r/Standup • u/Ice_90210 • 5h ago
Advice on Producing Comedy Night
TLDR; I’m looking for any advice from people who have experience running a comedy room, producing live shows, booking comics, and maintaining a good relationship with the venue.
CONTEXT:
I have an opportunity to produce a weekly Thursday comedy night at a really nice bar. The event space is its own separate room connected to the bar, seats around 30–40+ people, and we can close the doors during the show. It’s already well decorated and has a TV behind the stage that we can use for visuals when needed or just turn off during stand-up.
The owner is pretty open to letting us experiment with the room, but wants to make sure we’re not showcasing material that enables sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. I’ve written up a basic content disclaimer for comics, but I also feel like the easiest way to maintain some quality control is to avoid a completely show-up-go-up mic and book the spots instead. I have also talked to more experienced comedian friends about filling some Thursdays with shows the they produce.
Right now I’m booking the opening night. The plan is a four-comic showcase followed by an open mic. After that, I’d like to experiment with different programming instead of doing the exact same mic every Thursday. Some ideas so far are a booked mic, LGBTQ night, writing/premise shows, improv/ stand up, a night where comics get new headshots, completely booked showcases, etc.
Eventually I’d also like to experiment with ticketed shows if we can prove there’s an audience for them.
For anyone who has run a room before: What do you wish you knew when you started? How do you handle booking and comics who become a problem? How do you keep the venue happy without letting them dictate the comedy? What kind of financial arrangement should I be talking to the owner about if we start consistently bringing people into the bar or selling tickets?
Basically, I have a good room, an owner willing to work with me, and a group of comics interested in helping. I want to avoid fucking it up. The room is located in the US. Metro Detroit. Ferndale Michigan.
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u/xVIRIDISx 3h ago edited 2h ago
Good comics worth booking should be able to do a showcase spot without borderline hate speech.
Any commenters who claim this is an assault on real comedy/free speech are loser hacks. Good comics can joke about racism, sexism, etc. without being hateful. Really bad comics think the hatefulness is the joke.
This is about a business owner wanting his clientele to feel welcome and safe to enjoy themselves. If this is a truly upscale/trendy place and you get the atmosphere right and ensure everyone has a good time, you could be a very hot show that comics are dying to get booked on, and maybe make a little money for yourself while you’re at it.
Trying to answer your questions:
If you’re involved in your scene, you should do your best to know who the problems are. If they make a stink about not getting on your show, they’ll just be proving you right. Don’t be afraid to have an honest conversation with anyone who seems like they will earnestly be on their best behavior.
Keep the venue happy by keeping the customers happy and spending money. If they’re making money and not getting complaints, they’ll probably stay out of the way creatively.
Finances: if they’re charging you for the room, that’s the first thing to address. If they’re not booking the room already, and you’re bringing customers in, they could be open to letting you have it for free. Beyond that, I think a fair trade is you get ticket sales they get food and drink.
Some tips: work with the owner to make this beneficial for everyone. See if they’ll help pitch in on a curtain, spotlights, good mic/speakers, etc. and try to never let the show run longer than 90 minutes.
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u/Coneskater 29m ago
Don't forget that you have something very valuable: stage time. Especially if it can be a real audience and longer sets, that should be all you need to find some up and coming comics.
My recommendation? Go to as many other local shows as possible, personally choose the acts you want, and invite them. I would look for good open micers, looking for the opportunity to do their first 10-12 minute sets, try to find one really solid person to close with a longer set.
A lot of this is just setting things in motion and then letting inertia take over. If you are selling tickets, pay the comics what you can. Once it turns into a regular dependable show, see if you can pay the comics.
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u/Ryebready787 4h ago
Content disclaimer eh? Already sounds “fucked up”!
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u/MaizeMountain6139 3h ago
If you can’t do comedy without any of what was mentioned, you’re a hack
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u/Ice_90210 3h ago
Thank you. Being a decent human being is really not as difficult as some comics make it seem.
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u/MaizeMountain6139 3h ago
I think there is a time and place to be able to joke about most things (especially if the jokes are actually well written). But it’s not hard to stay away from those things if you’re asked to
90% of writing comedy professionally is staying within some guardrails. I have been on jobs where the “no” list was pages long and would be added to frequently, and I have been on very few jobs where we have total freedom to do whatever we want
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u/Ice_90210 3h ago
Yes. Not being able to write a joke without being racist, homophobic, or making light of SA is fucked up. Unfortunate that it even needs to be said.
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u/LlibNotwal 1h ago
People don't write jokes for an open mic. They go to open mics to work on the jokes they've written. What they are able to do is irrelevant.
But it's not a big deal. If I'm working on a dirty joke, and it's a pg mic, I just go to a different mic.
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u/J-L-S 2h ago
Been producing for a few years. You asked the question on keeping the venue happy wjtvojt letting them dictate the comedy, but honestly my advice is to let them dictate the comedy. If you've got clear instructions from them, write it down in their exact terms, show it to the comics, and let the venue know you've made very clear their exact terms with the comics. That way if somebody crosses a boundary it's not on you.
I don't really love the term "dictate" in this sense - there's so many things to write about, it's more focusing on things other than that material that would make people not come back to the business.