A Fourth Alternative to Comedy Club “Pay to Play” and “Bringer” Shows

Posted on Jan 12, 2012 in advice, Blog | 0 comments

Greetings, my fellow stand-up comedians, improvisation performers, comedy magicians and other persons of infinite jest. Wow! Where in the world have I been? My last post was eight days ago. The past week has been (Never say, “has been” to someone my age) an insanely busy one. More about that later. I do remember that our recent theme has been looking for alternatives to comedy club owners and managers who employ “pay to play” (i. e. five bucks to get on stage) and “bringer shows” (bring at least five friends for three to five minutes of stage time). The options I have offered so far include: (1) Performing at retirement centers and senior centers where you can get thirty to sixty minutes of stage time per gig (and, possibly, getting paid rather than paying to perform), Renting your own venues and putting on your own shows, and using atmosphere performing (also known as “table hopping” or “strolling entertainment”) as a means of getting paid to showcase your ability and availability to perform on stage.

Today, Let’s focus on the comedy clubs who do not charge a fee for stage time or expect you to pimp out five or six of your friends (So the club owner or manager doesn’t have to pay for advertising) in order to get a few minutes of stage time. In a recent email from Dave Schwensen, Author of several very helpful books including “How To Be A Working Comic” (I have a signed copy – More on that later), I learned of a very benevolent individual, named Slava Yaryshkin (I think he might be Irish – lol), who is trying to help us all get more stage time. Slava is endeavoring to list all open mics, both music and comedy, in the United States, on his web site at www.badslava.com. This free tool is a definite “must use” for any comedian, singer, or band seeking an audience to perform for. I have already found eleven “open mic” opportunities (and spoken to six people to confirm days and times), in Columbus, Ohio, that was not aware of. Thank you, Slava, for your willingness to share the results of your hard work. And, thank you, Dave for passing on this wonderful resource. Please note, this effort of Slava’s is a work in progress. You should check the site, www.badslava.com, at least weekly for updates in your area. By my count, we now have least four alternatives (and numerous options within each alternative)
to the “pay to play” and “bringer show” comedy clubs. So, if you’re not out there performing your comedy routines on a regular basis, whose fault is it?

Now, for the reason (One of them, anyway) I have been too busy to write a blog post since last Wednesday. I spent last Saturday attending a Stand-up Comedy Workshop (always keep learning) at the Improv Comedy Club in Cleveland, Ohio (A 140 mile drive from Columbus, but, well worth the trip). The instructor, Dave Schwensen, an author, comedian, speaker, and a long-time comedy club manager (Dave is the only person who has managed the Los Angeles Improv, the New York Improv, and now, the Cleveland Improv) is able to approach the business both the comic’s and the comedy booker’s points of view. For someone who has worked with many of the comedy greats of our generation (Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Ray Ramano, etc), Dave is very down to earth and approachable (He even signed my copy of “How To Be A Working Comic”).

Dave limits size of the twelve hour (Noon to 4:00 p.m. for three Saturdays) workshop to ten people, in order to provide the perfect mix of individual and collective instruction. My classmates include a magistrate, a truck driver, a college student, a former college activities director, a snow removal specialist, and a former stripper turned born-again Christian (The Lord really does work in mysterious ways).

Last Saturday, we were each paired with another group member for some onstage improvisation a la “Whose Line is it Anyway?” It was a lot of fun and a fantastic way for the beginners (not the grizzly, old dudes, such as yours truly) to ease into their first time on stage. Then we each had about ten minutes on stage to try out some of our original comedy material in front of Dave and the group. I don’t know why, but, I’m always more nervous with a small group than with a large crowd. But, once I got past the first couples of jokes, it was like shaking hands with an old friend. There is nothing, in the world, like making people laugh. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The next two Saturdays will consist of more time, on stage, trying out material before a captive audience of Dave and the other comedians. Then, the Wednesday after the last Saturday (January 25th at 7:30 p.pm.), we’ll be performing our routines in front of a live audience (I wanted a “dead audience” but we weren’t able to dig one up) at the Cleveland Improv. If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll come out and see us. While I have given numerous performances at private, corporate, and civic events, I’m a bit new to the comedy club scene. I’m really looking forward it. But, for now, our homework is to write new stand-up comedy material and, then, to write, write, and write some more. Hence, the reason it has been eight days since my last post.

8 Tips For Starting Out In Stand-up Comedy – By David Debble

Posted on Nov 17, 2011 in Blog, Educational Humor, Featured, Observational | 0 comments

Below is an Article by Stand-up Comedian David Deeble posted to Comedy Depreciation October 20, 2011 My best advice is, “Take what works for you and leave what doesn’t.

Here are some simple tips for those who wish to try their hand at stand-up comedy.T

1: STOP SNUGGLING UP TO THE AUDIENCE

People love to be told how wonderful they are, but they don’t usually find it funny. To the extent that your attitude toward the audience is a factor, contempt is far better than genuflection. Better still that your material be directed outward, without apology, than inward. Be honest – it’s refreshing, funny and the easiest thing to remember.

2: TAKE CHARGE

The audience wants someone to take charge and they want it to be you. Like the pilot of the plane, it helps to look like you know what you’re doing. You should have an air of authority. Think of George Burns and his cigar or Ron White and his glass of bourbon. I always wear a suit onstage – a nice one. And all things being equal, who do you think the audience will side with – a guy in a sharp suit or the guy in the Corona visor and the tribal armband tattoo? Remember, the audience is looking at you far more intensely they are listening to you when you first come onstage. It’s often said that “A haircut and a shoe shine will only take you so far.” True, but at least they start you off in the right direction!

During the zenith of male peacockery – the 1970′s – Steve Martin was relatively subdued in an all-white three-piece suit. Why? He knew that if he looked wild and crazy and acted wild and crazy that he would be like a lot of other comedians. But if he dressed normally and acted wild and crazy, well, then he would stand out (not to mention allowing him to tap into the regular Joe’s dream wish to become the life of the party).

3: NOTHING SHOULD FAZE YOU

What’s the worst thing that can happen onstage? Far from a rhetorical question, it will serve you well to imagine the worst-case scenario taking place on stage and you, the hero, dealing with it with preternatural calm. (In reality the worst thing that usually can happy onstage is a non-functioning microphone). If it’s a highly unusual situation, you don’t even have to be funny: 9 times out of 10 if you’re calm and can still form complete sentences, well, then you da man!

If you wish, write and rehearse some stock lines for commonplace scenarios such as a broken glass, a chatty table or a heckler. Remember, the audience aches for you to take charge.

You might find it useful to recite a simple mantra before you go onstage. I have a handful of different mantras that I sometimes use before a show and one of them is “Nothing fazes me”, which I repeat over and over (I’m pretty sure that’s what a mantra requires). Other mantras I use are “I’m having fun up here” and “My zipper is up”.

4: YOUR VIBE IS CONTAGIOUS

If you’re calm, the audience will be calm. If you’re irrepressible, the audience will be irrepressible. If you’re worried about what your next joke is, so will the audience. Can you fake your demeanor? Of course you can – you do it all the time. If you’re the meditating type, consider doing some before each performance. If you have any doubt about your ability to memorize your material, spend extra time committing it to memory. Do whatever works for you so that moments before you go onstage you can take a deep breath, inhale and tackle your job without looking over your shoulder.

5: TALK ABOUT WHATEVER YOU WANT

One of the nice things about stand-up comedy is that the world is your oyster. Do you really have so much material that you’re going to limit yourself to relationships and Lindsay Lohan? On the other hand, don’t try to stem the tsunami of material you’ve been writing about egg whites. Sure, maybe you risk being pigeonholed as “The Tool Guy” like Tim Allen, for example, but I’ll wager that it’s the kind of pigeonholing most would benefit from. Think of it as your hook!

6: BE VERSATILE BY WORKING BOTH CLEAN AND DIRTY

None of this is meant to persuade those with moral or religious objections to adult humor, but most people understand that versatility is generally a good thing. I hope this doesn’t shock you, but there are decent people in this world who would like to see a show that’s unsuitable for children. In fact, there’s a burgeoning U.S. city unabashedly dedicated to entertainment for grown-ups called Las Vegas. President Reagan even emceed a floor show there for a while. If you are capable of doing stand-up using language and themes that the vast majority of adults use everyday among their peers, don’t be afraid to do so! If you can work both clean and dirty then its’ no different than Starbucks offering both hot and cold coffee, thereby bringing more value to more people. Ka-ching!

I only ask one thing: if you work clean, please don’t engage in that obnoxious form of moral exhibitionism that requires that you point out and celebrate it with the audience, i.e., “In today’s world where so many people feel you have to tell dirty jokes to be funny, it’s so refreshing….”) It’s like carrying a drunk girl to her bed and bragging the next morning about how you didn’t’ put a move on her.

7: LISTEN TO THE AUDIENCE

I’m self-deprecating on stage. Very self-deprecating. Extremely self-deprecating. I hate myself. All of this is fine, except that I also tend to be overly-sensitive and insecure and when I add self-deprecation to the mix, I sometimes get in trouble. The best advice I ever got in this regard was from a wonderful comedian and my good friend Jeff Wayne. He said “Unless a joke gets no reaction whatsoever, you should just continue on without commentary.”

It’s sometimes tempting to call attention when a joke gets a weaker response than that established by the audience’s “laughter baseline”. The majority of times I do so, however, I end up only alienating the audience. I can hear the audience thinking “We’re having a ball here – why are you micro-analyzing our every response?” If you work quickly onstage, you can often get away with with a joke that falls completely flat by segueing immediately to the next joke.

But if there’s an elephant in the room and you work slowly like me, you’ve got to say something. Be prepared to win them back with a hilarious impromptu line (which you carefully crafted years ago on the back of a cocktail napkin).

Remember, it’s a war, not a battle. So listen to the audience, but don’t be in be in thrall to any one moment on stage.

8: PUT YOUR WORST FOOT FORWARD

Comedians are not generally known for their looks. On the contrary, stand-up comedy is one of the few professions where good looks are considered an occupational hazard. Take me, for example. I am a handsome man, there’s no way around it. I take no credit for it, it’s just the way it is. You don’t think I see the way audiences look at me when I walk onstage? It’s always the same: the women looking at me and beaming, the men looking at their women and frowning. I haven’t even spoken into the microphone yet and I’m already behind the 8-ball with all the guys in the audience and, in a way (and for the same reason) many of the women, too. But I’ve got one great thing going for me: I’m 5’5″ and 117 pounds. In other words, I’m a little man. And I don’t mean in a shorter-than-the-national average kind of way, either: I practically represent the lollipop guild.

My diminutive stature has been a gold mine for comedy. Forget all the material it generates – it mellows what otherwise might be perceived as a threat. I’m no longer just smart, funny, good-looking and successful: I’m smart, funny, good-looking, successful and small enough to do my shopping at Baby Gap. The same phenomenon is at play when I do material about married life. I can’t count the times I’ll see a holdout in the audience – usually a woman – with a look of consternation on her face. Then I begin telling good-natured jokes about married life with kids and I can practically hear a collective sigh of relief.

So remember, talk about those aspects of your life that are unsatisfying: winners are boring.

Bringing The Vaudeville Style Variety Show Back To Life In Columbus, Ohio

Posted on Nov 7, 2011 in Blog, Featured, Observational | 0 comments

Since setting up a page called “Performers At Large” on meetup.org and joining several groups for comedy entertainers via Linkedin, I have made some very interesting new friends in the entertainment business. Bob Abdou is a ventriloquist who is planning to open a new theater in the Clintonville section of Columbus, Ohio. Bob comes to us from New Jersey by way of Texas. Don’t worry, he’s much better at making people laugh than he is at map reading. Bill Gladwell is a hypnotist, dating coach, and self-described professional mingler who lives in Central Ohio, but performs all over the country. Leo Bowers is a Columbus based musician who has just completed his latest CD. Leo is also a member of several meetup groups for musicians and singers. Kyle Kissell is a storyteller and performance artist who entertains audiences under the name, “Kyle the Unnecessary.” Don’t let the stage name fool you. Although still quite young, Kyle is a savvy, veteran performer who should never be under-estimated.

My plan for 2012 is to rent numerous venues and, in the words of Mickey Rooney’s character, Andy Hardy, “Hey, Kids! Let’s put on a show!” I’ve already seen Bob Abdou perform comedy magic, ventriloquism, and stand-up comedy at Eldorado’s Bar and Grill on South High Street in Columbus, Ohio and he did a great job. Now, I just need check out Bill (if we can get him to stay in Columbus long enough), Leo, and Kyle’s work and give them all a chance to watch me doing what I do (stand-up comedy, comedy magic, physical comedy, pantomime, sketch comedy, motivational speaking). Then, we can start scheduling vaudeville style variety shows featuring whomever is not already scheduled to perform somewhere else.

We will start with small, inexpensive venues like fraternal organizations and, after establishing a loyal following, move to small theaters, and finally to large theaters around Ohio and surrounding states. My plan is for each of us to share equally in the expenses, work, and of course in the profits.

Any stage entertainers (comics, magicians, singers, dancers, jugglers, etc.) out there who would like to “get in on the action” can contact me by telephone at 614-891-7393 or send me an email via this web site. I won’t promise it will be easy. But, I think we’ll have a lot of fun and even make a few dollars doing something we all love.

And Now – - For Something Completely Different!

Posted on Nov 4, 2011 in Blog, Featured, Observational, self-deprecating | 0 comments

After using yesterday’s post to shamelessly and repeatedly promote my own performing skills and talents (idle hands are the devil’s work shop), you will all be both relieved and thrilled to see what I have for you today. This post is dedicated to talking about someone else’s comedic abilities. While visiting one of the Linkedin comedy related “groups” (They’re great! You really should check them out), I came across a woman who uses her truly original brand of comedy as a tool for teaching and as a balm to help soothe the pain of corporate change and the inevitable personal change it brings.

Dr. Trina Hess, D.Ed (unlike Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, and Dr Ruth, she is a real doctor) is a comedy “edutainer” who combines her experience as a professional trainer and coach with her unique gift of inspiring people while invoking laughter in order to show people and organizations how to laugh their way through difficult changes such as financial downturns, corporate take overs and down-sizing. In these challenging economic times, it important to be able to find humor where ever we can, especially in the things that seem to be happening “to us” and not “for us.”

I listened to a part of a performance she (I don’t know whether to call her Dr. Hess or Dr. Trina) has on You Tube and she was just hilarious. While her comedy style is self-deprecating, she has a knack for coming across as both innocent and crafty without appearing to aim for either one. She makes the extremely difficult jobs of comedian and educating/motivational humorist look easy. Dr. Trina Hess is an very talented humorist as well as a highly sought after keynote speaker. And, while what she does is not as easy as she makes it appear, it is a whole lot of fun to watch and hear.

On your next really crappy day, I recommend you check out Dr. Trina Hess on You Tube. You will laugh until it hurts so good. Then, I further recommend you find out where she is speaking and/or performing and go see her in person (I know my wife and I are going to). The good doctor is based in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area (my wife is from Pittsburgh, but I married her anyway), but, if her You Tube sampling is any indication, her performance is well worth the trip no matter where in the world you live. To paraphrase AA Co-founder Bill W, good mental health takes a little bit of money and an lot of time, and this would be time and money well spent.

As a fifty-seven year old cyclist, long distance runner and self-employed entertainer, I have come to appreciate what people mean when they say, “Life is a Marathon.” Be it corporately or individually, we all have to walk through the valley of the shadow of difficult times. Having someone who is willing to use her many, diverse gifts to come along side us and gently, even humorously lead us to the other side of the truth that we would rather not face is bound to make such an unpleasant trip a little easier to travel, while making us better people for having made the journey. Bless you, Dr. Trina Hess. As our Native American friends would say, “The work you do is good medicine.”

Comedy Entertaining and Social Media

Posted on Nov 2, 2011 in Blog, Featured | 0 comments

Recently, via Linkedin, I joined several social media groups for comedians/entertainers. It’s a great way to follow other comics and it’s a lot of fun, too. On “Comedy Depreciation” there was a great joke, by Frannie Sheridan, about a stripper who joined a convent. I predict we will be hearing a lot more from Frannie.

There are also groups for networking and getting gigs such as Improv Connection, Comedy Depreciation Society, Comedyfessionals Association, Entertainment Industry Network, and Cruise Ship Entertainment. And you don’t have to be a comedy artist to get in on the fun. There are also groups for film, t.v., and stage performers, as well as motivational speakers.

If you are an entertainer who is serious about projecting a professional image, then you really need invest the time to set up a Linkedin profile. Then you will have access to all of the really helpful groups mentioned above, and many, many more. Whether you want to connect with other performing artists, plug your next gig or your latest entertainment project, or just have some fun, Linkedin’s groups are a great source for information, mentoring, and social networking. Check it out.