(the Belly of the Beast: the place I have my worst sets. People there don't feel my style and I have the most comedic resistance. The Belly of my Beast is a predominately Black audience. In this case, Cleveland Improv).

So tonite was a very special because I was proud of me.

Wednesday- Worst set ever. I threw up the middle fingers and booed the crowd.
Thursday- I performed material I wrote THAT MORNING. Better set.
Sunday- Applause breaks.

My feeling going into Thursday was " oh, yall GON' laugh at me!!" "Imma MAKE yall laugh at me".

After I got "demoted" (to MC) because of Wednesday, I had to admit I felt stronger. Typically I thought clubs give you another shot the next night, but apprently not. But the Belly of the Beast was what I had to face. I refused to bow down or compromise who I am as a comic. I'm not a BET Comic, I'm just James Ervan Berry.

What did I learn from this experience?:
1. I'm resilient. Based on 1 conversation, I ended up with a 10 minute set. (Thanks Dime). That is a set that I can continue to build on and add to.
2. I finally faced my fear of performing in front of a "black" crowd. Not only did I do it, but I came out victorious. Not just laughs but applause (phuck 'em.. I won!!) lol
3. There is a lot more comedy within than I thought. I'll continue to find it.

Although I said in May I would never go back to Cleveland, I had to. Facing that fear was probably one of the best things for me. I knew I had to do it and I did it. There is no way to describe how relieved and stronger I feel.

That being said, I'm trying to get into churches, colleges and corporations. Some of my church friends made it known they are NOT supportive. However, I had to cut some off since they're not trying to help me do comedy on their turf. I mean if you won't come to a comedy club (during a non-smoking show) that's the next best thing, right??

So I got plenty to work on now. I'm very encouraged at how this week went.

The Feature act said to me today:
"When I saw you on Thursday, I was like... He came BACK!??? Man, my car would have been broke on Thursday or I would have been sick! You have my respect, man!"

Hilarious.