Know off the top, doing this mic, you will have to pay to park, and it’s going to be $20. Maybe Uber this room. The open mic is run by a woman named Devon. You check in by writing your name on a sheet when you first enter, letting Devon know you are here. It doesn’t matter where in the sheet you write your name. It’s not the list in order of performers, like first come first choice. The host, Hailey Brooks, mixes the list up. My friend and I wrote our names down ninth and tenth, but we ended up going fifth and fourth to last. There are language restrictions. They want you to be PG-13, no use of the F bomb. Talent gets three to five minutes, depending on the number of signups. At the time we did the room, we were given four minutes, the light at three from the host’s cell phone. The room seats about 45 who can see the performance area well. There is no stage. A cordless mic, stand and stool are set up to one side, a large bookcase serving as a backdrop. Depending on where you sit, you may have foot traffic crossing in front of you, as people order wine or beer at the bar. Beers run $10 a pint. The room is bi-monthly, taking place the second and fourth Thursday of the month, and the room has been going on since November, 2025. Signup is online at jimmykimmelscomedyclub.com/open-mic-lunch/ and you follow the instructions from there. They will email you if you make the list. I counted 23 people in the room, including the bartender and host, when we started promptly at 12pm. Devon welcomed everyone, then brought up the host, while Devon sat down close to the performance area. Hailey did a few minutes, went over the rules, then brought up the first talent. Hailey brought up future talent from a second, cordless mic she spoke into in the back, near the entrance of the room. Attendance increased to 30 at 12:20pm. It was easy to tell who was a comedian – most all of them sitting in the back on sofas – and who was there to either watch or support a friend going on stage. Comedians started to leave after their set, and the general audience, there to support their talented friend, would also leave, once the comedian/friend did their set. I counted 19 people at 1:08pm, and that number stayed the same when I went up fifth to last in the lineup only minutes later. On the upside, the number went up to 21 by the time the room ended at 1:38pm. The room ended with one of the comedians winning the “funniest” open micer that day, and being given a spot on Kimmel’s stage another week. Guys, this is an okay room to do. I was told the list gets mixed, yet my friend and I who wrote our names down back to back ended up going up towards the end, and with only one talent between us. Not much of a mix. Putting one out-of-state comedian early, and the only other comedian from out-of-state later, would be mixing it up. Also, attendance went down a third about an hour into the show. The comedians still waiting their turn, or who had performed and stayed to support one another, did not extend the camaraderie to my friend and I, that the room was more a clique, and we being outsiders, were not altogether well-received. It wasn’t because the energy was down in the room, what with a lesser crowd, or people were tired of applauding or anything. Quite the contrary. The last comedian, a local, he got huge hoots and cheers from his fellow jokesters. Four minutes is not bad stage time. I think you should make this room the first of two you can do on a Thursday, as early as this room starts. And, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we felt unwelcomed. The host sounded enthused when she brought us up. But because no one knew us, I found myself performing to a room of people looking at me like they didn’t know me, which they didn’t. But at least be open to someone different, not a local. Standup should be welcomed, no matter where the source.
Know off the top, doing this mic, you will have to pay to park, and it’s going to be $20. Maybe Uber this room.
ReplyDeleteThe open mic is run by a woman named Devon. You check in by writing your name on a sheet when you first enter, letting Devon know you are here. It doesn’t matter where in the sheet you write your name. It’s not the list in order of performers, like first come first choice. The host, Hailey Brooks, mixes the list up. My friend and I wrote our names down ninth and tenth, but we ended up going fifth and fourth to last.
There are language restrictions. They want you to be PG-13, no use of the F bomb. Talent gets three to five minutes, depending on the number of signups. At the time we did the room, we were given four minutes, the light at three from the host’s cell phone.
The room seats about 45 who can see the performance area well. There is no stage. A cordless mic, stand and stool are set up to one side, a large bookcase serving as a backdrop. Depending on where you sit, you may have foot traffic crossing in front of you, as people order wine or beer at the bar. Beers run $10 a pint.
The room is bi-monthly, taking place the second and fourth Thursday of the month, and the room has been going on since November, 2025. Signup is online at jimmykimmelscomedyclub.com/open-mic-lunch/ and you follow the instructions from there. They will email you if you make the list.
I counted 23 people in the room, including the bartender and host, when we started promptly at 12pm. Devon welcomed everyone, then brought up the host, while Devon sat down close to the performance area. Hailey did a few minutes, went over the rules, then brought up the first talent. Hailey brought up future talent from a second, cordless mic she spoke into in the back, near the entrance of the room.
Attendance increased to 30 at 12:20pm. It was easy to tell who was a comedian – most all of them sitting in the back on sofas – and who was there to either watch or support a friend going on stage. Comedians started to leave after their set, and the general audience, there to support their talented friend, would also leave, once the comedian/friend did their set. I counted 19 people at 1:08pm, and that number stayed the same when I went up fifth to last in the lineup only minutes later. On the upside, the number went up to 21 by the time the room ended at 1:38pm. The room ended with one of the comedians winning the “funniest” open micer that day, and being given a spot on Kimmel’s stage another week.
Guys, this is an okay room to do. I was told the list gets mixed, yet my friend and I who wrote our names down back to back ended up going up towards the end, and with only one talent between us. Not much of a mix. Putting one out-of-state comedian early, and the only other comedian from out-of-state later, would be mixing it up. Also, attendance went down a third about an hour into the show. The comedians still waiting their turn, or who had performed and stayed to support one another, did not extend the camaraderie to my friend and I, that the room was more a clique, and we being outsiders, were not altogether well-received. It wasn’t because the energy was down in the room, what with a lesser crowd, or people were tired of applauding or anything. Quite the contrary. The last comedian, a local, he got huge hoots and cheers from his fellow jokesters.
Four minutes is not bad stage time. I think you should make this room the first of two you can do on a Thursday, as early as this room starts. And, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we felt unwelcomed. The host sounded enthused when she brought us up. But because no one knew us, I found myself performing to a room of people looking at me like they didn’t know me, which they didn’t. But at least be open to someone different, not a local. Standup should be welcomed, no matter where the source.