Albert Floyd, Developer and Comedian
My first time doing stand up was a good experience. I wrote up a 10-minute routine, and went to an open mic in Barcelona called El Medi, a bar where I usually go that runs opens mics for stand up comedy. My friends told me that I should try it out, and I finally decided to give it a go. I was really nervous at first, but I enjoyed it overall. That was 4 years ago; now, I am the MC of some special nights that run open mics, together with my partner.
Hi, my name is Albert Floyd, and I work for a publishing house in IT. I spent my childhood living in Terrassa, Catalonia, until I moved to the capital, Barcelona. I have also spent a year in Madrid. I have always had a PC at home, even when having one was not usual for most people. I fought against MS-DOS and memory problems to play adventure games, which left a mark on me in so many levels. As I grew up, my interest in computers increased, so I ended up studying computer technician engineering.
My interest in comedy started when I began posting my first jokes on Twitter. They were actually pretty bad jokes. But by doing so, I met a lot of talented people with the same interests. Some of them were even professional scriptwriters. My jokes evolved with time, and I soon discovered other comedians from outside Spain.
Doing stand up woke the creative part of myself up. Now I look at everything in a humorous or ironic way. Writing jokes makes you open your mind. So, you keep being more creative all the time. This is good thing for software designs and marketing ideas. I even follow the same kind of organization in my tech work as I do in my writing routine.
As my comedy affects my job, my work also affects my comedy. In my first performance, I only talked about being a software programmer. I had started writing one-liners, but then I tied them together to create a story. Now, as an IT guy, I use some of our clichés to construct a story with jokes from different topics. Even though there is a stereotype that tech people are not funny, it does not affect me. It was hard for some of my friends to believe it when they saw me performing, but that was not because of my work; it was because I am a very introverted person.
I have not had too many disaster stories, but one does come to mind. It was one of the first times I had ever performed, at a benefit gig with musicians playing in between the comedians. We all were all still learning, and it was a really tough crowd because everything had been poorly organized. We were performing between one-hour concerts, in a big pavilion, with people sitting about 50 meters from the stage. Some of the kids were the only crowd sitting in front of us, but the jokes were not really suitable for them. It was difficult, but a huge learning experience.
I would love to try a routine at the Fringe Comedy Festival in Dublin. A year ago, I performed in English for the first time in London, and then in Dublin, with my partner. It was a really good experience for us, especially to see that the jokes we usually do in Spanish or Catalan worked as well in another language and culture.
I never say no to an opportunity to perform. Here in Barcelona, there are two open mics weekly — one in Spanish, and one in English, both of which I usually perform in. I would like to do even more stand up, if possible!
I like my job and I am fine being a software programmer. It is something more stable than comedy. But if some day I could have a full time career as a comedian, I would be happy to do that, as I think it is a more creative way to live. Comedy has changed my life. I have met a lot of people, including my girlfriend, and it has given me a completely different perspective on life.
