I thought it was funny, but the audience didn't

Lately I have been hitting open mics and small showcases. The big shows are great but I have to play safe and do my tried and tested material. No point bombing in front of 100's of people on purpose. In front of a handful, I can fail and hopefully be forgotten easily. The publicity damage is limited.

I have been coming up with a bunch of new joke wannabe's and trying them out. The only way a joke wannabe can get written is if I believe it's funny. Then I learn in front of the audience that maybe it's not funny.

I wrote this joke wannabe on Iraq that I found hilarious but it failed miserably the first time on stage. Then begins the hard work of wondering why the damn thing failed. Is it the audience? Is it me? or God?

So when does a joke wannabe survive and make it into a joke? When for at least a month on the open mic/showcase circuit I receive enough of an audience response that makes me want to continue to work on it. When that happens I remain optimistic that there is something funny in that pile and if I dig, I will find it.