Creating Relationships From the MC Spot
I once opened for a relatively well-known headliner, and mentioned something before his introduction about how I was psyched to be opening for him so I could put it on my resume. I thought it was funny. The crowd didn't, but they did seem to enjoy the first five minutes of the headliner's set, during which he made fun of me mercilessly. Lesson learned.
3. Memorize the introduction.
"Are you guys ready for your headliner?" (cheers and applause) "All right!" (room comes crashing to a halt while you fish around in your pockets for the card with his intro on it)
4. Pronounce the comedian's name correctly.
This sounds easy enough, until you have to open for Costaki Economopolous. Costaki's a great guy, and a fantastic headliner, but his name is a pain in the neck.
5. Say "Yes".
As an emcee, you have the home-field advantage. You know the good bars, where to chase skirts, maybe a bartender or two who can give you guys a deal or a bouncer who can get you in for free. If the headliner feels like going out, for God's sake, go! This is your chance to not only create a personal relationship but to become useful to the headliner.
And, if you made plans with your girlfriend, too bad for her; she's going to have to understand eventually, so you might as well get it out of the way now. (Besides, if she breaks up with you, you'll always find new material there, so you win either way.)
6. Don't speak shop unless spoken to.
Bear in mind that, at a solid club, the headliner has probably done something on the order of 5,000 comedy shows. He's worked with hundreds of emcees. Most of those emcees are at least hoping for a reference, advice, even just a compliment. And, right now, he's tired, he's been on the road for four weeks, and the last thing he wants to hear is some young emcee analyzing a joke that bombed or saying, "Excuse me, can you give me some advice?"
What is difficult to understand, particularly when you're just starting out as an emcee, and you're excited every day at the club, and nervous every time you go on stage, and in awe of every headliner who walks through the door ("Oh man, I saw him on TV!) is that comedians get tired of comedy. Even
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