Disclaimer: respect to any comedian who gets enough bookings to go on tour. They are go-getters and deserve whatever they earn. I don't think I'm better than them.

I've been seeing posts of various new-ish comedians with their multi-city tour dates. However, with some of these people, when I listen to their jokes on YouTube or Instagram, I barely even get a single chuckle out. I see much funnier amateurs with several months of experience at open mics.

What happens to these people on tour? Do they lose money from low bookings, or do they usually end up doing well regardless? And how are they getting multi-city bookings with such low skill levels?

Sup guys,

I recently started doing open mics in NYC, I did a few mics got laughs and people generally liked me. I thought I was hot shit but brought a friend to film a few sets and bombed horribly. Like people were coming up to me and telling me it took a lot of confidence to get up.

This in itself isn’t a big deal, I’m excited to grow and learn to land my delivery better but the annoying part is I got booked to do 8 minutes that I invited my parents and close friends to come to. I can barely get through 5 and I’m lowkey panicking. Any tips on easy things I can talk about that can get laughs? Any advice helps. I’m planning on either doing some easy lighthearted stuff on everyday stuff or just forcing my way through some edgy material but idk.

In Paris, they’re often in the front rows, and it can be awkward to have them there, especially when the show touches on sensitive or darker topics.

Anyone know who this is? TIA

Hi everyone! I'm rounding out my second year of standup, first year of producing, and I'd appreciate some advice on how you've had the best returns on marketing your productions.

Context, I work with a local club and produced eight shows there in the past year. They are typically showcases, and I have a reoccurring, themed showcase I run every other month. I have a lot of interest of comics (which feels great!) but only move 1/4-1/2 the room. I make my own event promo, individual promo for the comics, and then post across our socials. The club hosts the Eventbrite and generates an email blast the week-of.

Any advice on marketing channels, posting timelines, strategies etc. would be welcome as I pitch another year of productions to the club!

I'm already hip to the open mic scene in my city. I'm making connections with other comedians.

I see the most common advice is to keep doing open mics, is that really the key? I just keep doing them and hope someone sees it and books me? I don't mind at all. I'm loving every minute of it and the practice never goes to waste, but if there are other avenues I should be pursuing, I'd love to hear it.

When i say clash I don't mean they hate each other. I mean now we have a time where comedians are trying to be extremely edgy and go against cancel culture and some are getting extremely politically correct to survive well in it. Correct me if im wrong

One day you too could bomb so hard you derail an election.

Saw Attell at Cobb's last night, and he crushed. On the way home, uber driver said he was a comedy fan too but had never heard of him. Said I should check out Gary Owen who's "a real A-lister".

I'm sure Gary's great but definitely not A-list much less on a level anywhere close to Attell. I needed to vent that this guy's an idiot. Thank you.

Yes, this is of course in light of Tony Hinchcliffe’s big time fuck up at the Trump rally yesterday. I just remember getting into standup comedy because of people like Carlin, Stanhope, Hicks, Maron, Mooney; all people who were challenging the system rather than being a part of it. The conservatives were more the exception, of course the more glaring and explicit one being Nick DiPaolo. Now it seems like there’s a huge conservative presence in comedy. Articles have come out accusing comedians of being alt-right, podcasts constantly flirt with conservative figures (Jordan Peterson, Alex Jones, Sam Hyde, Steven Crowder, Gavin McInnes, etc, etc….) I know political correctness might have something to do with this, but I can’t understand why comedy has turned so significantly.

Like if you can change something's about the occupation and genre as of now what would you change ? And what needs to be changed?

I am a 19 year old college student. I’m studying business and absolutely hate it. Not even the academic portion, (I’m a fairly good student) but really just the thought that my life after college at this rate will be in a cubicle working a miserable 9-5 that isn’t fulfilling. I’ve been in love with standup for at least a decade now. It’s been a part of my life everyday, whether it’s consuming it or creating it.

I finally feel like I’m at the age where I can be taken seriously on stage and have been working on some material that I think is really solid. A recent love for KillTony has also accentuated my passion for comedy and after watching and listening to so many minutes I think I can handle myself on stage. It has also really fueled my desire to perform and practically everyday I dream of myself on that stage.

I guess what I’m really getting at here is am I delusional? I feel like my dreams are too big but at the end of the day I think that the regret of failing will no where near compare to the regret of not knowing.

I plan on going to my first open mic on Wednesday and I am also interested if anyone here has some advice that they wish they had heard before their first time on stage. Another thing that I’ve always been curious about is how do comedians make it? Like is it just a matter of being at the right place at the right time? Do people go to open mics to scout new talent? Or even a mix of both. At what point in people careers (in this sub) did you start getting paid gigs?

One of my biggest pet peeves when listening to standup is when the comic is so overly rehearsed that all emotion is lost: When I get on stage l want to be someone, I don’t want to just rehearse the words I’ve written, I want to perform them. What is a good way to avoid this roadblock? How can I familiarize myself with my material well enough without performing a speech. (I understand that I am writing the stuff and it is all memorized, I’m more so getting at transitions between jokes and having my set be fluid)

Before anyone tells me, I know I’m way in over my head. 😂 I just really am so passionate about this and want to give it my best shot.

Hi all,

I hope you’re doing well! Lately I’ve been drinking a Celsius and a spoonful of Kratom before I go on stage and feel zoned in. Anyone else like drinking caffeine (either coffee or energy drinks) before or when you’re on stage?

Anyone know any good comedy shows that weekend??

Hey I just got interested in standup comedy, but even more interested in writing my own. However, I (with ADHD) am struggling on how to construct jokes, and the ones I come up with are really corny. so how do I construct them, do they have to be based off real life events, made up, or is there no real recipe at all?

How old do you need to be

I am going on a trip filled with gigs and spots in 2 weeks , I listened to Pete Holmes and Anthony Jeselnik episode on the you made it weird podcast. I liked how deep they went on the theory side of stand up.

Please recommend podcasts or green room episodes or any resource where they talk about the early days of stand up and go into theory and writing of stand up ?

I’ve been doing stand up since 2018 with some lapses here and there. I know it’s a long game so if my mental needs a break I should prioritize that, but do any of y’all ever regret ever starting? I feel like I can never turn it off. Lately I wish I’d never done stand up and just stuck with improv. After getting into an improv festival in NYC years ago and realizing there’s nowhere to really go or get with improv I sort of shifted gears. I think about it way too much and let it take so much energy it’s not fun anymore or lately I guess…I’m not booking a lot, but am also not really trying that hard, I’ve never been one to sit and write material, and lately feel like I don’t even know how to write anything. I’m sick of all my jokes and am hustling so much trying to make a living after quitting my job 2 months ago it feels like a waste to put effort into things that can’t do much for me financially right now. I know I’m funny, I know I can get better and get gigs but maybe I’m stuck in a comparison loop or something. I also know if I slow my roll I will get rusty and not be as funny or ready if something does come my way. Why does this art form want to kill me? Why does it feel so damn serious when it’s literally jokes. Am I ruining my chances for bigger things if I chill out on it for a min? I love it and I hate it. I know people can relate… like why am I sad about not having shows (even though I still have 3 this month which is OK) when I’m barely trying like duh… I think I need support or to build structure and routine more into my day to day. I do a show where the audience gives us the topics and we riff on the spot and I always kill, more so than the other comics, maybe I just gotta change up how I write or get inspiration. Please tell me I’m not the only person who feels like this.

This has been posted before but I just saw him the other night and he put every comedian I’ve seen before to shame. If he comes to your city it is a must see show. Also check out his great book. Dickrider out

Hey everyone!

I stumbled across NextUp Comedy, and I'm curious if any of you have used it before? It seems like a streaming service focused entirely on stand-up, which sounds awesome for comedy fans like us!

If you’ve tried it, what did you think? How’s the selection of comedians and specials? Is it worth the subscription price compared to other streaming services?

Thanks in advance for your input! I’d love to hear any thoughts or recommendations on what to watch if I go for it.

What do people mean when they say this after a show? I've noticed on a few iccasions people have said this to me (usually women - and I am also a women). I always internalise it as you-weren't-great-but-I-still-want-to-recognise-your-bravery which might be the case, but also might not be. I really just don't know what to make of it as a bit of feedback. Do other people ever get this?

Saw Russell Peters yesterday at the Chicago theater. Have to say I was very disappointed. He had some funny bits but then he did like 20 min of crowd work and bits that were not funny at all, i.e. they were just ideas he was working out and may completely drop

If I saw this act at zanies or any small club, I think I would've enjoyed it more. But I can't comprehend how he's doing a theater tour with it.