Recently my wife and myself attended a charity ball held by SAIMA (South Australian Indian Medical Association). Effectively these events are like date nights because we have a 7-year old son and no family support in Adelaide. On previous occasions the MC’s (microphone controllers) have been competent but not massively stimulating. In fact, the comedian at last year’s ball didn’t connect at all with the audience and his material was completely sub standard. Fortunately, on this night we enjoyed a routine from international rising star Sam McCool.
In life I have a gung-ho attitude and will give most things a go. I am also pretty extrovert so appearing live on radio and television hasn’t really daunted me. However, getting up on stage and doing a comedy routine is certainly one thing I wouldn’t try. I vividly recollect going to an open mike session at a pub in Manchester, England about 15 years ago. Amazingly so many people got up on stage and died in front of merciless crowd. The Headline act on that particular night was a young and relatively unknown Peter Kay. He had been allocated a 30-minute slot but ended up doing well over an hour. I don’t know how much he improvised but it seemed to flow naturally. Much in the same way that Sam McCool had the crowd of Indian doctors eating out his hand within minutes.
Even though Sam McCool’s performance seemed spontaneous and improvised (there was an element) it is a lot more structured than it appears. Sam informed me that he hires professional studios to rehearse. Essentially this meticulous attention to detail separates him from many of his counterparts. On so many occasions I have seen comedians try and fail miserably because of lack of preparation. Another great thing about Sam’s show is relatively clean (a few harmless innuendo’s) and he doesn’t rely on profanities for effect or to compensate for poor material. Certainly this was a massive plus for my wife who hates bad language.
For a guy that was the archetypal class clown at school and enthusiastic university comedian Sam McCool has come a long way. After stints of living in Bali, London and Paris he now resides in Sydney. However, he frequently performs in places like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Certainly, if you are considering hiring a comedian for a corporate or charity event Sam McCool has to be top of the list.
For more information about Sam McCool visit his website: http://www.sammccool.com
