I have been asked a couple times recently over the last month to explain what kinds of rooms and shows I do, so I thought I would go into detail.
Comedy shows – These are all over the map. Shows can be booked at a comedy club, where people are paying to see comedy (good!) or at bars, where they may be…or they’re raging alcoholics that get pissed some funny wannabe is stealing their limelight as the (nearly always self-proclaimed) funniest person in the bar (bad!). I’ve done concerts, private shows (for companies, anniversaries, reunions) and even under tents for bikers and tennis players – not at the same time, obviously. I had an acquaintance see me at a comedy club once and told me I was great and wanted to know when my next show was. He saw me next time at a dive bar on a Tuesday at 11 pm in front of seven people and asked me why my set didn’t go as well. The crowd determines a lot of how a show goes more than what building it’s in. Well and the comic, obviously. I have a show this Friday at a country club that is private for the members – just to give an example. Not every show is at a club or college, despite the standard hack intro that most comedians “work clubs and colleges all over the country.”
Open mics – This is a show that is usually free to the public. The reason why is that anyone can get on and do time, plus experienced comics are usually trying new material, which can be great or less than that. I’ve been to open mics that had the following – a guy took his pants off (thankfully not his boxers, though it was leaning that way), a lady that dressed like Raggedy Ann and danced to Billy Ocean (which she thought was Michael Jackson) and a guy that was so drunk, he repeated his joke three times and left. I’ve also seen headliners like Ron White and Tommy Johnagin show up to work on new material out of the blue and it’s the venue where every comic gets their start. I run one weekly myself where I do a workshop now beforehand to brainstorm jokes with other comics at Rehab Tavern in Columbus on Mondays at 7:30. No dancing or depantsing yet, though.
Theme shows – These can be everything from comedy shows about specific topics to sketch or improv shows. I have a show April 20 in Columbus where the entire theme relates to the Avengers and superheroes before Avengers 2 comes out. I’ve also done a show where I told stories/jokes and an improv team acted out the stories onstage. These types of shows are fun, but rare and take a lot of prework and coordination with other comics. Comedians usually have a tough time doing prework because every time a group message goes out, they keep trying to one up each other on one-liners until no one remembers what the point of the message originally was. Hope that explains it.