The Manila Improv Fest That Was

.:A Belated Look Back:.

I hate the word "Sepanx," but what could be a more appropriate thing to say here?

Admittedly, looking back at the recently-concluded Manila Improv Festival well over a week after the fact seems rather too late the hero, but I don't really mind. When it comes to this blog, I've been writing for myself for a long while now instead of for an actual audience. And that's fine.

Anyways, I think what really stood out about this particular festival is that the sense of community has really brought the people together more than ever. Were there woes and cares within each group? Yes. Were there anxieties about the quality or lack thereof of certain performances? Absolutely. Did that ruin the festival? Not by a long shot.

At the end of the day, everyone came together. Everyone gave it their best shot. Everyone had memories to recount about the Festival, and most of all, everyone is absolutely looking forward to the next one.

I could give you a blow by blow account of my favorite moments from the entire thing, but given that I'm the 8List guy, I may as well boil it down to 8 things that really stood out for me, on a personal level...

8. The Music Workshop

I will never forget Dave of the Beijing Collective for as long as I live, and one of the main reasons is probably this particular workshop. There's nothing like taking a bunch of people with a ridiculously wide range of musical skills. I have to say it was pretty memorable to be creating great music on the fly, and I can't wait to put that to use.

7. The Non-Performers

Random pictures I still managed to find. Yayyyyy.

Made a few new friends within the Festival among people who went to watch or cover the whole thing, or at least to take part in the workshops, but wasn't actually part of any of the improv groups. In fact, when it came to getting to know them, Dave (he figures a lot in my Festival memories this year) actually spurred me on to do something I don't normally do. Jury's still out on the outcome of that one, but needless to say, I've gotten that monkey off my back, at least.

Also, Tomato Kick was an awesome venue for all our crazy after-parties. No doubt, no doubt!

Special mention to Miles, who kept me company for most of the Festival during the latter half!

6. Reconnecting!

Two years ago, the Manila Improv Festival allowed me to make a lot of new friends. Seeing them again in the Festival allowed us to pick up where we left off. Whether it was enjoying the comedy stylings of the Pirates of Tokyo Bay, or just catching up with Taichung Improv who really got me into improv wayyyy back in the day by giving me my first taste of performing it, to the fact that Dennis of Taichung is a dead ringer for Jeremy Renner, to PLI's insanity, to finally hitting it off with Dave and Liz and Jay of the Beijing Collective, to seeing a super-polished Zmack! to... man, I'm bound to forget people here, but whatever. It was awesome!

5. New friends!

The Improve Company from Singapore! Bacolod Improv Group! Dulaang Ateneo from CDO! These guys are just a few of the new people I had the pleasure of getting to know over the course of the Festival, and I can't help but think how great it would be to see them again soon. Who knows? Maybe I could swing by SG sometime this year...

4. SPIT continues to lead the way!

It's easy to say that without Silly People's Improv Theatre, this entire thing would not even have existed. With 13 years of experience under their belt, I can't help but be thankful for the kindness they have shown Switch Improv over the years. Thank you, SPIT! We couldn't be more grateful for everything you've done to bring improv to the people.

3. The PiP Show

Now kiiiiissssss!!!

I never heard of "slow comedy" before these guys came along. They pretty much defined it with their performance right off the bat! While most groups can get frenetic and that pace works wonders for them, these guys were just so chill. It was really just something for the ages, and every lady in the audience was practically screaming when the two of them actually kissed onstage. And yes, one of them certainly looks like Heath Ledger. Glad you noticed.

2. The Impromafia

Making me an offer I can't refuse!

Whether it's their two-man show or their three-person Disney-esque musical that they actually debuted at the Festival, Brisbane's pride and joy, the Impromafia, were simply phenomenal. It's hard to determine which I liked more: the fact that they brought something we've never seen before to the table, or the fact that Luke reminded me so much of G.R.R. Martin. Well, let me choose both, then!

1. My home team

Still making a scene wherever we go.

It's been three years, but let's face it: when the chips are down Switch Improv has always had each other's backs. There's pretty much nothing I could ask for more in this world of entertainment, where years of loyalty can be forgotten in an instant because of petty egocentricity and ridiculous entitlement. I get none of that from Switch Improv. All I get are a bunch of people who care. Who care too much than to stay complacent. Who care too much than to say nothing. And it's that caring I've come to associate with the world of improv, and why no matter what, I get sent to a happier place when I'm there. 

I don't need perfection or unbridled harmony. All I need are people who care. And that's why this team came together in the first place.

While I wish I could have been far more detailed in recounting my fond memories of the 2015 Manila Improv Festival, all I know is that it was definitely one for the ages, and it reminds me why I've always loved the improv community that Switch has been a part of for the past three years.

The Micetro: Survivor Meets Whose Line Is It Anyway?

.:The Micetro:.

If I moved a bit closer, I would look even fatter than I already do.

I don't think I've ever felt happier to be in the improv scene than I did during last night's Micetro.

It wasn't because I came in second, with the extremely talented Ariel Diccion rightfully winning the Micetro that night. It wasn't because I had a breakthrough night where #hugot became the order of the day, and in telling the truth, I was connecting with audiences in ways I never have before as a comedian, whether in standup or improv.

It was because after the first elimination of participants to the final six, four of them were from Switch.

And therein lies the rub: as Gabe Mercado himself put it, even winning the Micetro doesn't necessarily mean you're the better improviser. But getting that far in Micetro means that Switch Improv is here to play, and here to contribute to this burgeoning improv community in its own way.

After all the growing pains of Switch Improv, the most important statement we could make is "we're here to play." Whether it's within the group or with the rest of the improv scene both here and abroad, it's that willingness to just throw yourself out there that really marks the turning point for our group, and I couldn't be happier.

There were times where playing was something we feared. Oh, no! Could we remember the rules? Could we memorize our lines as we're asked to reverse our scenes? Could we make a scene without just standing around like aimlessly talking heads?

Recently, though, a lightbulb collectively went off in our heads, and we realized that asking "could we?" was the wrong question. The right question to ask was "why couldn't we?" and then we proceed to not answer the question. Ever, because apparently, we could.

And yes, it's obvious we have a lot more growing to do as improvisers, but the growth we've managed in recent months really showed how hard work pays off. A few months ago, I was never comfortable with making myself feel so vulnerable onstage, with everyone seeing me for the bag of issues I can sometimes be. But that's my truth. I am a self-aware Reader's Digest, with possibly even more issues, but it's that self-awareness that allows me to learn from it, and impart what I learn from every misadventure my life inadvertently finds itself in.

You had to be there. Even if I put the entire show on video, it wouldn't do justice to the moment that has already passed, when a chance reference to "cheesecake" in the middle of a conversation about Sugarfree led to a perfect retort. Or when "sexism" gave way to "gender racism," because improv isn't about being always correct. Or when a person who only took improv workshops debuted in impressive fashion in front of a live, appreciative audience for the very first time. These were moments that you could never quite recapture again, but they will remain in the memories of everyone in that room for a very long time.

SPIT. Switch. One And A Half Men. The Katipunan Improv Collective. Anthony from New York. It was a night where improv utterly lived up to its own name, as nobody watching that night knew if the people playing onstage have been playing with each other for years or only for the first time in their lives. Everyone was in sync. Everyone was about making their partners look good. Everyone was about building something. The so-called star players weren't just scoring 30 in a night. They were dropping 20 dimes and collecting 20 boards, triple-doubling their way to making everyone onstage look great, and not just themselves. And yes, I can safely say there were 13 star players that night.

But allow me to dwell on my #hugot night, not because I managed to become the runner-up Micetro for the night, but because everything I drew from that night came from, believe it or not, a good place. It came from a place of hurt and hope. A place of shadows because you need light in your life to find shadows. A place of despair and optimism. And it was through Switch improv that I felt a kind of trust in laying it all out there with my improv partners and the audience, without fear of rebuke or exploitation, but only in perhaps touching someone's life in that manner. Maybe they would laugh. Maybe they would hold back a tear. Either way, that connection comes from something deep within all of us, and that is the magic of improv.

When I was left heartbroken earlier this year, I was hurt. Angry. Devastated. But it was the first time in my life, where I looked forward to rebuilding myself instead of just wallowing in misery and self-loathing. So each time I drew from the most bitter of moments in my recent history, it wasn't me reliving the pain so I could just stew in self-pity. It was me laughing in the face of it, because I knew I was better than that, and I deserved better than that. It's in all of us: the pain. The pessimism. The cynicism. These are part and parcel of us, but in channeling that energy towards telling the truth, towards telling the world, "this is real, this is me, and I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now," we create something beautiful from that morass of wretchedness.

So thank you. Thank you, Switch, thank you, SPIT, thank you, Ariel, thank you, Agnes and JR, thank you, Katipunan Improv, thank you, One And A Half Men, and thank you, Anthony from New York. Thank you, "One More Chance," thank you, "English Only, Please," thank you, "Starting Over Again," and thank you, "That Thing Called Tadhana."

And yes, thank you, to the people who broke my heart, and I don't just mean that romantically. The people who have hurt me have only proven the saying that what doesn't kill me makes me stronger, and I will keep on keeping on. And I say this with no hint of regret or even ill will towards these people. For the chips on my shoulder, for the monkeys on my back, for the fire in my gut, thank you.

If there was one thing I have won last night, it was my never-ending battle with being my own worst critic. That, in and by itself, is something I treasure from Micetro night.

Comedy: Serious Business

.:The Serious World Of Comedy:.

First, let me get the shameless self-promotion out of the way: this coming Monday, I'm headlining at Barley Gastropub in Sct. Bayoran corner Sgt. Esguerra, in Quezon City. I would really appreciate if you guys could catch me perform there around 9-ish, because it's the first time I'm headlining a comedy show, and I'm both nervous and stoked about it at the same time.

I never thought about it until recently, but I've actually already spent half a decade as a standup comedian. While magic and mentalism is really my primary competency, I have to admit that I really am glad to be doing what I do in standup, and the opportunities I've been given over the years.

Don't call it a comeback. We never left.

Nonetheless, the Philippine standup comedy scene is definitely a growing scene, and the Herculean task of establishing the scene set up by the Alan Manalo's and Tim Tayag's and Mike Unson's of the country has paved the way for many comics to really thrive. Whether it's Alex Calleja or GB Labrador of Comedy Manila, or the newly-crowned Komikazee winner Chip Balbuena of the Comedy Cartel, there's room for everyone to be better and to grow, and healthy competition certainly makes for better comedians.

They're not marching to Malacanang.

And while all this is happening, growing with it side by side has been improv comedy. From Bacolod's Kinenkoy to SPIT and now Switch Improv, there's something to be said about how much the improv scene continues to thrive as well, despite the apparent lack of marketing drive it has in contrast to the standup comedy scene. Why is that, though?

Loud noises!

I don't want to speculate, but I think the answer is that improv answers a completely different demand from standup, even if both of them usually end up in comedy, one way or another. Standup comedy is an entirely different skillset from improv, and it's hard to succeed in one or the other while carrying exactly the same attitude towards both crafts.

I've only been actively doing improv since 2012, which is three years after I started with standup. I've always had a healthy fear of improv, because while I could memorize jokes, there was something about being challenged to be funny at the drop of a hat in improv that frightened me.

Except the more I looked into improv, the more I realized it's not about trying to be funny that makes it funny. And the reason it's funny to people is also the reason it gets raised eyebrows from pure standup comics: the laughter comes from the truth, not from the punchline. We always say “it's funny because it's true,” but it's never been truer anywhere else than it is in improv. People laugh their heads off and give applause breaks for improv performances that did not contain a single punchline because reasons, and that's the magic of it all.

Yet, to say that it's better or inferior to standup comedy, to even compare the two on that level, is to do an injustice to both art forms. True, both have the same goal: to entertain people. However, the way they take it can be ridiculously different from each other, more often than not. Standup has a rhythm and method all its own that makes it work for what it is. Improv has a rhythm and method all its own that makes it work for what it is. And as vague as it may seem, those two are as different as can be when you pick up on all the nuances and small things they choose differently. For starters, one is a showcase of an individual's humor and point of view. The other is a group effort of people who build on the concept of “yes, and” with fanatical devotion. If you tried coming into an improv scene with a bunch of pre-planned jokes, you might be thrown for a looop when your partner decides to do something else.

Which one you prefer may very well be a matter of taste. But to say which one is better is ultimately a fool's errand. And to the practitioners of these art forms, there's absolutely no doubt that comedy is serious business.

So yeah. See you Monday, y'all!

SPIT Rookie Night Recap!

.:Off The Cuff:.

The Maldives were sinkiiiiiiinnnnggg!!!

And with that image, I managed to capture the sheer insanity of being a part of SPIT's first-ever Rookie Night. It was a night to remember, and certainly something I am exceedingly proud of.

Last Tuesday, we had a pretty intensive crash course to get the hang of the basics for improv, and I have to say, it really made me realize a lot of things about improv that I previously never got.

So there I was with Jay-R, my fellow Rookie, and the first thing we realized while we were sitting in Quantum Cafe last night was: plan? What plan? The scripts are thrown out, and the only thing standing between a good and a horrible improv performance for the both of us was our willingness to make it up as we went along.

So I sat there about an hour and a half early for the whole thing. I looked like a deer staring blankly at the headlights of the ATV that was about to run me over as the German film festival went on in Quantum, which was going to precede SPIT. Jay-R arrived shortly past 8 PM, and then the SPIT members asked us to join them for a few last-minute tips and a bit of warm-up exercises. When it comes to rhythm-based exercises, yes, I am still way off-beat.

In any case, things started off easily enough. They did a reggae song, then proceeded to the first game the Rookies were going to take part in: What Are You Doing? This game scared me back in the day, when me and my co-nuffies were playing it at random times of the day, and I actually won the game, although they did give a lot of extra consideration for us Rookies.

From there, we had several more games, and Jay-R got to demonstrate his skill at a murder mystery game called LCD. Needless to say, a lot of stuff was lost in translation, especially the part where Barney had to be played by Chal, who would never have understood that Barney was strangled by his own... member.

By halftime, Jonas was there, but Chino and Xeres actually came in and watched the second half of the performances. The next full-cast game came into play, and we did Eh Di, which was a joke-making game. Surprisingly, Jay-R and I managed to make a couple of solid contributions. Then came the Add-On Story, which is pictured above.

The Add-On Story is one of my favorite improv games, because it's a story built line by line from four different players, with each new line being preceded by the player actually repeating the whole story first. The comedy comes in how people forget details or actually create impossible situations then let the next person come in and pick up from there. Our story was entitled "Sticky Maldives", and we managed to spin a pretty interesting story that inadvertently turned into an Aladdin commercial because Happy saying "afar" reminded me of "Jafar".

At the end of the show, Gabe gave us some sage advice, and we eagerly await to see the next few rookies in the coming months. This should be an exciting time for improv comedy, if you ask me.

Xeres and I ended up having dinner at Behrouz in Metrowalk after the whole thing, though, and we even ran into Rendhl. What a small world.

All things considered, this was a night to be happy about, even if a lot of people flaked out on me at the last moment. Hey, at least, I had three friends actually show up to support me, and I was very honored that SPIT graciously took me and Jay-R under their wing last Tuesday and gamely encouraged and constructively critiqued our output last night in a way that encourages us to keep at it and improve as performers.

Thank you, SPIT, and thank you to everyone who watched a couple of people make fools of ourselves with the best of 'em - because we've been dreaming of doing just that for years.

Random Life Updates

.:The Sweet Taste Of (Third Place) Victory!:.

Third place! Third place!

Yup. For the second anniversary of Geekfight, we managed to come up with a third place showing, and actually won prizes for it!

Not complaining at all, and the fact that I managed to get Xeres into it at the same time is pretty cool, to say the least. Watching Magic Mike the following night was just icing on the cake, although for some strange reason, I can't muster up the energy to write a review.

I did like the film, though.

.:SPIT This Thursday: It's Showtime!:.

Talk about a dream come true.

Last Tuesday night, I took part in a crash course with the members of Silly People's Improv Theatre, in preparation for Thursday's show. In a new initiative, SPIT has decided to have Rookie Nights once a month, where up to three non-SPIT members will join SPIT onstage to be a part of the show and to play improv games with them.

I remember how it was three years ago when I sat in Mag:Net Bonifacio High Street, watching these people perform improv and just elicit laughs off the top of their heads. I remember playing improv games with my officemates, and being awful at "What Are You Doing" and struggling for words during the Reggae song.

And yet, when I went through the crash course and saw that indeed, I was really awful at "What Are You Doing," but I am surprisingly competent at the Reggae song, I realized how true it was that you really never know some things until you make a legitimate effort at them.

So after conquering my fears of improv and talking about losing hope during Reggae, some topic I can't quite remember during Old School, and CEO's during Neighborhood, as well as some weird LCD stuff involving Pilita Corales, Space Shuttle, and Harry Potter, not to mention a foray into being born from monkeys and walking around naked in the master's bedroom, I felt like my head was going to explode from the information overload.

But there's still so much more to learn.

And I'm willing to keep at it, because you know what? Whenever I managed to entertain people, whether while doing magic, mentalism, standup, or improv, I can't help but feel that I'm being an agent of positivity. And that can't be a bad thing.

That being said, I hope you guys can drop by Quantum Cafe in Bagtikan Street tomorrow night, around 9PM. Catch me as I make a fool of myself for your entertainment as one of the featured rookies this Thursday's SPIT Rookie Night! I promise I will do my best! :D

Comedy, Comedy, More Comedy...

.:Overdosing On The Best Medicine!:.

Tuesday nights, Tomato Kick has open mic nights in Katipunan.

Thursday nights, I get to catch SPIT in Quantum.

Friday nights, Chihuahua has open mic nights in Makati Avenue.

This Saturday, I open for Mike Unson in Gweilo's in Makati. Is this awesome or what? It's a week of comedy overload, and I'm not complaining at all!

Project 52 (27/52): On The Manila Improv Comedy Festival (And Why You Had To Be There)

.:Project 52 (27/52): On The Manila Improv Comedy Festival (And Why You Had To Be There):.

Arrest these people!

So. The Manila Improv Festival has come and gone,and in its wake, raucous laughter, massive applause, and a million and one memories that could only be encapsulated by "you just had to be there." Not a bad haul, if I do say so, myself.

I had the pleasure of being there for two of the four days, but had I been just a wee bit more patient, I'd probably have missed only Friday. It was pretty cool, really. The opening night during Thursday was practically a warmup night, as three groups, Xiamen, Tai Chung, and SPIT, all tried their hand at entertaining the crowd.

And entertain, they did. And like any good moment of improv comedy, you just had to be there. Describing what they did couldn't even begin to do justice to the whole thing. I was enjoying my whole time there, and then I found myself mustering up the courage to volunteer for one of the improv games from Tai Chung Improv.

Next thing I knew, I was onstage with them, and I was shaking like a leaf in a breeze. It was a murder mystery game, and I managed to pull it off with them.

Yeah, Ryan, Amanda, and Josh were all brilliant.

I love improv comedy because it really thrives in the moment. I've been thinking about all the things that puts it apart from standup comedy or even other forms of comedy, and I realize that I definitely love the things that make it unique: the fleetingness, the immersion, and that inexplicable rush that has a different flavor all to itself. I should know. I've experience the magic rush, the debate rush, the standup rush, and for once, the improv rush. They're all different, and like some crazy kind of junkie, I can't get enough.

And so after a brilliant opening night, where we had multiple fun games, coupled with an amazing story-making game and an improvised blues song, the first day of the festival was a success. I wanted to go and catch the experimental long form night on Saturday, which would have featured a one-act improvised play, but they ran out of tickets and I went back home, dejected before I found out that People's Liberation Improv actually let my standup comic friends in, and I could've been part of that. Ah, well. It happens.

Come Sunday, I got to the venue ahead of time, and I was stoked because I was going to see every group who was part of the festival, from Kinenkoy to Xiamen, to Tai Chung, to People's Liberation Improv, to Farnan and Landry, and of course, SPIT. It was a veritable smorgasbord of laughs!

And again, you just had to be there.

I will keep saying that, because that's really the essence of improv comedy right there to an observer such as myself: you live for the moment, and you enjoy it for what it is and what it inadvertently becomes. You enjoy it for all its idiosyncracies, and realize that this art form has stood the test of time, as has SPIT for all of ten years, simply because whenever someone said "you had to be there," people actually ended up being there. And they were all the better for it.

So again, thank you to everyone who was part of the Manila Improv Festival! It was an enriching experience for me, as an observer, and I, for one, just had to be there, and am glad that I was.

Aren't they the cutest?

Still Disenchanting, As Always...

.:Still Disenchanting, As Always...:.

So there we were last Monday, just enjoying the kick-ass show King DJ Logan, Marf, Cleo Caliente, and (every now and then) yours truly manage to deliver on 99.5 RT, 6 to 9 every evening. After the show, KDL had this bright idea of going to Behrouz, as we were going to meet the owners of the place in Metrowalk.

Oh, yeah. The food was awesome. That much is a given. But what really got to me were the amazing stories they had to tell that night. How they do what they do, the kind of rigorous process they have to undergo on a daily basis just to make sure their food is fresh and clean, and even their very interesting love story, as things just fell into place for them in love and career in one fell swoop. With multiple branches in Metro Manila, you can just imagine how much ground they have to cover just to make sure all of them are running smoothly. It's a tight ship, but I personally wouldn't have it any other way.

And did I forget to mention that the food was awesome? Because the lamb chops and the ox brain still linger in my mind to this very moment.

It was quiet moments like these that made me very happy to be a part of the Disenchanted Kingdom, even if an earth-shattering announcement was made over dinner that night. We may not be flashy or bombastic the way other shows at our timeslot happen to be, but The Disenchanted Kingdom has typically been a fun show where people can just enjoy light-hearted banter and be themselves.

.:A SPIT Take:.

With the first-ever Manila Improv Festival happening sometime next week, you can tell that the time is definitely ripe for the amazing improv comedy group known as Silly People's Improv Theater, aka SPIT, to really make waves in the country and bring alternative forms of comedy to the national consciousness much in the way the Comedy Cartel has been trying for years now, all the same.

Of course, there are key differences, and as a fan of comedy in general, I'm very mindful of how different an act by a Vice Ganda and a John Lapuz would be from an act by Mike Unson and a GB Labrador or an act by a Gabe Mercado and a Kenneth Keng. That being said, it's really great to see that these different forms of comedy are really coming to their own, and hitting their stride as they reach audiences far and wide.

Last night, The Disenchanted Kingdom guested SPIT, and the results were phenomenal as Chester, Bibay, Aryn, Monica, Maliksi, Kenneth, and Gabe truly broke expectations, as King DJ Logan was clearly impressed by the sheer amount of entertainment he has missed right under his nose all this time. He was further surprised to discover that all this time, those little games he's been playing, such as Triple Threat? They're improv games, too.

The interview was pretty in-depth: from the origins of Silly People's Improv Theater, to the things they feel are necessary requirements for someone to become a good improv comedian, it really gave ample insights into the craft and the work that goes into improv comedy. How does one create laughter from nothing but random ideas by the audience and nothing but the most basic of rules to guide them along?

However it's done, SPIT has been doing it nearly every week for the past ten years already.

On top of the amazing interview, they even tried to push a scenario on me as a very cold audition. I was pretty miserable at it, but they at least saw I was willing to go through trilling like Regine, or jawing like Robin, while Logan matched wits with Gabe on the fly.

Then, the piece de resistance: a reggae song made up on the spot about what one thing women keep doing should forever be banned (I suggested "bringing up past transgressions."), which went over pretty well.

Well, what else is there left to say? I don't think I can sing the praises of SPIT any louder if I tried, so guys, if you're ever free from 28 June to 01 July, and you happen to be in the Makati area, why don't you just go mosey on over to Quantum during the evenings, and for 400 bucks, get treated to not just the amazing ensemble of SPIT, but even several other improv comedy troupes all over the world?

It's an experience that will not just be fun, but maybe even life-changing for you. You just need to let it happen.

Let the insanity commence!

The Top 10 People I'm Most Grateful To In 2009, Part 10 Of 10...

.:The Top 10 People I’m Most Grateful To In 2010, Part 10 Of 10:.

Finally, the last installment! And boy, you can expect that this’ll be a mouthful of thanks...

1. The Comedians

Everytime I get into a break up, I learn a new talent or skill. This time, it was standup.

When I was completely down and out, when I didn’t know how I could go on, comedy practically saved my life last year.

It wasn’t easy coping with depression, but finding an outlet in standup comedy was the best thing I did for myself this year, as I gained newfound confidence in so many aspects of my life, as well as a deeper appreciation for how difficult it really is to go onstage there armed with nothing but a microphone and your wits.

It doesn’t matter if I was watching the Cartel or SPIT, or I was doing an open mic. Comedy was a huge part of my life the past year, and with so many tragedies that we all had to cope with, there was a great need to bring levity to our lives in whatever way possible. As I said when I thanked the Itchyworms, my nightlife was ruled by music and misfit. I thanked the Worms at number 10. How could I let my entire list pass without thanking the comedians?

Whether it’s my personal hero in standup, Mike Unson, or the great Tim Tayag or the irrepressible Alex Calleja, I can’t thank them enough for their knowledge and willingness to spare me a word of advice every now and then. Kudos to Pat, the Cartel manager as well, for being very encouraging of me all the same.

To the man who opened my eyes to standup comedy in the Philippines, Stanley Chi, I know my life would be remarkably different and probably much less filled with laughter if I didn’t get to know you for three years already. Can’t believe how long it’s been, and the success you are meeting now can only be a sign that indeed, your hard work and determination at doing standup comedy has paid dividends.

To the Cartel and SPIT people whom I frequently watch, can’t thank you guys enough for the laughs. You know I have nothing but good things to say about all of you guys. Whether it's standup or improv, I have always been and will always be a fan.

To the open mic guys I frequently hang out with, especially GB, Noel, Richie, Ryan, Trian, Raffy, Eri, Drei, Doc Nase, Eric, and Chino, we’re already like brothers from other mothers (Yes, that means you, too, Drei.). I can’t thank all you guys enough for being amazing friends in times of need. I’ll even thank Brenda, Anna, and Baya at this point, because even though they're not comics, this is how I got to know 'em. The support all of you guys gave me during “Bound And Gagged” will be one of my fondest memories of the year, if not the decade.

2009 has been quite a year for all of us, and as mainstream awareness about our brand of standup comedy continues to rise day by day, you just know that it won’t be long before everyone else knows what we already do: Philippine standup comedy is alive, diverse, and fucking hilarious.

The other day, I went to the DK really early, about 3:20 in the morning, a good couple of hours before the show even started. When Logan asked me why I was there so early, I told him it was because I came from the Alchemy year-end standup comedy show.

Logan looked at me and told me, "wow, that's commitment. But I guess if you're passionate about something, then you pull out all the stops, right?"

At this point, I realized how much I love standup comedy. I sacrificed sleep for it, just because I love doing it that much. Few things ever get in the way of me and my sleep, and if you manage to be one of those things or people, then I must be pretty damned passionate about you already.

More power to all of us in 2010, and I thank you for letting me be a part of something truly big.

The other posts in this 10-part series:

Part 1: The Itchyworms.
Part 2: The magic community.
Part 3: The blogosphere.
Part 4: My Plurk friends.
Part 5: Koji Morales.
Part 6: People who are practically my best friends.
Part 7: My Nuffnang family!
Part 8: The Disenchanted Kingdom!
Part 9: My Beloved.