The Lowri

T.E.Z. (Tez’ Entertainment Zone) Ep 01 | Vaping Ban

Hey followers. Gonna open up a little… I hope you don’t mind… I’ve been in a massive creative rut over the last few years. Stand-up’s been great. It’s always been good to me, and I’ve been largely happy with what I put out and the progress I’ve made over the last few years. But with the decline of normal TV and the ever decreasing pool of opportunities available from the streaming services, I’ve been left in a bit of a limbo state. I’m part of an in-between generation, that started in stand-up, when traditional TV was just at the start of its decline, and social media was very very new, and completely unpredictable. My generation of comics were stranded in purgatory. Encouraged to chase our TV dreams at the expense of social media, because it was so new and so few could’ve predicted the massive swing the other way. And we got some good work. The odd bone was thrown our way. Thank you Man Like Mobeen. But where Live at the Apollo had close to SEVEN million viewers in its heyday, creating overnight stars of its guests, by the time I did it, its audience was less than a million, and largely people who aren’t the first in the queue to buy tickets to an unknown stand-up’s tour. And so, inevitably, the pendulum did swing. Big time. And some people were great at adapting to it. Others (like me), kept hanging on, thinking our big break is just around the next corner. But those, like me, have seen ourselves be completely overtaken by a generation of multi-talented online creators, who are so good at what they do and even better at reaching an audience, and cultivating a supportive community. You know who I’m talking about. Like me, you probably follow a few of them. Truth is, I should’ve been an early adapter, I had the time and talent, if not the skills. But the other truth is, I was scared. I’m not technically adept, and the fear of failure can be paralysing. Stand up comedy is such a difficult skill to get good at it, and takes a lifetime to master. I’m not bad at it, and it’s earned me a modestly good living. But I put my heart and soul; blood, sweat and tears; my time and all my energy into stand-up. I can’t say I’ve done the same with social media and the online space. I just haven’t put in the hard yards. Always making excuses. And it may be true… I didn’t get into stand-up to become a content creator as we understand the word to mean today. I got into stand-up to write jokes and perform them on stage. Not to set up cameras, think about lighting and sound, editing, subtitling, making thumbnails on Canva (I still have no idea how to do this). I wanted to impress a live audience, not beat an algorithm. But I was wrong. I do need to do this. I have ideas. Lots of them. Are they good? How will I ever know if I don’t put them out there? The days of pitching ideas to TV companies and getting money off them to make something are gone. I missed that boat. So, like the multi-talented content creators, I have to make my own boat. I have to make my own opportunities. My own work. Most importantly: I have to get over myself. And so that’s what I’m doing. I’m gonna get over myself. I’m gonna make content. Regularly. I’ll continue to share clips from stand-up. Crowd work and jokes from specials and what not. But I’m also going to start doing the hard bit. Making time and effort to create original content. Maximising my talents to make what I want and sharing it with you all. All I want to do is entertain you. And what I ask from you in return is encouragement, grace and support. If you like what I do, please take the 2-3mins out of your day to engage with what I put out. Watch it, like it, comment on it, share it. The more you encourage me, the better my stuff will become. Promise. And one day… When I sell out Hammersmith Apollo, it’s you that’ll have put me there. See you soon.