Creating a Comic

Another day, another revealing conversation with a relative newcomer on the topic of getting the light. This was at an open mic without a host, where each comic introduces the next one on the list. I told the guy before me I’d give him the light when he had 30 seconds to go, and he got annoyed:

I don’t know about the light, man. To me, the light means you’re bombing or doing something wrong.

Argh. No. Maybe that’s what it means somewhere else, but that’s not what it means at any comedy club that I’ve ever been to. The light simply means that a comic has filled their allotment of time, so they need to wrap it up and get off the stage.

I pointed out that he knew in advance that we all get three (or five or seven) minutes, he saw that everyone else respected the time limit, and he sees that there are other comics waiting to go up. Does he really think that if an open mic’er is doing well he just gets to stay up there and do a 45 minute headliner set?¹

No, I understand there’s a time limit. I just think the light is rude.

Well, tough titties. If you’re really that allergic to having a flashlight blink a little bit in the back of the room, I’d suggest taking up a different type of performance art. Hecklers are rude. The light is just part of the scenery.

Things You’d Think Would Be Self-Evident at Open Mic

1. Setting the stage on fire will get you in trouble.
2. If there’s a cute girl in the front row, don’t drag her on stage and rape her.
3. The time limit isn’t just for everyone else. It applies to you, too.

Goddamn, I sound cranky. Grr, get off my lawn, kids. Seriously though, where did this idea suddenly come from, that the light is somehow rude or inappropriate? Especially at an open mic?!

The rule is simple, folks. Don’t ride the light.

1. I mean yeah, if Seinfeld or Chappelle wander into an open mic, one with a five minute time limit per comic, the club owner is going to gladly let them do fifteen or twenty minutes. This guy was a nice kid, but he wasn’t Seinfeld. [↩]

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