Creating a Comic

One of the best things about stand-up comedy is that there are virtually no barriers to entry. If you live near a comedy club, you can get on stage at an open mic with absolutely no qualifications whatsoever. If you have talent, work hard, and persevere at open mic after open mic, you are guaranteed to eventually get a fair shot at success.

The life of an open mic comedian,
years one through five

The devil, as always, is in the details: the sheer amount of perseverance required is longer than most people are willing (or able) to commit. Aspiring comics are expected to spend a lot of time Paying Their Dues. Sometimes you have to show up to a club two, three, five, or even ten times for every one time you actually make it up on stage.

This long process of attrition is why it takes the average comic 1-2 years to get their first paid gigs—and 3-5 years before they can scrape together a minimally survivable living from comedy.

Is it any wonder that so many aspiring comics throw in the towel well before then?

Understanding the seniority system

Once you make the decision to do an open mic for the first time in your life, it will feel like a Very Big Deal. It has probably taken weeks, months, or even years to work up the courage, and you’re petrified at the prospect… but dammit, you’re determined. Full speed ahead!

Unfortunately, nobody else at the comedy club really cares. They’ve all been through the same thing. As a result, it often happens that the new comic shows up to the club early, waits around for two anxious hours as everyone else traipses to the stage in front of them… and suddenly the show’s over, and the newbie gets bumped. All that heart-wrenching preparation, and not a thing to show for it — the anti-climax can be downright soulcrushing.

Much anguish could be avoided if rookies had a better understanding of the seniority system, and accepted beforehand the high likelihood of being bumped.

This is the rough order for how stage time is allotted:

1. Professional comedians — Starting with headliners, then the other working comics (features, then hosts). Dave Chappelle can walk into any open mic in America and get as much time as he wants.
2. Club regulars — Regulars tend to be semi-pros; they’re not fulltime comics but they’re getting there. Occasionally they’ll get hosting duty at their home club. Each comedy club has its own roster of regulars.
3. Bringers — The only “shortcut” for newcomers is very simple: bring people. Preferably at least two. If you bring paying audience members, you will almost certainly get on stage.
4. Everyone else, by club seniority — Club seniority is determined very simply by how long you’ve been going to that club’s open mics. Time spent at other open mics is not transferable.

If you didn’t bring people, and you’re a new comic, you’re only going to get up on stage after everyone else goes up.

And please note: pestering the club owner is not a recipe for success. I promise, it will not help, and is more likely to just annoy them. A rookie comic once asked me who he could bribe in order to get a guaranteed spot on the list. Maybe it works differently elsewhere, but the club owner doesn’t need your grungy $20. If you really want to bribe your way on stage, go to the bar next door and offer to pay the open mic cover charge for a group of strangers.

Be sure to check the club’s website for details before showing up. Some have very stringent “bringer only” policies for their open mics, whereas others require sign-up in advance (often in-person) for the open mic comedy night.

Be persistent!

I can’t even count the number of times I’ve seen a brand new comic show up, get bumped, and then never show up again.

If you don’t make it up, come back next time. Keep coming back until you get up. Repeat. Do this like clockwork for a while and you’ll slowly advance up the seniority scale, reaping the abundant privileges of unpaid stage time and not impressing girls at all.

 — Posted by CJ under Creating a Comic. Please comment or trackback!