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The NEW Comedy Bible - The Ultimate Guide to Writing and Performing Stand-Up Comedy
Judy Carter
Verlag Indie Books International, 2020
ISBN 9781947480926 , 200 Seiten
Format ePUB
Kopierschutz DRM
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Stand-up Comedy Venues
The world is full of high-level comedy clubs where the stars perform. It’s a privilege to be on their main stages. Well-established comedians compete to appear there, so it’s unrealistic to think you’ll perform at any of these venues until you’re a seasoned professional. Here are some ideas for you.
Places to Perform When You’re Just Starting Out: Bringer Shows
Many clubs have smaller rooms, such as the Comedy Store’s Belly Room in LA, and Gotham Comedy Club Basement in New York, where they host “bringer shows.” Comics are required to bring in paying customers in exchange for stage time. In other words, your comic ability is less important than your ability to fill a seat. The quality of these shows tends to vary, and a bad comic schlepping along thirty friends is given priority over an amazing comic who has no “plus one.”
The booker for a bringer show can come off like a mobster. One former student told me about a booker trying to extort money when he turned up with fewer people than promised. Depending on where you live, these shows may be your only choice in the beginning.
What a bringer show has in common with every other show is it’s all about filling seats. That’s your value as a comic, and that doesn’t change whether you are just starting or headlining clubs. So, start strategizing now on how to get stage time.
What’s Your Commitment Level?
My former student, Sherri Shepherd, moved to LA from Chicago committed to making a career in comedy. She took my stand-up comedy workshop to learn the basics and went on to do two or three open mics a night and was willing to drive an hour and a half to do five minutes at a restaurant, and then drive another hour for a three-minute set in a bar. Through her dedication, she got better, eventually appearing on Ellen DeGeneres’s show more than twenty-three times, starring in sitcoms, and being a regular on the popular TV show, The View. At the pinnacle of her career, she was starring in her own sitcom.
Comedy Club Open Mics
Most comedy clubs have open mic nights, but consider holding off on signing up for these at the major clubs until you and your material are polished, as no matter how good you are, you’ll look green next to a pro. Bonus: very often these clubs offer classes and showcases for comedy students which means you get a video of your performance.
Open Mic in Bars
Many bars have open mics during off hours to help drum up business. In exchange for stage time, all you typically have to do is buy a drink. You’ll probably be performing for an audience of other comics at 1 p.m., so you might want to have some material about the hardships of starting out to get the laughs going.
Former Tonight Show host Jay Leno started out performing anywhere he could, including a gig for patients in a mental hospital. He used to drive four hours each way from Boston to New York, hoping to get onstage at The Improv. Owner Budd Friedman, learning that Leno made the arduous trip at least once a week, was impressed and gave him a break. Tenacity and hard work are how Leno developed the talent and reputation that eventually led to his international success.
Themed Shows
To fill empty chairs during off nights, many big city comedy clubs host one-night-a-week themed shows. These are talent nights for particular professions, including funny accountants, cab drivers, and teachers. Themed storytelling nights are scheduled at some venues, such as, “Heartbreaker Stories,” “Sex Talks,” or “Guilty Secrets.” Not all storytelling events are appropriate for stand-up comics, but once you start developing your voice and start doing open mics, you’ll be better positioned to determine which shows are right for you.
Churches and Temples
Just look at a giraffe and you can tell God has a sense of humor. And where you pray may also be a place you can perform. Some religious organizations host shows for their members and, as long as your material conforms to the sensibilities of a religious audience, you could get a gig and even get prayed. Sorry, “paid.”
When You Have a Solid Twenty Minutes
Here are some venues to work when you have polished material.
Booked Shows
Booked shows are arranged in advance and usually take place in comedy clubs, coffee shops, or the back room of bars. Though you’re not required to bring audience members, it often helps if you do. You’re also expected to promote the show to your fans via social media, direct emails, texting, etc. In return, you get to host and/or do an opening set. To get started, go to a few of these shows and sit where the host might notice you. Later, approach the host and ask about performing there. Bookers tend to put on people they know and trust, so be polite to everyone. Take advantage of this opportunity to introduce yourself to fellow comedians as well.
Charity Organizations and Non-profits
Established comics are constantly hit up to appear at charity events. Sometimes comics get these gigs because they’re passionate about the charity—whether it’s for animal rights, cancer research, or other important causes. When the pros get tapped out, there may be room for you.
Comedian Noni Shaney volunteered to do a set for a non-profit organization for the homeless and got three paid charity events from it. The bookers in attendance liked how she tied her bits into the charity, as well as how she ended her set reminding people how important the fundraiser was, instead of just ending with a joke.
Comedy Contests
Ever dreamed of being Oregon’s Funniest Person? Winning a contest like that can also open doors for you. Search Google for upcoming comedy festivals and contests near you.
Vicki Barbolak, another one of my workshop graduates, became a finalist on the TV show America’s Got Talent. Before that, she won the title of “Funniest Mom in America” on TV’s Nick at Nite and ended up playing Vegas with television producers developing shows for her.
You Have an Hour of Solid Material and Kill When Performing
Four-Walling a Room
Some venues rent out “four walls” (aka a room) for a set fee, or a “percentage of the door” (paid tickets), with a guarantee (a minimum you owe the club regardless of turnout). These can be comedy clubs, theaters, multi-purpose rooms, hotel conference rooms, or other venues. It’s something you do only if you have a strong following, because guess what? You’re solely responsible for all the publicity and for filling the seats. If you don’t, you’re on the hook for any and all losses ($$$).
Opening Act
Once you have a solid hour of material, hitching yourself to a headliner’s coattails is a great way to become a headliner yourself. And that’s exactly how it happened for Dan Nainen, who went from novice to performing in front of audiences of thousands.
When Nainen came to one of my workshops, he was working as a middle manager at Intel, yet he yearned to be a comic. His act, which focused primarily on his Indian-Japanese heritage, caught the attention of Russell Peters, a Canadian stand-up who began performing in Toronto in 1989. By 2013, Peters, capitalizing on his Indian heritage, rose to number three on the Forbes list of the highest-paid comedians.
One night, on the way home from a performance, Nainen decided to stop by the New York Improv to see if he could catch a bit of Peters’s performance. He arrived just as Peters had finished his set and overheard the organizers of the show lamenting the fact that the crowd wanted more, but no other comedians were around. Nainen offered to perform, and picking up on his self-confidence, the producers gave him a slot. Peters watched, was highly complimentary of Nainen’s set, and then gave Nainen his phone number.
That bit of chutzpah secured Nainen as the opener for many of Peters’s appearances, and since then, they’ve performed together in clubs and theaters around the world.
Watch headlining comics and get to know them. They were once just like you. And more important, you can be just like them.
Corporate Comedy
Corporations often have comics perform for their big events: sales meetings, annual retreats, training and morale-boosting seminars, conferences, etc. Some Fortune 500 companies hire celebrity comics for fees of over $100,000 per show, but more often, companies hold less elaborate events and need clean, apolitical comics. To get booked for these events, you usually need an agent. FYI: Doing corporate comedy is not to be confused with motivational speaking, which is covered in detail in my book, The Message of You: Turn Your...
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