So apparently I'm producing a show?

[mike_b]

I came up with a good idea for a show, and no one else wants to spearhead it, so it looks like it's up to me. The show will be either free or just cheap enough to cover our costs. Hopefully free.

Here's what I have so far:
1.) an idea for the show.
2.) some people to be in the show (probably.)
3.) a local arts charity with no money but plenty of enthusiasm.
4.) lots of potential publicity.

Here's what I need
1.) a cheap/free venue.
2.) any ideas/tips/advice that you nice people have for me.
3.) probably some other stuff I'm forgetting.

[DJ Sam]

Let me know if you want help. I just started booking a comedy show so let me know if you need help with logistics or anything.

First piece of advice: Change the title of this thread to a phrase that means intercourse and a proclamation of your show.
i.e. SEXUAL RELATIONS GUYS I HAVE A SHOW.

[mike_b]

I would very much like some help. I've never done anything even remotely like this before. Thank you in advance for helping to make the FREE HANDJOB Show a reality!

[pg13]

I came up with a good idea for a show, and no one else wants to spearhead it, so it looks like it's up to me. The show will be either free or just cheap enough to cover our costs. Hopefully free.

Here's what I have so far:
1.) an idea for the show.
2.) some people to be in the show (probably.)
3.) a local arts charity with no money but plenty of enthusiasm.
4.) lots of potential publicity.

Here's what I need
1.) a cheap/free venue.
2.) any ideas/tips/advice that you nice people have for me.
3.) probably some other stuff I'm forgetting.

Best piece of advice I can offer you: Accept the high likelihood of failure.

I'm not being snarky in saying that...I'm simply getting you in the mindset necessary for you to pursue this properly. Too often, starry-eyed promoters and producers lose sight of how crowded the marketplace is with attractive entertainment options and how difficult it truly is to coordinate every aspect of a successful event. So, accept that what you're trying to do probably won't work the way you hope it will...and do all you can to minimize your risks.

The second best piece of advice I can give you is: You're already doing it entirely wrong.

You're thinking about what you want to do and then trying to figure out how to do it. That almost guarantees failure. You need to be market driven--or, at least, you need to factor the market realities into your plans more.

You treat the venue as if that's just one more detail you've got to work out--when, really you should find the venue FIRST...and then figure out what kind of show would work best for the venue, for the people that venue can likely draw from, etc.

You've decided that you want this to be a "free" show without considering how much this all might cost...or basing that on what the market (which you haven't determined, because you haven't figured out where you're doing your show) can either bear or is used to...

You're deciding to do a show based on it being a good creative idea that you've had, rather than it being something specifically that isn't currently available to a market that could want it...

It's a classic case of top down marketing. "You'll love New Coke, it's sweeter!"

Some questions to help you focus your efforts...

1) Is this a one-off show or is it going to be a regularly occurring event?
--If you're only doing one show, realize that you have to put most of your efforts into promotion and publicity, directing people to one place at one time. You don't have the luxury of building an audience through word of mouth or spreading the costs of promotion and publicity over time.

Unless, of course, you don't care if anyone actually shows up to your event. In which case, why not just hold it in your basement or garage? (Don't laugh...that can actually be a brilliant idea...a comedy house party...and when it becomes too big for your home, THEN you can seek out a nearby venue because you've already established that it works.)

2) Why do you want it to be free? Do you think that makes people want to go check it out?
--Remember, people get what they pay for...so, a free show actually DOESN'T encourage people to go. Worse, the people that DO go haven't invested anything in the show--they often make the worst audiences.

A better solution is to make it SEEM valuable, price it as such...and then offer limited time, exclusive discounts (via Facebook, perhaps)--that make people think they're getting something special for less. (If you're running a regularly scheduled event, two-for-one coupons for the next show given to the people to come to every show are a great way to build both loyalty and a larger audience base.)

Besides, if something is free--there's nothing you can do to boost attendance. Everything you might think to do would COST you money.

And EVERYTHING has some cost.

3) Why would a venue offer themselves to you for free?
--The answer is...because they'd think that you'd draw more people to their venue...but you haven't really thought about that yet.

Their hope is that the people you bring will buy their drinks and eat their food. (I doubt you'll find a true theater/black box venue offering themselves to you for free--you're probably destined for a bar.)

So, I go back to revenue versus your costs. If you think that you'll find a venue that will allow you to offer your show for free...and then you could somehow share in their food/drink sales, you're fooling yourself. You're basically announcing that you're willing to do promotional work, offer an entertainment source...and eat all of your costs for no compensation.

All so you can realize your idea for a show.

But, and I hate to say this so baldly...but there are an INFINITE number of good show ideas, if you only have to think about the creative aspect of the show. The value of a "good idea for a show" is, simply due to supply and demand, pretty low...

Coming up with a good idea that also draws a crowd and pays for itself--that's an entirely different thing. That's incredibly valuable.

Oh, one last piece of advice: KEEP EVERYTHING SIMPLE

If you want to do a one-off show with a few friends because you've got a good idea for a show--then do it. Don't worry about my market-driven advice--because you're doing it for you, not to be "successful."

One show? Easy.
Limited to a group of close friends who share your goals? Perfect.
Willing to absorb a limited amount of costs to do something fun? Go for it.

Seriously, good luck... But, if you REALLY want to produce successful shows...there's a lot of annoying bits and realities to consider that will make it less fun and infinitely more complicated.

pg--Used to produce shows. Failed, wonderfully. May produce shows again, if I can marry the best possible idea to the perfect venue and find a way to make it pay for itself. I don't know. It COULD happen.--pacific northwest

[dan telfer]

If you're willing to put in the work at getting press contacts, an audience, and an interested venue then I have no doubt you could get this going.

There are dozens of performer-run showcases in Chicago and I have never felt like it is flooded. We have a huge surplus of comedians compared to the tiny amounts of stage time the local clubs offer. And as luck would have it the population supports live performance very well. Running a highly successful one is nigh-impossible, but getting one started in this city is easy as hell. I was producing plays out of cheap venues here while I was still in college. Treat it like a really serious project and you will find everything you need, no problem.

[mike_b]

If you're willing to put in the work at getting press contacts, an audience, and an interested venue then I have no doubt you could get this going.

There are dozens of performer-run showcases in Chicago and I have never felt like it is flooded. We have a huge surplus of comedians compared to the tiny amounts of stage time the local clubs offer. And as luck would have it the population supports live performance very well. Running a highly successful one is nigh-impossible, but getting one started in this city is easy as hell. I was producing plays out of cheap venues here while I was still in college. Treat it like a really serious project and you will find everything you need, no problem.

Cool! Thanks!

[Me, The JerBear]

(1) Find a venue. And the Comedy Basement (No, it's really somebody's basement) idea is a great one. A friend of mine occasionally produces house parties with touring bands and does it well. Comedy is an artform that thrives on the closeness of the spectators (ever hear of The Laughing Skull?)

(2) Charge a cover. Value your contribution to the enrichment of people's lives through entertainment and THEY will value it.

(B) Promote, promote, PROMOTE. Sometimes all you will have is word of mouth AND THAT WORD WILL HAVE TO COME FROM YOUR MOUTH.

(x) Chairs-seating helps.

(MCVXX) Lighting, sound, room temperature, when to give your host the light--all kinds of stuff. The last one off alt venue show I accidentally produced I had to give my host the light. When I asked the guy how much time he could do he said two hours. I didn't know he would do it in between sets Love ya Corey--you're funny as hell man.



Dignity and Respect
Me, The JerBear

[rfeliciano]

No advice anyone gives can replace doing it yourself and failing, so feel it out and hopefully you have a little success and then fail. That will guarantee that you learn important lessons but at least have a little bit of fun doing it.

If you do start your own show, one day you will look back and some of these ideas will make more real and personal sense to you.

- The last thing to worry about is yourself and the performers. It's all about the audience. Your performer/comedy friends who claim they want stage time and they would support a new cool place for comedy, despite their claims, just simply won't care about your show. Accept that and move on.

If you seek out your potential audience (hint: they aren't your Facebook friend list) and you invest your time and money in marketing to them, and you go above and beyond in your attempts to make them comfortable, happy and entertained, they will recognize it. If you take care of the audience, they will take care of everything- you, the performers, the show- ten fold.

- Pay less attention to what other shows are doing and more attention to what they aren't doing.

In some cases, just simply having a nice professional looking website with nice photos from previous shows, well embedded videos of this month's performers, and a link to buy tickets online puts you in a class separate from most other shows. Having a nice friendly girl friend working the door and another sociable friend serving drinks and/or helping people enter the venue puts you in a class separate from most other shows. Hanging a nice curtain or a nice decal with the show's logo behind your performers puts you in a class separate from most other shows. Having a venue that has free parking puts you in a class separate from most other shows. Offering snacks/desserts from a local bakery puts you in a class separate from most other shows. There are lots of small and not so small ways to surprise the audience by rewarding them in ways other shows don't and they often have little to do with the actual lineup of performers because:

- Your audience won't keep coming back because you book big names. They will keep coming back because you made them comfortable, surprised them in the amount of effort you've put in to rewarding their investment, and because they left your show feeling good and positive. That last part is important. Don't make your show 2+ hours long. Don't "sneak" in your 4 friends who do open mics in between the solid acts. Some audience members might not consciously realize it but they will link that groggy, tired, unsatisfied feeling they have walking out of the venue with your show forever- and they will never come back. Have them walking out happy, excited, energized and wanting more.

A one and a half hour show is better than a 2 hour show and a one hour show is probably better than a one and a half hour show. If you do nothing else, please, don't take your audience's mental well being for granted. The same way that if you take care of the audience, they will take care of you, if you abuse your audience (even through ignorance), they will guarantee that your show will fail. Which is the reason why PG's great advice is shrouded in so much negativity. You live and die by how you consider and treat the audience.

[Cameron]

I put on a series of highly successful theater shows this summer and help out with a weekly show at a bar. It's a TON of work, but if you somehow figure it out, it's quite rewarding.

1) Find the right venue.
Like PG said, the right venue can absolutely make or break a comedy show. And there is no set definition for what the right venue is. It depends a lot on what kind of show you want to put on and what kind of audience you want to bring in. And accept that you probably aren't going to find the right venue for free.

2) Find sponsors.
There are absolutely local businesses in your area that would love to support local comedy, especially if you can make it worth their while to do so. You're going to get a rejected by most places, but sponsors are a great way to help fund your shows. When you are selling sponsorships you are essentially selling ad space. Offer to have their logo on all promotional material (posters, fliers, etc), links to their website on all your web promotion, and find some way to incorporate them at the actual event. We had a projection screen with a slideshow of our sponsors playing while people took their seats before the show (like at most movie theaters).

3) Advertise, Advertise, Advertise.
Design a interesting, professional poster. Get as many posters and fliers in as many places as you possibly can. Advertise everywhere online you possibly can (without spamming. it's a fine line). Look into radio/tv ads (they are probably cheaper than you think). Plus, the more you advertise, the happier your sponsors will be.

4) Make a profit.
I'm sure right now this show seems like something you are willing to do for free. A labor of love, if you will. But that's simply not realistic in the long term. It's obviously a lot easier said than done, but it's something that needs to be a priority. If you are regularly doing a show that isn't able to make you money, then it probably isn't a show that's worth doing.

[ErikNielsen]

Repeating some stuff, disagreeing with others, a third thing.

Venue is crucial -- find a place which can support a decent audience density per square foot (the show is going to feel empty otherwise, no matter how many people you have), and which isn't going to feel empty if only a fraction of the capacity shows up. Preferably it's a room where the back section can be closed off until the close seats start filling up. Definitely it's a room with nobody who's not there to see the show.

Make sure the sound system is reliable and sounds good. If it's not, go out and get a mic and an amp or something. If the show's a pain to listen to, nobody's going to care how good the acts are.

Charge money. Even if it's five bucks. ESPECIALLY if it's five bucks. Nobody ever didn't go to a show because it was five bucks. But the attention gap is real, and it's big.

"Sponsors" are inherently cheesy, and will impart a cheesy atmosphere to your whole show. I'm not saying don't do it (seriously though -- DON'T), but think long and hard before you decide to go that route -- if they're making your room seem less legitimate, a few extra bucks is hardly fair compensation.

The top of the bill is one thing. The bottom of the bill is the real thing. Book the best acts you can find at the top of the bill, but practice strict quality control across the board. Ask yourself, "is there an appreciable chance this person will bomb utterly?" Then ask yourself, "is there a good chance he or she will kill?" If you're not getting the right answers, don't book that person. This goes double considering that the crappy guy you just made an exception for is going to go up early in the show and cast a pall over the whole thing. (For the comics too -- not just the audience.)

(You can stretch this rule a bit if you're deliberately booking a low-level show. But still, keep it in reason. You may want to book the hard-working guy who has a solid act but doesn't quite have the charisma to do a great set yet, or the new guy who's still putting together his act but has a couple good jokes. But the guy who goes up there and rambles endlessly instead of telling jokes? The guy who turns on the crowd when they don't laugh? Don't book those people. Those people don't deserve stage time until and unless they start trying.)

By extension, I strongly recommend you don't solicit or acknowledge booking requests from anyone. Booking should be from the booker down, not the comics up. Don't make it personal -- too many shows to count have just been some open micer booking his open micer friends, and those shows suck for the world. Be ruthless on this... are your friends REALLY good enough to do the show? Maybe they are. I don't know them.

Get a good host. I prefer the same host every time, but it's your call. Medium to high energy, good straightforward charisma, solid material. Not a crowd work guy if you can avoid it -- hosts talking at the crowd instead of building the fourth wall for the comics is a classic rookie mistake. (Yes, some veterans can pull it off. That's their deal, not yours.)

Seriously, though, the venue's the tough part. Seriously. Find that first, then worry.

[mike_b]

I talked to some theater people and got a few prospective venues.

This is going to be a one-night improv show with whatever improv group my co-producer can find that are willing to work.

We'll probably have to charge for the show to cover the venue costs, but that's a really good point about charging anyway.

Thanks everyone!

[Talent Show]

I produce a successful monthly show in NYC and broke every single one of p13's (and most of Cameron's) very sound rules. My only advice to you, mike_b, is make sure you find a venue that will split the door with you instead of charging you rent. Best of luck!

[ErikNielsen]

Why? Rent is autonomy. If you pay rent, your transaction with the venue is done. The burden and the reward of bringing in audiences are entirely in your hands. You don't have a venue breathing down your neck, interfering with promotion, or going about things all wrong.

I mean, pay REASONABLE rent. Pay rent that you can recoup, preferably with at least a small profit. But door deals are for chumps who like being messed with.

(And if you can't get enough people to your show to justify the rent, maybe you should consider the possibility that the show just isn't working out.)

[MattLewis]

Why? Rent is autonomy. If you pay rent, your transaction with the venue is done. The burden and the reward of bringing in audiences are entirely in your hands. You don't have a venue breathing down your neck, interfering with promotion, or going about things all wrong.

I mean, pay REASONABLE rent. Pay rent that you can recoup, preferably with at least a small profit. But door deals are for chumps who like being messed with.

(And if you can't get enough people to your show to justify the rent, maybe you should consider the possibility that the show just isn't working out.)

Agree with most of this, but there are a few venues out there that are honorable about their door deals.

I'd make sure you have a relationship, before you go strictly off the door, and def get in in writing, clear up any ambiguities ahead of time not post transaction.

I'm pro door deal, but as far as pressure, yeah it can be stress, but it def decreases your liability, which also decreases your stress.