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I'm hosting a stabby open mic in Pittsburgh tonight


That_One_Guy

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25 minutes ago, That_One_Guy said:

Sadly no. Actually the usual host was performing there. I'm still trying to get on there. Eventually I will. That's a "who you know" gig

Didn't know it was that hard to get on. I did it once mainly to annoy my friend because he sucked at comedy and I felt like twisting the knife because he doesn't take criticism at all which is horrible for a comedian.  My friend did it multiple times and he sucked the one time I went and saw him. His issue was that he only prepared a tight 5 and had such bad nerves that he'd get blasted before going on. I told him that he should have 10-15 mins of jokes planned if he's planning on doing a 5min routine. That way if anything is bombing he can switch on the fly, or if someone used that joke he could scratch that from the list.  That night that I went there I guess he'd already preformed twice at the improve before that. The MC that night used 3 of his Jokes and he just started dripping bullets. I was like dude I'll write you a joke just chill. He was like "no I got this" then kept saying fuck multiple times. His call comes and he can't stand straight at this point. He starts out by calling out the MC for stealing his joke, which it wasn't even his joke it was a common joke that wasn't even new. The whole power rangers color coded by race thing. Either way you don't call the MC out for being a joke thief for shit like that. Then he went into telling the whole joke....Again! However it was coming from someone drunk with no confidence. Then he had some other jokes that made no sense, and spent I swear 2 mins hitting on girls in the front. It was cringe I wish the MC would have came out and pulled him early.  He got all pissed at me for telling him how bad it was, so I did it next week and killed it. Rather than just taking my advice, He quits his job joins a clown school, then moved the the other side of the country and is working in LA as an extra and still trying clubs gigs. I haven't kept it much touch with him since then.

If get into the Improv have a large group of people sign that they're going to see you. This is why at the ticket booth they'll even ask who you're seeing. If you get like 8-15 people coming to see you, then they'll usually call you back even if you bomb because you got people in the door. 

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7 minutes ago, HardcoreHunter said:

Didn't know it was that hard to get on. I did it once mainly to annoy my friend because he sucked at comedy and I felt like twisting the knife because he doesn't take criticism at all which is horrible for a comedian.  My friend did it multiple times and he sucked the one time I went and saw him. His issue was that he only prepared a tight 5 and had such bad nerves that he'd get blasted before going on. I told him that he should have 10-15 mins of jokes planned if he's planning on doing a 5min routine. That way if anything is bombing he can switch on the fly, or if someone used that joke he could scratch that from the list.  That night that I went there I guess he'd already preformed twice at the improve before that. The MC that night used 3 of his Jokes and he just started dripping bullets. I was like dude I'll write you a joke just chill. He was like "no I got this" then kept saying fuck multiple times. His call comes and he can't stand straight at this point. He starts out by calling out the MC for stealing his joke, which it wasn't even his joke it was a common joke that wasn't even new. The whole power rangers color coded by race thing. Either way you don't call the MC out for being a joke thief for shit like that. Then he went into telling the whole joke....Again! However it was coming from someone drunk with no confidence. Then he had some other jokes that made no sense, and spent I swear 2 mins hitting on girls in the front. It was cringe I wish the MC would have came out and pulled him early.  He got all pissed at me for telling him how bad it was, so I did it next week and killed it. Rather than just taking my advice, He quits his job joins a clown school, then moved the the other side of the country and is working in LA as an extra and still trying clubs gigs. I haven't kept it much touch with him since then.

If get into the Improv have a large group of people sign that they're going to see you. This is why at the ticket booth they'll even ask who you're seeing. If you get like 8-15 people coming to see you, then they'll usually call you back even if you bomb because you got people in the door. 

Wow dude your friend is something else lol. Like holy shit that story you just told me is almost unbelievable. I've never seen him before obviously but it doesn't sound like comedy is for him lol. Vets will tell you you need to perform sober especially when you're just starting out. I do wish him all the best, but holy fuck should he try something else lol. Congrats to you for killing it by the way. As far as the improv is concerned, I've competed in the tournaments, but I've never been booked there. Signing up for the tournaments is easy enough, but when it comes to getting put on the showcase or opening for someone, it's all about who you know. It was even harder before management changed. If you didn't come in first place in a tournament and you couldn't bring 10 people to see you every time, forget ever getting booked there. Now that management has changed it's slightly easier, but I'm not cool enough with the right people I guess. It's not a matter of whether or not I'm funny enough. They have booked some pretty ass comics for the showcase since management changed (because aforementioned comics were cool with the dudes that throw the showcase). I'm pretty sure my time is coming soon.It's just gonna come later than others. Either way it doesn't matter. The longer they go without booking me the harder I'll grind. Just sucks that Pittsburgh is a shitty city for comedy. It has one club with limited opportunities for locals. Other cities have multiple clubs with a large variety of ways you can get on. 

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Must have been a tournament or just open mic armature night in general that I entered. I sure as hell wasn't opening for anyone. This was probably 5-7 years ago so policy may have changed since then as well. Yeah I can see how it's not easy in pitt for comedy. There really aren't a lot of talent scouts out here looking for an opening act for their big names.  In your case I'd say the issue is your apathetic style and cat eyes. Looking unique does help you stand out, but they don't like people standing out over the main act. I do enjoy Apathetic comedy, but they make for bad segway acts. They need this odd mix of enthusiasm to get the crowd warmed up but not to the point that you're going to upstage the main act. Perfect opening acts are this weird twilight zone of needing to be funny but not too funny as to upstage the main act, be memorable but not where people are going to think of the opener over the main act.  Probably why so many comedian openers I've seen fall into what I'd consider generic Dane Cook or Tosh clones. I'm sure you've seen them, young guys to old guys pretending to be in their 20s, dress casual trendy, talk fast, usually steal their jokes but tell them with confidence of writing them themselves etc. Probably why most unique and actually funny people are the ones behind the scenes writing their jokes. 

There are other less conventional routes you can take to getting your name out there. Go to Anime and game cons and do panels as a comedian. Pretty much what Uncle Yo did for years before he retired. Nerd followings can pull a lot of weight when it comes to filling seats at other venue; and it tends to value more unique looks and styles of comedy. 

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1 hour ago, HardcoreHunter said:

Must have been a tournament or just open mic armature night in general that I entered. I sure as hell wasn't opening for anyone. This was probably 5-7 years ago so policy may have changed since then as well. Yeah I can see how it's not easy in pitt for comedy. There really aren't a lot of talent scouts out here looking for an opening act for their big names.  In your case I'd say the issue is your apathetic style and cat eyes. Looking unique does help you stand out, but they don't like people standing out over the main act. I do enjoy Apathetic comedy, but they make for bad segway acts. They need this odd mix of enthusiasm to get the crowd warmed up but not to the point that you're going to upstage the main act. Perfect opening acts are this weird twilight zone of needing to be funny but not too funny as to upstage the main act, be memorable but not where people are going to think of the opener over the main act.  Probably why so many comedian openers I've seen fall into what I'd consider generic Dane Cook or Tosh clones. I'm sure you've seen them, young guys to old guys pretending to be in their 20s, dress casual trendy, talk fast, usually steal their jokes but tell them with confidence of writing them themselves etc. Probably why most unique and actually funny people are the ones behind the scenes writing their jokes. 

There are other less conventional routes you can take to getting your name out there. Go to Anime and game cons and do panels as a comedian. Pretty much what Uncle Yo did for years before he retired. Nerd followings can pull a lot of weight when it comes to filling seats at other venue; and it tends to value more unique looks and styles of comedy. 

Oh this is kind of awkward but I'm not the guy in the video :D

I'm so sad to say those aren't in fact my cat eyes lmao!

I didn't know you can just do a panel for a con tho. I'd love to do that as I am a huge nerd, but only for video games. Like if I could commentate GDQ that would be my dream job

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38 minutes ago, That_One_Guy said:

Oh this is kind of awkward but I'm not the guy in the video :D

I'm so sad to say those aren't in fact my cat eyes lmao!

I didn't know you can just do a panel for a con tho. I'd love to do that as I am a huge nerd, but only for video games. Like if I could commentate GDQ that would be my dream job

Well good to know 

As for panels, you just have to submit an application. You'd be surprised what they approve. There are some panels that are like chopstick etiquette, no idea how they fill 30mins. A lot of stuff is blog type opinion stuff that you think wouldn't be a panel.  Still if you can make a good routine and find your niche, and travel the cons as a comedian. It may be easier to have your name out there and get a following. 

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2 hours ago, HardcoreHunter said:

Didn't know it was that hard to get on. I did it once mainly to annoy my friend because he sucked at comedy and I felt like twisting the knife because he doesn't take criticism at all which is horrible for a comedian.  My friend did it multiple times and he sucked the one time I went and saw him. His issue was that he only prepared a tight 5 and had such bad nerves that he'd get blasted before going on. I told him that he should have 10-15 mins of jokes planned if he's planning on doing a 5min routine. That way if anything is bombing he can switch on the fly, or if someone used that joke he could scratch that from the list.  That night that I went there I guess he'd already preformed twice at the improve before that. The MC that night used 3 of his Jokes and he just started dripping bullets. I was like dude I'll write you a joke just chill. He was like "no I got this" then kept saying fuck multiple times. His call comes and he can't stand straight at this point. He starts out by calling out the MC for stealing his joke, which it wasn't even his joke it was a common joke that wasn't even new. The whole power rangers color coded by race thing. Either way you don't call the MC out for being a joke thief for shit like that. Then he went into telling the whole joke....Again! However it was coming from someone drunk with no confidence. Then he had some other jokes that made no sense, and spent I swear 2 mins hitting on girls in the front. It was cringe I wish the MC would have came out and pulled him early.  He got all pissed at me for telling him how bad it was, so I did it next week and killed it. Rather than just taking my advice, He quits his job joins a clown school, then moved the the other side of the country and is working in LA as an extra and still trying clubs gigs. I haven't kept it much touch with him since then.

If get into the Improv have a large group of people sign that they're going to see you. This is why at the ticket booth they'll even ask who you're seeing. If you get like 8-15 people coming to see you, then they'll usually call you back even if you bomb because you got people in the door. 

You've been exaggerating that story for years....I wasn't that bad and I never told any power rangers jokes....it was thunder cats

also, I hit on the lady who was there with her daughter....not both of them, jeez 

And finally, Devry is not a clown school you elitist....thanks to the connections I made there I'm currently working in middle management at a Circuit City, so suck it

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4 minutes ago, HardcoreHunter said:

Asked like 8 girls if they wanted to join "The Pat Attacks Hoe Army". All said no, which is why we need to bring back the draft. 

They didn't say "no"....they said "ho"....as in they were.......No one's going to join an army attacking their own kind

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