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You Are Where You Work -- Comedy Across the Country

© Vince Martin

(First, on a personal note: after writing last week's article on bombing, the other night I ate it big-time at a small room in the Chicago suburbs. Bombed. (Long whistle) KABLOOM! First time in a long time. Now I'm reading my own articles for advice. If you learn anything in this business, it's that the comedy gods have a good sense of humor themselves. Secondly, my apologies for the delay in this article. I've moved to the Midwest for the summer so time has been precious. There will be a second article posted on Wednesday of this week and then we'll return to the normal schedule.)

In my article last month, "Climbing the Comedy Ladder", I noted that comedians living in New York City or Los Angeles generally have different paths to success and different environments in which to develop their comedy career. In this article I'd like to take that a step further by looking at the state of comedy, so to speak, across the nation, and providing an understanding of the pluses and minuses of different geographical areas.

New York

I started my comedy career in New York, and stayed for slightly over a year before leaving. Comedians -- and even, on occasion, a booker -- are generally shocked to hear that a comic would leave New York. "Why? That's the comedy capital of the world?"

The Pros

New York is, without question, the best place in the world for a beginning comedian. It is the only place where a comedian with no act, no credits, and no connections can work any night he or she chooses. My last two months in New York I did nearly 60 shows. It would take an open-miker in many places up to three years to get that much experience. Plus, New York shows are good experience. Small crowds, high standards, and intelligent backgrounds. New York crowds make you work, and when working an audience of 12 in the back of a bar at 7:15 on a Wednesday night you WILL learn the difference between "good" material and A-level material. New York credits also have a lot of value. I booked a guest spot at an 'A' room in the Midwest simply by mentioning the fact that I had performed at Caroline's, arguably the top club in the city. Did I mention the fact that I had to bring 15 (yes, fifteen) people to do that spot? Uh, no. Must have slipped my mind.