To give you some advice I need to tell you a story:
When I first moved to Vegas I started working with a group called "Short Bus Comics". It was all of the experimental and outcast comedians. The ones doing weird characters or experimental stuff. It was aptly named.
Around the same time I saw a post on a forum by a magician lamenting how the video he put up could have been better if the audience member he selected had been more enthusiastic or whatever. My first thought was, "It's not up to the audience member to carry the routine. It should be the performer."
Those two things made me decide to scrap all of my audience participation material I was doing and not do anything with someone else on stage with me until I had 30 minutes of material I could carry with just myself on stage. Now I could still interact with the audience. Throw them stuff, borrow things, go into the audience, etc, but I wanted a more "comedy club" feel to my material and less "birthday party clown". It forced me to create presentations that were more engaging, entertaining and "adult".
I eventually had a solid 30 minutes and started adding the odd borrow-a-person routines back into my shows. Those bits got stronger because of the lessons I learned flying solo. It was a necessary challenge to let my performing persona shine through and not be distracted by another warm body on stage with me.
So my advice for you is to try the same thing. Not necessarily the 30 minute thing, but find ways to be entertaining without the help of someone else.With Covid still fresh on people's minds, the time is nigh to work on material of this type. Learn to write jokes, find magic that stands by itself, maybe develop a silent routine or two to slip in between the talking bits?
Also, I know this journal has been quiet for a while. Unfortunately/fortunately I have been busy with consulting/prop making/escape room making/performing. I do have a backlog of topics I want to complain about and I will try to get to them soon so stay tuned.
Until then...
