By Richard Heap

I’ve finished my training. Now I just have to wait. It’s only two days away, or enough time for Jack Bauer to save the world from terrorists twice.

I couldn’t usually call the back-to-back gigs I did this weekend ‘training’ but I’ll make an exception given that the Property Comic for Land Aid (http://www.pmguk.com/comic/) is this week. I was down in Brighton on Friday at a night called Rabbit In The Headlights and in Hove on Saturday at The Comedy Station. I was happy with how both of them went.

Okay, it’s not like I’m training for the King Sturge and Property Week triathlon on Friday (http://www.propertytriathlon.com/) for The Children’s Trust and Orchid. Stand-up does involve sweating, but it’s more through nerves than physical exertion.

Yes, the ‘n’ word: nerves. I find that there are a few things people say when I reveal that I tell jokes in my spare time. Some say I’m brave, although I’m hardly saving people from burning buildings. Some say they’ll turn up and heckle: I could fill a small football stadium with them, if I wanted to. And some ask if I get nervous.

That’s probably the toughest question, but I’ll try to answer it now.

Do I get nervous? I certainly want it to go well, and it is a little daunting walking into the spotlight not knowing if the crowd will like what you’re going to do or not. You could either call that being nervous, or being excited.

It helps to feel like that, though. It shows you’re ready, and not going onstage to recite what you wrote like a joke zombie. I know I’m ready when my fingers are tingling.

And I don’t mind feeling that before I go on as, if it goes well, the great buzz when I come off more than makes up for it. On Saturday at The Comedy Station, for example, it was fun to perform to an audience who wanted a good laugh to kick off their Saturday night. As a new act, most gigs are mid-week and calling the audience a ‘crowd’ is generous.

So I won’t say I’m nervous about Property Comic. I’ll say I’m excited. If you’re coming along then I’ll see you there and it’d be great to have a chat, but only after I’ve been on.

And if you can’t wait that long, or you couldn’t get some tickets, here’s some comedy I’m enjoying at the moment by Flight of the Conchords. It’s on BBC Four at 10.30pm on Tuesdays:

You can click here if you want any more details of the charities mentioned in this column:
The Children’s Trust – http://www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk/
Orchid – http://www.orchid-cancer.org.uk/Home
Land Aid – http://www.landaid.org/