New to NY, where should I start(over)?

[AlienGremlin]

I've been in SD for a couple months and am beginning to sink slowly into the open-mic community, being recognized by regulars and what not. But now! I'm moving to the bright lights of NYC and want to know where should I go to get some stage time and once more immerse myself in developing comedy?

The minute I can afford it I'm enrolling in UCBT classes in sketch and improv but what shall I do with my poverty weeks (months) before that's feasible?

Plus I'll have no social network, who will I trick into buying me whiskey?! Help me AST forums, you're my only hope!

[AlienGremlin]

......I'm sure this is only because you're all fine tuning your responses.

[ErikNielsen]

Thing is, I'm not sure how many NY comics are around here. (I've never performed in NY, so I can't point at any specific shows.) Also, a lot of the people posting here are new open micers, so you have to wonder how much perspective they have. (No criticism -- I know I didn't have any kind of perspective for YEARS.)

Also, nobody here knows your act. You could be some kind of prodigy who already has 10-15 solid minutes, you could be trying to put together five minutes you can do consistently. (Not that the latter is a problem after only 2 months.) And even if it was clear what level you were on, New York's a big enough scene that there are several routes to stage time, and that probably depends on what your style's like.

Anyway, my advice would be to wait until you get to New York, go to some shows that look good -- just to watch them -- find some comics who appear to have their shit together, and ask them. Most comics will be glad to point you in directions.

Like, funny and reasonably successful comics with 5-7 years of experience... that's who you want to ask. They've been around long enough to see a lot of shows come and go, so they're not excessively/dogmatically fired up about one specific show or scene or whatever. They know everyone, they know enough about comedy that they can tell why a room is good or bad, but they're not so high up there that they've lost touch with what the kids are up to. (They're only a few years removed from being where you are now...)

And if you've seen them, and you know you share a comedic sensibility with them, and you know they're funny, you can trust their routes -- because they're presumably the routes you would've taken if you had started when they did.

(Ask multiple people, of course.)

Beyond that, the usual stuff applies -- avoid bringer shows, etc. I'm under the impression it's difficult to completely avoid bringer shows in NY -- unlike practically every other city in the world, even some legitimate clubs have them. But even then, I'd tread carefully -- make sure the club IS legitimate, make sure they actually DO use the bringer show to scout talent and not just to separate open micers/open micers' friends from their money, and make sure you're ready to have the set that's going to make the people take notice. In short, it's not the first step to take by any means.

The comics you're going to meet in New York have better advice, I'm sure.

[Phil]

http://www.badslava.com/nyc-open-mics.htm

[AlienGremlin]

Thank you both, I really do appreciate it.