Open mic at Tacoma Comedy Club used to be on Mondays; now it’s Wednesdays at their downtown location. Because it’s a comedy club, the stage is big and visible to all the over one hundred seats that make up the club. The stage is well-lit, but so blinding from the comedian’s point of view, you can’t see the audience. Talent gets 4 minutes, a green sign to one side that says, “The Light” at 3. You can’t miss it. Of course, there are no language restrictions. Parking is on the street, but it is free. I was a visitor from out of state. Signup is done online in advance. I did not learn how you do that, maybe their website(?), but they have a “Lucky Bucket” for drop-ins to throw their name in and possibly get picked to go on stage that very night. The night I was there, five spots were designated for walk-ins. All other spots already had names filled. The room opens with a guest emcee who does 6 minutes, then brings up the talent as well as announce who is on deck. The room ends with a closer who does 8 minutes. Obviously, this room is standup only, no poetry or music. I believe there are 19 spots for the open micers. On stage is a mic, stand and stool. The backdrop is a brick wall with the Tacoma Comedy Club logo. The club has a full bar and assorted comfort food. I had their burger, and it was delicious. I was the first patron to arrive as 6:22pm. By 7pm we had 17 in attendance and 4 staff that I counted. Attendance more than doubled at 7:23pm, with 40 in the room, and by the time we started at 7:31pm, close to 50 people corralled around the tables, all facing the stage. The room ran mostly smoothly. The emcee welcomed talent who stood off to one side, they performed for 3 minutes, got the light and wrapped it up. Yes, a few talent went past the light, either because they didn’t pay attention to the light (which I find difficult to understand, so obvious is the light), or they went overtime because their final joke(s) were over a minute. The gentleman in charge of the light was good at letting a talent finish their joke. But what times talent started another joke, they were cut off. The room ended just after 9pm. Guys, what can I say: this is a comedy club, the best kind of room to do open mic. It’s all about comedy. Everyone in the room is there for standup, and the professional look and operation of the mic makes you look professional, as long as you respect the light. Comedians come here to practice their material in hopes of one day being asked to perform in one of their shows. Wherever you can, you should do open mics at the comedy clubs, not just to practice new material but for the exposure. I can imagine comics week after week doing new material, winning over the audience more and more till finally those peeps in charge of the club recognize your talent and want to book you. For visiting comedians, do the open mic just because it’s a room meant for standup.
Open mic at Tacoma Comedy Club used to be on Mondays; now it’s Wednesdays at their downtown location. Because it’s a comedy club, the stage is big and visible to all the over one hundred seats that make up the club. The stage is well-lit, but so blinding from the comedian’s point of view, you can’t see the audience. Talent gets 4 minutes, a green sign to one side that says, “The Light” at 3. You can’t miss it. Of course, there are no language restrictions. Parking is on the street, but it is free.
ReplyDeleteI was a visitor from out of state. Signup is done online in advance. I did not learn how you do that, maybe their website(?), but they have a “Lucky Bucket” for drop-ins to throw their name in and possibly get picked to go on stage that very night. The night I was there, five spots were designated for walk-ins. All other spots already had names filled. The room opens with a guest emcee who does 6 minutes, then brings up the talent as well as announce who is on deck. The room ends with a closer who does 8 minutes. Obviously, this room is standup only, no poetry or music. I believe there are 19 spots for the open micers.
On stage is a mic, stand and stool. The backdrop is a brick wall with the Tacoma Comedy Club logo. The club has a full bar and assorted comfort food. I had their burger, and it was delicious.
I was the first patron to arrive as 6:22pm. By 7pm we had 17 in attendance and 4 staff that I counted. Attendance more than doubled at 7:23pm, with 40 in the room, and by the time we started at 7:31pm, close to 50 people corralled around the tables, all facing the stage.
The room ran mostly smoothly. The emcee welcomed talent who stood off to one side, they performed for 3 minutes, got the light and wrapped it up. Yes, a few talent went past the light, either because they didn’t pay attention to the light (which I find difficult to understand, so obvious is the light), or they went overtime because their final joke(s) were over a minute. The gentleman in charge of the light was good at letting a talent finish their joke. But what times talent started another joke, they were cut off. The room ended just after 9pm.
Guys, what can I say: this is a comedy club, the best kind of room to do open mic. It’s all about comedy. Everyone in the room is there for standup, and the professional look and operation of the mic makes you look professional, as long as you respect the light. Comedians come here to practice their material in hopes of one day being asked to perform in one of their shows. Wherever you can, you should do open mics at the comedy clubs, not just to practice new material but for the exposure. I can imagine comics week after week doing new material, winning over the audience more and more till finally those peeps in charge of the club recognize your talent and want to book you. For visiting comedians, do the open mic just because it’s a room meant for standup.