Wanted: Someone to stand isolated on a spot-lit stage in front of a roomful of judgmental, buzzed strangers who’ve paid a lot of money for you to make them laugh using only a microphone and a stool.
Must work clean and get multiple laughs per minute for at least twenty consecutive minutes to start.
Low pay, crazy hours, odd work week, with inconsistent and often harsh feedback from night to night.
Racists, misogynists, sexists, bullies, or the boring need not apply (though plenty of you will).
Yum, sign me up.
Getting paid to make strangers laugh is an honor only a relatively few comedians ever enjoy.
There are countless hilarious people vying for a limited amount of paid gigs per year.
So the competition for that standup comedy work is tough. As it should be.
Because if a crowd sees just one lousy show, or even one bad comedian (not to be confused with a good comedian having a bad night), it can sometimes ruin comedy for them. Meaning, they’re less likely to return to that club if they think they might have to sit through another painful set like that one again.
That’s why getting booked by a comedy club is nearly impossible.
Getting re-booked is even tougher.
However, if you’re hilarious and original, chances are there’s work for you at some nearby comedy clubs. Especially if you’re willing to jump in at the last minute any night the scheduled opener, middle act, or headliner doesn’t show.
Local venues are always looking for fresh acts with new jokes so they can attract a regularly returning crowd to their showrooms.
You know, to buy their drinks and nachos and merch.
Comedy fans don’t mind – a 2-item minimum is a small price to pay to laugh your ass off for almost two hours.
So for anyone ready to get paid to sling jokes – here are 10 Ways to Get Booked at a Comedy Club – hope they help.
1) Give the Club Booker Your Press Kit
What’s that? You don’t have a press kit yet? Best scramble one together. That is if you except to impress a comedy club booker who’s used to seeing pro packages from NYC and Hollywood agencies. So what if you’re new to the scene, you should at least have a professional headshot stapled to a resume that lists where you’ve been performing. Kidding.
Nowadays, most business is done via the internet, so make sure your press kit (headshot, resume, reviews, links to your website / your best sets / your press coverage) is just a click away. Figure out who hires the comedians at the club you want to work for and ask them what the best way is to send them your links. You’ll know your package is good enough if you get a phone call to set up an audition.
2) Keep Showing Up at the Club
Scheduling yourself an audition can be difficult if not impossible, especially when the club booker has no clue who you are. That’s why it pays to show up at the comedy club where you want to work and begin to network with the staff and other comics. Many clubs let the local comedians sit in the back to watch the show for free so figure out how to get included in that crowd. Never get in the way while the comics and staff are busy putting on a professional show.
Show up to open mics, contests, weekday shows and the late shows on weekends. Begin to insert yourself in the scene. Eventually, someone on the bill’s not going to show up. If you’re there and available with a reputation for getting laughs, you could fill in (probably for free) and deliver a huge favor to the club. That’s a familiar scenario in the standup comedy realm and often a pathway to paid work.
3) Live Guest Spot Audition for Owner / Booker
One of the best ways to book work at a comedy club is to do a live audition set at the club for a hot crowd in front of the booker. 5-10 minute auditions are usually scheduled during a weekday or Sunday show when the club is less busy. But weekend guest spots occasionally happen, so consider yourself lucky if you get one. Make the audience roll on the floor and ask the waitstaff, “Who was that?” Word of that happening will quickly get back to the booker.
There are lots of different ways to score a guest spot:
- Get a recommendation from other club owners, comics, or bookers you already work with.
- Have the headliner working there that week put in a good word.
- Impress the booker with your press kit.
- Have your agent book you a spot.
- Get noticed at the club’s open mic night.
- Schmooze (and tip) the staff and have them recommend you.
- Build up a solid comedy reputation in town and use those ticket-buying fans as leverage.
However you get your guest spot, be sure to arrive early, dress appropriately, do your time, and have a solid set prepared for maximum delivery.
4) Do Open-Mics / Enter Contest at Club
Doing solid sets at the club’s open mic night can lead to work. Also, one (of many) other ways club owners generate a weekday crowd is by holding a comedy competition with assorted prizes. It’s like an open mic but with prizes given to the best sets of the night. Sometimes one of the rewards for winning is a booking at the club. Other times just a good showing during the contest can be a gateway to paid work in the future.
Contests can be frustrating because the best comedian in the room doesn’t always win. But just the stage time under that type of pressure is valuable for any comedian hoping to eventually perform to a larger audience. Do enough contests and you will begin to get comfortable proving to the booker that you can get the job done.
5) Take a Comedy Class at that Club
Many comedy clubs offer standup classes. That’s where a veteran comedian teaches you the craft, usually once a week for eight weeks. Then at the end there is a performance given by all the students. By taking the class, you get hands-on coaching as you put together a five minute audition set. You’ll hear lectures and insights on the craft of comedy and get a chance to perform the jokes you’ve written with the help of your teacher and classmates.
Not only are comedy classes a safe way for beginners to learn the craft, but they can also be a great way for the club booker to watch out for potential future emcees and openers. Many clubs hire local comedians to host their shows, and if those comics have been trained by the club, all the more reason to book them. Make a good showing at your comedy class graduation show and the club owner and booker might begin to take your calls.
6) Do a Favor for the Booker / Owner
Producing nightly comedy shows is a tricky business that doesn’t always go as planned. Sometimes extra shows get added and other times a comedian fails to show. If you happen to be at the club when such an emergency emerges, you could be in a position to do the booker, staff, and owner a huge favor. Step in however you’re needed, even if it’s to do the announcements from the back of the club. Do a free fill-in set or be the local guy willing to emcee a show at the last minute.
Make the club’s life easier and you get put on “the good list” of local comedians who can be relied on. Please don’t confuse this with being willing to work for free – do that too many times and they might get used to it. Instead think of it like you’re Don Draper who’s willing to give someone like Conrad Hilton “one for free” because of all the doors that can open.
7) Attach Yourself to a Working Headliner
When I opened for Frank Caliendo for a stretch, I got to work a lot of prestigious comedy clubs and theaters for the first time because of him. Many headliners like to tour with their own opening act because they know their material and energy will blend well together. It’s not easy to become a successful headliner’s opener but they’re always looking for the right person to host their shows.
Another way to leverage your solid relationship with a working headliner is to have them request you in your home club whenever they’re booked there. Even if that gig can’t happen, the fact that you got requested in front of the booker goes a long way. This is another reason for newer comedians to work TV clean since you have a better chance of being someone’s opener if you do.
8) Kill at a Comedy Festival
The last three suggestions here fall under the “No shit, Sherlock” category, but since they are such powerful ways to attract work I thought I would throw them in anyway. There are multiple international comedy festivals held annually that are always searching for new talent, so be sure to audition for those once your act is ready. Club owners and bookers from all over the world attend these festivals searching for the best comedians to hire for their audiences.
However, prepare yourself for disappointment because even if your festival audition goes well it’s no guarantee that you will be chosen to do one of the precious few spots available. Keep trying, though, because as you develop your craft, those festival bookers will notice. It’s possible to get club work after a killer audition, so treat every set accordingly.
9) Get Representation
Having an agent has its ups and downs. The argument against getting someone to book your work is that you have to hand them 10-20% of your pay, money that you could otherwise be pocketing. The mathematical question becomes whether they can get you enough work so that the additional income covers whatever percentage they charge you.
The fact is, an agent can typically negotiate a larger fee for you which often covers their take and more. They can also get you into the clubs that you couldn’t before. Plus, an agent can begin to network for you in circles that without them are impossible to penetrate. It all comes with a cost, but if your agent is any good, you’ll immediately see the weekly upgrade across the board.
10) Do a Great Set on TV / Internet
King of the “No Duh” suggestions for getting comedy work is to kill on network or cable TV or to go viral on the internet. There are plenty of popular shows and channels that feature the latest and greatest comedians. Do well on any of those and you will find yourself fielding plenty of work calls. Having an agent is helpful when it comes to getting auditions for TV spots. Some contests offer TV audition spots as prizes and often their bookers show up at famous festivals and clubs.
Side note: before you try to get on TV, be sure you’re ready to showcase your comedy wares to the world. Because if you swing and miss before you’re ready, it can do you way more damage than good. Also, should you earn a spot on TV, make sure to work out a deal with your local comedy club. Have them book you there for the weekend following your spot. That way the club gets the national publicity, and you get a new pathway to more work.
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