To open mic or to write?

[nixonjames]

one discussion from the comedy scene forums in boston led me to see where people stand on this idea here.

A lot of younger but not pure beginner (read 1-2 years exp.) comics feel like going to a ton of open mics can do more harm than good. Between discouragement from doing sets to the same 15 people who've heard it to developing bad habits like 'talking to your friends' instead of using that mic time.

There are divergent thoughts on this but I think for a scene like this where getting stage time isn't exactly different (one could do 4 sets on every monday they put their mind to), there is a great opportunity to better balance writing/studying comedy with performing. Obviously timing, audience reading, interation, etc can only be learned from being on stage.

But I find that almost a year and a half in I can be doing a club showcase, and a couple of booked non-paid weekend shows at a bar/restaurant every month, do open mics around those shows, and spend the rest of the time focused on my writing. AND always have some semblance of an audience so that you feel more interested in your own set.

Thoughts?
I'm kind of planning to cut back from trying to do 10-15 open mics/month + 2-3 booked shows to like 7-8 open mics and 2-3 booked shows. I find that having things to workshop helps me set attainable goals regardless of the show setting whereas just 'getting up' without any clear reason can lead to bad habits.

Anyone else heard of this or felt this way themself?

[Vercetti]

I've seen some people that go to open mics all the time still manage to not do very well. I think it's more about what you get out of the time you put in rather than the actual amount. Not everyone has the option of going up every single night (Houston doesn't even have mics every night) but even if you can get out a couple times a week and put the work in you can benefit from it, I think.

[Unholy PCP]

You're blessed that you have so many open mics. Simply blessed. But it's boston, and that's an excellent comedy city.

I see what you're saying about performing in front of the same group of guys every night. It could be worse though....

There's 2 open mics in my city...2! And one of them is starting to slow down. It's just very difficult where I'm at

But anyway, it sounds like you're doing fine. Maybe you're overthinking things, but you're doing fine

[pg13]

There's no one perfect way.
There's no magic bullet.
What might be right for you, might not be right for some.

The truth is, there's no reason for this thread title to have an "or" in it--you're going to need the stage time that an open mic provides AND you're going to need to write. It's a false choice to suggest that you should only pick one or the other.

It's always up to each individual performer to get the most out of their opportunities. Yes, in general, it is a good idea--especially early on--to get on stage as often as you can...HOWEVER, there's no particular value to beating your head against a wall forever. You can make your own decision whether or not a particular open mic (or other stage time opportunity) is actually worth it to you. You are also in control of WHAT you choose to work on, what skills you want to practice, what material you want to test--it isn't the open mic that is at fault if you allow yourself to develop bad habits.

Whether or not an open mic can help you...and how you choose to use the open mic time that you do take advantage of...these are your personal decisions and no one can (nor should they) make these decisions for you (or, worse, for everyone.)

I WILL, however, say that it is very easy to only do what you want... It is very easy to let yourself out of doing the boring stuff that isn't all that much fun. It is very easy to listen to the devil on your shoulder who is whispering in your ear all of the reasons why you don't need to drag yourself out of your house to do imperfect comedy for uninterested audiences night after night.

It is one thing to accurately identify when part of your process isn't working and try another approach--it is another thing to justify giving yourself permission to not try as hard and pat yourself on the back as if you're doing a good thing. And, since it is very hard for anyone to tell the difference--the smart play is usually to keep working hard (because while hard work isn't always adequately rewarded, choosing not to work hard is NEVER rewarded.)

pg--And this is advice that I need to take myself. I've granted myself the luxury of not going to open mics long enough that people in Seattle have no idea that I'm still doing comedy...and I could definitely use the work to get myself back into top comedy shape.--lazyville

[nixonjames]

Oh I'm not suggesting there's a perfect way just generating discussion. There seems to be a ripe opportunity to develop bad habits both technical and general from going out constantly. I mean I see folks around here that are a bit ... enthusiastic. One friend of mine did 300 shows this past year as his goal. He went up 45 times in September. Maybe Boston is special and this is possible here but it still seems like that would be overdoing it. And I think it's reflected in the quality of his material. A year ago he had some of the tightest and best jokes around, now when I see him out he looks exhausted and his writing seems to have fallen off.

I'm not sayin 'avoid' open mics. But there seems to be this huge 'go to every mic you can' approach some people have, I think there's always a balance necessary but I was curious as to thoughts.

I mean on one hand, doing comedy in front of an audience will be one of the greatest teachers, but writing comedy and learning all the technical aspects of jokes seems to be a skill one would need before they can tease out their individual voice.

And for those who said I over think it. Yes, I do. It's my style!

[Just Brett]

Jesus, 45 times in one month? I've been doing this a year and have mmmaybe been up 40 times. 35? Around there.

But around here, there are only like 12 of us.

[NoahOdabashian]

Open mic or write? Well, I think everything that gets written, especially the more inexperienced you are, needs to be preformed.

Though, this all depends on your style of writing. I started out trying to have everything out to a T, every line, every tag, every thought. I found it got me too scared and nervous on stage. It also made me feel like an actor, which I am not.

Instead, by writing jokes loosely how I wanted them, and then preforming them, I got to tweak them where they needed - almost writing on stage. I dont trust my funny to go up with just a premise. that takes owning your voice.

Open mics can be poison. Certain ones are not a barometer of whats funny and whats not. At the same time, unless you are getting booked regularly it probably behooves you to stay sharp and go on within the first 5 of an open mic- to stay sharp.

As far as going on without a clear vision, the last time I bombed I wanted to just get out a bunch of new half cooked jokes because I was gonna take a break to organize and rewrite. Eating Shit that night taught me to always treat every moment on stage like someone important was watching you(which they were-though 'important' could be a stretch) and not to dick around aimlessly- even during an open mic (which it was).

Last ramble, if i ever go on stage without a point again, it better be because I've dialed in the set for my 1/2 hour special and the taping is the next day... and even then you probably can't practice enough.

[mikemayberry]

I haven't been on stage in 3 months, which is driving me crazy, but I think it is also making me more focused. I have used Facebook and Twitter to get some of my ideas out, and I have received unsolicited positive feedback on a couple of occasions from one of my favorite comics.

Being more focused on writing has forced me to really look at my "material" and it is depressing. I am one of those "could read the phone book and get a laugh" kind of guys, and I lean on being witty in the moment for laughs because most of my jokes suck. I now have one really good joke (about 1 minute), one good one liner (20 seconds) and one filthy/disturbing story that gets a good response (2 minutes). And I had been doing multiple open mics weekly for a year straight. 3 months into my break, I have extensively reworked a few more minute long jokes and created an intro that I feel really good about.

I also have zero confidence to do an open mic now. I am in a different state and I spent a year performing around a very supportive group of comics and club owners that let me be a fucking self-absorbed nightmare. I would make fun of clubs and club owners, patrons, the headliner, go waaay over my time, etc. And I don't know that I would get that kind of treatment at every open mic.

So, I am hoping that all of this writing and being in a new place will improve me a little bit. I will have to do a follow up once I get the guts/scratch together to get to an open mic.

[Vercetti]

I also have zero confidence to do an open mic now. I am in a different state and I spent a year performing around a very supportive group of comics and club owners that let me be a fucking self-absorbed nightmare. I would make fun of clubs and club owners, patrons, the headliner, go waaay over my time, etc. And I don't know that I would get that kind of treatment at every open mic.

Why on earth would you ever expect to get that kind of treatment at ANY open mic? You're basically just acting like an asshole. I'll tell you this, if you stepped onto any of the stages I frequent with that kind of behavior you'd pretty much be banned.

I think Kyle Cease needs to step in and straighten things out for you.

[nixonjames]

Dang Mike, I've liked your stuff. Not sure why you would take that route. The only guys who get away with that approach around here are pretty well established and have their voices. I think before you know that's your 'schtick' it can be a real dangerous road. I know another guy who pissed off some folks by following that approach tho i think it was more from drinking, not sure what role that plays for u. But he has had a much more difficult path than he could've and he's hysterical.

[mikemayberry]

I wouldn't walk into a new place and act like a jackass, but I don't know how confident I will be on stage when I am trying to stick to my material and my time and not just being in the moment.

I have never been shitfaced on stage, so that isn't why I do it. After all of this writing that I have been doing, I do feel more like my old crappy jokes are a little snappier and a little funnier, so hopefully I will be able to stick to them with more confidence next time I get up.

And I think about the only thing that Kyle Cease could straighten out for me would be my cock. Ya know, 'cause he has a cute mouth.

See the respect I have for headliners? See it?

[ErikNielsen]

If you have time to do an open mic, and you have new/rewritten material that needs to be worked out on an open mic level, do it. If not, don't.

If you have ideas and you've worked them out in your head, write them. If you don't have ideas, or you haven't worked them out, don't.

Unless you're a horrible typist, writing isn't even a time commitment.

Why are you worrying about this? It is pretty simple.

[nixonjames]

If you have time to do an open mic, and you have new/rewritten material that needs to be worked out on an open mic level, do it. If not, don't.

I write everyday so by this I could do a mic every night.

If you have ideas and you've worked them out in your head, write them. If you don't have ideas, or you haven't worked them out, don't.

Unless you're a horrible typist, writing isn't even a time commitment.

Why are you worrying about this? It is pretty simple.

Writing well is a huge time commitment. Every topic that I attack I'm trying to unpack a variety of ways (listing/statements & tags/questions/clouding).

I'm getting at the idea in Boston that you should be doing as many open mics as possible. From the course of this discussion this seems like a blessed issue. But nonetheless it's easy to fall into bad habits by doing open mics just to do them.

Now I try to have a 'goal' whether it's as small as standing up straight, enunciating, and holding the mic correctly. I'm just sorta in between being a straight up beginner and knowing what I want to do and was curious as to other's takes on this, if there were any. Now that I'm showcasing at clubs a couple of times a month I'm starting to spend more time writing, then do open mics to tighten up/workshop my bigger ideas, and then focus on doing shows with an audience as opposed to going to 20 open mics a month, doing the same 5 minutes 20 times, or just wasting my time by telling stories or not being present with what I'm doing.

Sorry if this seems weird to you guys, just was discussed on the boston scene boards and was curious if I'm the only one curious about this, it would appear that I am. ha

[ErikNielsen]

Fair enough. I'm not a big believer in writing every day, or in rewriting on the page... if those things work for you, I could see how you might look at writing differently.

I guess the danger with open mics is burning your delivery or the material out. When I've done a bunch of open mics (or similarly crappy shows) in the past, what I've noticed is that it messes with my timing: because you can't get a big buoyant laugh out of a small or disinterested crowd, the pauses come up all wrong. Then you're playing for a real crowd and you have to readjust to working off the laughter. And of course, if you're not getting any laughs at all at the open mic, it's probably going to frustrate you and eat away at your confidence.

I mean, is any of that happening to you? Because if not, I wouldn't worry about cutting down on open mics... I'd look less at numbers and more at symptoms.

If you're not enjoying yourself, that's going to show in your performances. But of course the flip side of that is that you need to LEARN to deliver a performance when you're not enjoying yourself. So it's difficult.

[nixonjames]

Ya I think it's a combination of messing with my timing and also making me doubt what's funny. I mean when I'm hitting mics kinda heavy I'm doing 4-5 in a week and by the 3rd or 4th if it's only comics that saw you at the other spots I have difficulty 'gearing up' when I know it'll be ignored.

That's why I'm leaning toward using mics to tweak/workshop and focusing on seeing what's really funny when I do it with an audience. There were a couple of bits that myself and my writing partner thought were hilarious that were just dying on the vine at open mics.

I find that at an open mic if you're a comic that's still working on joke-writing as opposed to one who's found their voice, the likelihood that you'll hold folks' attention is far less. Maybe this is just a function of feeling like open mics are great for practice but my personal goals are making me overthink it. I know I am, that's a fact of my existence that I overthink everything.

I think for me personally it's not that i'm "NOT" doing open mics, I'm just not going to push myself to do as many as possible which is a common theme up here. I know folks who do 4-5 sets on Mondays. I can't see that as anything but overkill but maybe as I progress I'll look forward to the opportunities.

Obviously there's no one way or 'right' way to go about it. I just found the idea interesting and was bouncing it here.

[smarek]

I find that at an open mic if you're a comic that's still working on joke-writing as opposed to one who's found their voice, the likelihood that you'll hold folks' attention is far less.

I'm sure even the more experienced open mic'ers could benefit from this concept. Even if you're getting on showcases and what not, until you feel that you truly have your voice down to a science, then you should probably get out as much as you can.

The closer you feel that you're getting to that point where your mind and performance are one, you could pull back and only do new stuff at mics. No reason to burn out old stuff consistently unless if you're doing it to entertain some newer audience members or if the crowd is hot.