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Thank you for being a comedian in COMEDY WALK in June, 2008!
There are special comedians, such as Larry Vazeos, Tim Powers, Gayla Johnson, and Stevie Mack, to name a few, who win with any audience in any room at COMEDY WALK. Thank you and congratulations!
The COMEDY WALK cast and crew are great. The biggest challenge I face in producing COMEDY WALK is limited resources, not limited ideas. It's those who offer to pitch in, who implement ideas, who make the difference. I appreciate everyone who does that.
When you can slay the audience in any room, you know you're good. Some of our venues don't have the best lighting or lack mikes. The rooms without mikes are so hot acoustically you don't actually need a mike to be heard, but it throws some performers not to have anything in their hands. Another thing that throws some performers is being able to see the audience's eyes where there isn't a spotlight. I'm grateful for all our venues, even the ones that aren't ideal. I'm glad we have a show instead of being at home practicing material in the mirror alone.
Some of our venues are fantastic, such as the Tom Bradley stage at the New LATC. June was the first time we got to use that venue, a great theater. The Alexandria room, three rooms at the Spring Arts, and the New LATC Vault were our other venues. The Vault is our fallback venue when another room has a problem. Our venue problem in June was the Roslyn room was still under construction. We were in the Vault in May because I was given the wrong keys and couldn't open one of the Spring Arts venues.
Our audience came to forget about complaints, to be entertained. In general, George Bush jokes are no longer funny, just depressing. No joke succeeds that doesn't have an element of surprise. If you want to tell Bush jokes it could be based on how much you like Bush. There's simply no surprise left in anyone disliking Bush. Even diehard Bush fans now say they were just voting against Kerry.
One comedian told me a hilarious story before the show, about her kids begging her to take them on the train, so they get on, but the train goes to the 'hood in Compton. Strangely, she didn't use this great material in her show. On stage, her material was entirely based on generic complaints about her life. I noticed that many comedians attempted generic observational material like that. Unless the audience is drinking or you're Woody Allen, getting laughs off of complaining is very hard. Telling a funny story based on personal experience offers much more to engage the audience than complaining.
Another important reason to tell funny stories is to make the audience remember you.
After the show I ask the hosts and audience what they thought of each comedian. Some comedians are so hilarious that everyone remembers them. A couple bombed so badly that they get remembered for that. Then there's the middle, comedians who nobody can remember what they performed because there's nothing distinctive about their material. You must be your own brand. Share what's unique about you. Lots of comedians include observational humor about the news or human condition. Be more than that. Don't be the forgotten comedian who people say, I don't remember him...I guess he was ok...Was he there?
Part of the excitement of a big show with six simultaneous venues is that nobody knows what may happen, that there's an element of spontaneous chaos. I appreciate the performers who jumped in to perform an extra set when another comedian missed his slot.
We had some comedians no-show in June. I've noticed that the comedians who were initially the most excited about being in the show can be the least reliable. That they didn't show up, didn't call, and didn't contact me later to apologize, can only be career self-sabotage. Their audience, other comedians, our show hosts, myself and our casting director now all view them as less than reliable performers. If you ever can't make a show, make sure you're excused by the executive producer. Don't no-show.
Another type of self-sabotage is the performer who refuses to go on (because the prior performer depressed the audience) or walks off in the middle of a set (because he's bombing). Live comedy is much harder than people think. I can sympathize when a performer loses courage in the room and simply can't continue, but others are much less forgiving. When a performer has a meltdown and blames others for it, the general reaction is harsh. Nobody likes a prima donna.
One comedian discovered that material that worked overseas with the troops didn't tickle a downtown audience. A couple performers were so unfunny they killed the room for the performers following them. When it's a performer who was great before, it was obviously an "off" night. Learn from it and be better next time. I appreciate the performers who followed someone who bombed, who tackled the tough job of bringing the room back to funny after the prior performer lost it. It takes more talent to restart a room.
Every month, somebody new in the show (not the same person) takes me aside to suggest I should cut the number of venues and comedians. This suggestion typically includes recommending himself to host the new show format, to star at the best theater we have, and to cut all the comedians who aren't his friends. Interestingly, it's typically a less reliable comedian who struggles to carry a room who offers this "solution". For anyone who might overhear that conversation, don't worry that I might take the walk out of COMEDY WALK. Our format isn't changing.
We were competing, unfortunately, with a Lakers game in June. The Lakers choked and lost the big one. That there was a game that night reduced the size of our audience to maybe half. However, quantity isn't everything. One of our hosts pointed out to me that he saw Robin Williams working material at the Belly Room recently with just six people in the audience. If Robin Williams can play to six people without complaining to the audience, can't we?
I heard more than one comedian complain on stage that the audience wasn't larger or that the room wasn't nicer. The audience doesn't come to see me or to see the room. They come to see the comedians. It's all about you. Don't lower the energy of your room. A comedian complaining about the size of his audience makes his fans who are there feel less appreciated and makes them more aware that the comedian needs more fans. Any comedian who needs to complain should do so to me privately, never to the room.
COMEDY WALK is an opportunity for comedians to perform on a weeknight, to refine material in front of an audience, to build a following around yourself instead of some club or headliner you open for, to watch other comedians, and to get noticed by agents and casting directors. I hope you had fun participating.
Every comedian in COMEDY WALK is at a point in his or her career that they have fans. Thank you for bringing your fans to the show.
Thank you,
Robin
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Robin Rowe
Executive Producer
COMEDY WALK