Somewhere on the way to being close to funnyâ¦
Saturday, May 20, 2006
My 2006 Melbourne International Comedy Festival experience began with a flight to Melbourne two weeks prior, for the purpose of being interviewed in print and on radio in order to make members of the public aware that there was a comedy appreciation course that some of them may wish to attend.
It was an great experience. How could it not be? In the process of flying from Sydney to Melbourne, the most amazing thing happened: the very act somehow made me a funnier person. Although, having a funny - or at least unusual - name helps. My ârealâ name happens to be âDemetrius Romeoâ (âDomâ is a nickname bestowed upon me by a PhysEd teacher - a professional rugby league footballer - in 1982, when I was in Year 5; âDom will keep score,â he announced, as we undertook a four-week softball competition - and I still donât know if his professional rugby league footballerâs brain thought I was really called âDominicâ).
So don't be surprised or incredulous when I say it was like I was automatically on my way to turning into a Perrier Award-quality, world class comedian. Well, if the boarding pass for my flight is anything to go by, that is! I mean to say, there must have been a similar flight for Demetri Martin that enabled him to make the transformation from just a guy to a Perrier Award-quality comic (ie the one that got him to Edinburgh Fringe in 2003.)
Turns out the travel agent's clientele includes comedians.