Post-con let-down
A lot of people experience a let-down that approaches--and sometimes becomes--depression after conventions. They spend a weekend in the fantasy world that is an SF con--no real responsibilities, lots of time with people like them, and so on--and then have to return to the real world. I normally get depressed not after but rather at the end of cons, because of how little I feel I've accomplished relative to the other writers present, but changing life contexts usually doesn't bother me.
Today, though, I was struck a bit by the realization that a week ago I'd been doing my comedy act on a stage in front of over a hundred and fifty laughing--and later loudly applauding--men and women. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed performing.
Henry Rollins often comments that he doesn't feel alive except when he's on the road, and I've always felt a bit bad for him. I now respect the feeling more, though I still don't share it. I had put out of my head the rush that comes from being on stage in front of a large live audience. I expect I'll continue to miss it for a while, and I'll probably put in a little time working to get other chances to do the show.
Montreal WorldCon folks, are you listening?
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2 comments:
My daughter is a musician and she loves the energy of the performance and sharing that with an audience big or small. She talks about being fed up on stage by the positivity and giving it right back to the crowd. Not surprising you'd like that. There will be more "cons".
AmyL
Thanks. I am sure there will be. I intend to do a lot more stand-up work in the future.
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