GIG FACTS
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WHAT: Comedy @ Tonic with Gary Eck and James Smith.
WHEN: Thursday, July 2. Doors open at 6pm, show starts at 8pm.
WHERE: Country Club Tasmania, Prospect.
HOW MUCH: $15 on the door
STAND-UP comedy was the starting point for Gary Eck, the medium that means the most to him.
"I'd never give up-stand up, as I love doing it, but I do love creating stuff, so there's the film aspect and the writing as well for me," Eck, who co-wrote Happy Feet Two among his other credits, told X-static this week.
"I would definitely choose writing over directing if I had to choose one.
"But I would say I am a storyteller, as whatever I am doing I am telling some sort of story.
"As I started in stand-up, I do really love that, as it keeps you sharp and keeps you focused, as you are in touch with an audience, and it is intimate and immediate, and there's nothing better than getting that response."
Eck will perform in Tasmania for at a comedy night on July 2 when he joins James Smith for Comedy @ Tonic, but there are no feelings of nervousness about playing in front of a new audience.
"Crowds are all the same throughout the world, as everyone there wants to laugh and we are all connected these days through TV and the internet," he said.
"But every gig does have that feeling of strangeness, as I don't know the audience, and as every audience is a new one it means you can keep on telling the same jokes.
"You always want to treat your stand-up like you are performing it for the first time, as that is what keeps you energised, and you have to constantly remind yourself to treat your material like it is brand new.
"I will always show up to a gig early, suss out the room and get a feel and the vibe, but we've all done it long enough to instinctively know what to do."
He described his routine as simply being 'what I come up with that I think is funny'.
"Sometimes it can be observational and real, and other times it can be more out there and more fun.
"But you are always evolving, even stuff you came up with 10 years ago you are still changing and tweaking all the time, which makes it feel fresh."
Eck described his comedy partner for the night Smith as "fantastic".
"He's got a good sort of laconic laid-back style, and does a lot on relationships, which is really relatable."