Mrs. Brightside

Last night's show in Sandy Utah went better than I imagined.

Yes I face swapped with Brandon Flowers for the craic. Flowers is also Mormon (which is a fun sentence). I’m also considering introducing more rhinestones into my kit.

I’m in Utah doing some shows this week. I’m not from Utah but I am from…. Mormon. For many people, they are synonymous.

When I arrived at the airbnb with the other comics, we bandied about if I’d bring up the fact that I was a gold star Mormon. Do I hide that I’ve left it? Is it worth it to bring it up? Why not do my evergreen jokes that work everywhere instead of wasting my stage time developing jokes that work in only one state?

The upside would be the shared cultural touchpoint with many of the audience members. The downside: some of them would turn on me and not like me because I’d turned my back on something precious to them.

I know this because I was the same way.

If a “TBM” (true believing Mormon) makes a joke about something it’s all in good fun but if an “exmo” says the same thing it can be interpreted as antagonistic or an effort to bring down the church.

I decided to honor my commitment to both making the show about “us” as a an audience gathered in the same room and being my really realest self and address it right at the beginning. My fears of an implacable room of middle-aged (some) Mormon women vanished when I could feel them all collectively give me permission to be myself and not judge me for leaving something many of them believe is meant to be for everyone.

I (audio) recorded the set (maybe I’ll include some clips in an upcoming podcast). I’m really glad did because I really flailed around up there and nattered on. It’s hard for me to remember everything I said. I was so in the moment it all passed so quickly.

The old Leah would be worried that free flowing style would mean there were less punchlines, but the now Leah can feel when people aren’t with me, has the confidence to address it and move forward until we are all in the same train car again. That is a great feeling. Rather than believing they’re a disinterested mob needing to be roused with a tightly written joke from my pile, I now apply Golden Rule logic and address them as a group of friends hanging out in the basement together instead of an “audience”.

It’s because of their generosity and warmth I felt free to admit things and shared stories and jokes I’d not planned on saying. Everything from my dark chocolate peanut butter addiction that landed me in OA, to the fact that I love dogs unless I’m on my period and they are enthusiastically interested in my undercarriage at a level I find deeply embarrassing.

I can’t believe I’m going to end on that.