Open mic at Fuse Box is probably the smallest room I have done. It seats 12, 13 if you count the one staff behind the counter. Billed as a bar, Fuse Box serves beer, wine and hard cider. What chairs there are, are arranged to face a corner of the room, where a single mic and amp are set up. Parking is on the street, and I suggest giving yourself plenty of time to find parking. The room is run by a gentleman named Austin Kain. He produces and hosts two rooms in Seattle, the latter of which will be reviewed in less than a week, as of this posting. The room has been going on almost two years, but Austin only became the most recent host two months ago. There are no language restrictions. Signup is first come first choice. The room goes as late as midnight. The amount of stage time depends on the number of signups. Tonight, each of us received ten minutes. I arrived way too early. Thankfully, the one staff working had his girlfriend there, and I had two people to talk to till people started showing up close to 9pm. Austin arrived just after 9, and the signup sheet came out 9:15pm. I took the third spot. A few other people signed up after me. The room started at 9:40pm. There were nine people in the room when we started, but only five signups. Based on that, Austin gave everyone ten minutes. Also, it’s your ten minutes to do what you want. He leaves it open for you to talk about comedy, anything, and not just perform. You can even ask for feedback on a specific joke. So, while it can be an open mic for you, strictly because that’s your choice, it can be a workshop for others. I liked that because it forces the audience to pay attention, in case you call them out on something. And it was nice that of nine people, four were there as a general audience. A sixth signup arrived 10:05pm, and another dropped in at 10:10pm. By 10:15pm we had 13 people in the room with nine signups by 10:50pm. Even by 11:15pm, we still had ten people watching and paying attention to the open mic. Talent does stay and support. Austin tells me if there is eight or less talent when the room starts, the option of workshop mode is turned on; if there are more than eight signups, the room is open mic only. I took advantage of the workshop by talking about standup. I decided to save my routine for his other room. A few other comedians did the same thing. Otherwise, we saw talent do new material. Most everyone knew each other, so the room was very casual. Lots of jokes cracked at someone’s expense, yet everyone is laughing. That kind of room. Guys, this is a good room. I talk about how I appreciate anyone who takes time out of their life to run a room. And here Austin does it twice. The audience does pay attention when you’re performing, and they are good about giving feedback if you ask for it. As physically small as this room was, it epitomizes the phrase “an intimate crowd”. Often I am glad to perform in a room not full of comedians. But when the option of workshop presents itself, it can be a great value to hear and learn what other comedians think about something. That made it very acceptable to go up in front of your peers and talk shop.
Open mic at Fuse Box is probably the smallest room I have done. It seats 12, 13 if you count the one staff behind the counter. Billed as a bar, Fuse Box serves beer, wine and hard cider. What chairs there are, are arranged to face a corner of the room, where a single mic and amp are set up. Parking is on the street, and I suggest giving yourself plenty of time to find parking.
ReplyDeleteThe room is run by a gentleman named Austin Kain. He produces and hosts two rooms in Seattle, the latter of which will be reviewed in less than a week, as of this posting. The room has been going on almost two years, but Austin only became the most recent host two months ago. There are no language restrictions. Signup is first come first choice. The room goes as late as midnight. The amount of stage time depends on the number of signups. Tonight, each of us received ten minutes.
I arrived way too early. Thankfully, the one staff working had his girlfriend there, and I had two people to talk to till people started showing up close to 9pm. Austin arrived just after 9, and the signup sheet came out 9:15pm. I took the third spot. A few other people signed up after me. The room started at 9:40pm. There were nine people in the room when we started, but only five signups. Based on that, Austin gave everyone ten minutes. Also, it’s your ten minutes to do what you want. He leaves it open for you to talk about comedy, anything, and not just perform. You can even ask for feedback on a specific joke. So, while it can be an open mic for you, strictly because that’s your choice, it can be a workshop for others. I liked that because it forces the audience to pay attention, in case you call them out on something. And it was nice that of nine people, four were there as a general audience. A sixth signup arrived 10:05pm, and another dropped in at 10:10pm. By 10:15pm we had 13 people in the room with nine signups by 10:50pm. Even by 11:15pm, we still had ten people watching and paying attention to the open mic. Talent does stay and support.
Austin tells me if there is eight or less talent when the room starts, the option of workshop mode is turned on; if there are more than eight signups, the room is open mic only. I took advantage of the workshop by talking about standup. I decided to save my routine for his other room. A few other comedians did the same thing. Otherwise, we saw talent do new material. Most everyone knew each other, so the room was very casual. Lots of jokes cracked at someone’s expense, yet everyone is laughing. That kind of room.
Guys, this is a good room. I talk about how I appreciate anyone who takes time out of their life to run a room. And here Austin does it twice. The audience does pay attention when you’re performing, and they are good about giving feedback if you ask for it. As physically small as this room was, it epitomizes the phrase “an intimate crowd”. Often I am glad to perform in a room not full of comedians. But when the option of workshop presents itself, it can be a great value to hear and learn what other comedians think about something. That made it very acceptable to go up in front of your peers and talk shop.