How To Put On A Comedy Night
Staging A Successful Stand Up Show For Your Venue
Venues Suitable For Comedy
- Pubs
- Rooms above pub
- Live Music venues
- Hotel function rooms
- Sports clubs
- Any room with chairs and a P.A system
A detailed breakdown of the equipment required can be found in Equipment for Stand up Comedy.
Stand-Up Comedy Format
Although there’s no real standard most comedy nights generally have 4 acts. One of these will be the compere who will speak between the other acts. The compere holds the whole night together. Each act (excluding the compere) will perform a set of around twenty minutes although your headliner should do more (30-40 minutes). Have a short break between each act so people can buy drinks, have a smoke, use the toilet etc. From start to finish your night should take around 2½ hours.
Where can I get comedy acts from?
Unless you’re a huge venue you won’t be able to book the likes of Chris Rock or Ricky Gervais. There are, however, many brilliant acts out on the circuit and there are many agencies out there that cater for smaller comedy nights. Try agencies like Mirth Control or Off the Kerb. Contact them and they’ll be more than willing to help you out and will work within your budget. For an idea of how a pro comedian works read making a career out of being a comedian.
How Much Will A Comedy Night Cost?
This will depend on the size of your venue, how many people you expect to attend and how much they’ll be paying. It’s best to not spend less than £400 if you want a quality bill. Moreover, if it’s your first comedy night at your venue it’s sensible to go for the best bill you can put together even if this does lower your profit margin. Between 5 and 10 pounds is an acceptable price for a good small venue comedy night.
What’s A Good Night For Comedy?
Weekend nights are always the best for attracting customers but in most cases these nights are already profitable. Choose a quiet night where there’s nothing else to do in the area. Sunday nights are great for a relaxed comedy night.
Technical Considerations Of Staging Live Comedy
- Ensure you have a clear high quality sound system. Have a spare microphone in case of any mishaps.
- If you have a bar in the same room as the performers close it whilst there on stage. No one wants to hear the k’ching of a till just before someone’s about to deliver a punch line or have people chatting at the bar.
- Choose some music to go on whilst the acts aren’t on stage. (A good tip is to use music that was popular when your main audience demographic were young). This will help create a nice atmosphere. As it gets closer to show start time slowly increase the volume. This will raise the level of chatter and give the room a nice buzz.
- Some acts may have a musical component to their routine (play the guitar for example). It’s handy to have small DI box around to cater for this.
- If an audience member is being consistently disruptive don’t mess around. Throw them out!
- Introduce your compere to the audience. If that’s a bit daunting try reading my Eliminating Public Speaking Anxiety article
Promoting The Comedy Night
- In venue promotion (posters, flyers etc)
- Local listings magazines
- Websites such as Chortle.
- Local paper
- Tell friends
Keeping The Audience
Comedy can often rely on the developing of a regular audience. Keep people coming back by,
- Keeping your comedy night always on the same night e.g. the second Thursday of the month
- Gathering a mailing list so you can remind people when it’s on.
- Reward regulars by giving them ticket deals. (you can do this through the mailing list)
- Give the night a catchy name
These simple guidelines will ensure any small venue comedy night runs smoothly and should help make it a tremendous success.
