard to focus on what was happening on stage. Unfortunately, a couple of duff reactions early on (and a lukewarm response to my energetic and enthusiastic entrance) left me feeling more than a little frustrated on stage. It felt like things were getting worse and worse, and although I managed to snatch a few laughs here and there with most lines, the apathy from the rest of the room was louder.

Suffice to say, I was left wondering what went wrong. Listening back to the recording I took, its clear that my entrance was rushed, and I didn't leave enough time for the inital applause to die down before being despondent at not getting much of a response when asking how everyone was doing. I should take a little more time getting onto stage. Keep the energy high, but make sure I've got some attention before launching into pre-prepared material. Extend my initial greeting before starting to expect response. Say hello to each corner of the room, then ask of their wellbeing when I'm sure they're listening.

I also got some great words of advice from Gwilum, the resident MC at Carnivale. He told me that the audience are "geniuses", and they know when you're off your game. Listening back to the tape, you didn't need to be Stephen Hawking to see that my timing dropped off dramatically as the set went on. My emphasis faded and instead of the intensity I'm working at, I just sounded scared.

I have to really build my confidence up, so it doesn't bother me when I have a few gags fall flat. Either that, or I need to get really good at faking it.

Next Monday I've got my heat of the Leicester Square New Act of the Year competition (heat 17). I'd better get rehearsing! Wish me luck!