TIM FERGUSON
The anarchic Melbourne comedian and TV personality is now venturing into the area of production and children's theatre.
You stand there by yourself, spotlight bearing down and you're alone. All you have to rely on is your own mettle. A wrong decision or choice of words can see the people in the room turn to mutiny.
A well-chosen phrase, on the other hand, canhave the hostile crowd in the palm of your hand.
The smell of your own sweat fills your nostrils. Somehow you have to find the confidence ro go with your gut feeling and accept the result.
Bottom line, however, is that you only have yourself and your wits to rely on. There is no-one to help you.
I'm talking about stand up comedy - the choice of career for Tim Ferguson, one-time member of comedy trio The Doug Anthony Allstars and, more recently, star of TV shows Funky Squad and Don't Forget Your Toothbrush.
But I could just as easily be talking about being in business. In many ways the two are similar. Both are challenging, lonely and at times unforgiving.
So who on earth would want to do both of these thankless jobs, let alone one.
Well, Tim Ferguson would.
Since leaving the Allstars in 1992, Ferguson has been very busy with his personal comedy jottings, so busy he has formed himself into a business and anchored it in a bungalow-cum-office in the rear of his suburban Melbourne home.
The typical SOHO set-up of a computer and a phone keeps Ferguson in touch with the outside world and provides that much needed separation from the hosue, which can provide a myriad of distractions to the business owner.
He is chuffed at the fact he now needs computerisation to cope with his workload. After the Allstars he thought there may be some hiatus period for his comedy, but that was not to be. Years on the road have been replaced by constant demand from radio and television commitments, but Ferguson is happier that at least when he works late he still comes home to his family, rather than to a hotel room filled with traces of stale cigarette smoke.
