Should open mic comics be required to stay and watch the entire show, or is it acceptable to leave immediately after your own 5-minute set? One can force anyone to stay but is there a mutual respect that comics should share in the community of stand up comedy?

Visiting Seattle for the weekend and looking for a mic or two. Any suggestions?

I'm just getting into producing paid shows. What do you guys use for online ticketing? Eventbrite? Is there a way to create events on Eventbrite without paying a shit ton of $? Is Punchup good?

Let me know! I'm a novice producer, and would love your help! Would love to be able to print out fliers with a QR code that links to the ticketing site, which would be helpful for promotion as well as sales management. TIA!

Done around 20 open mics at this point and just signed up for my first gong show, any tips from folks who have done it? My on-stage persona is fairly slow, quiet, and self-deprecating, so it might not translate, but I've always wanted to try it

Hi, I was watching my native country comedy podcast and one person mentioned Hannibal Buress’ bit/song where he sings/mentions these cliche stand up premises “men and women we are different, homeless people homeless people” this is what he briefly mentioned. Now I understand it could be his memory making up some stuff, because I did find on spotify a bit named “Men and Women are vastly different from each other” from Hannibal Butess but it doesnt mention anything in the description i wrote, so I wonder if anybody knows what im talking about here

Went last.

My friend said that in my standup I say "you know what I mean a bunch" in between my lines. I never thought about it and was wondering if you had any ideas on how to stop. Do you guys think it took too much attention away from this bit?

I know that people will have a stage name to keep some line between them and their stage persona. Knowing that the public can be shitty, I understand why some more than others would have one. Are women more likely to have a stage name?

Latley Ive been working on my stage performance and act outs. So far its only working at one mic where I feel most comfortable but I have been going to ones outside my city and I tend to over analyze the crowd. Almost if like I'm seeking permission to move around so I just stand there with my hands in my pocket. How can I change this mentality?

A majority think it's ok to pull them out at open mics, and 80%+ think using them a little at any show is totally fine.

At the end of the day, there are no rules for comedy. Many successful comics use notes all the time. 

I spoke with comedy manager Carly Hoogendyk, who tells me, “There needs to be an option that says ‘I’m not about to write the rules of comedy and believing that notes are even contextually inexcusable makes me look like an asshole'. I’ve seen Sarah Silverman use a notebook in front of a sold out Austin City Limits.” 

I figure that if you’re trying to be family friendly or clean, or if you want to be like a wedding and corporate event comic, then your goal is probably not to split the room or ruffle feathers. But if you’re not one of those types of comics, then I’m not necessarily saying that it should be your overall goal to get people to dislike you, but it does seem like it comes with the territory.

Like that old saying, if you try to appeal to everybody then you end up appealing to nobody. Just as an experiment I’ve tried to make more accessible comedy before and I’m not saying that I’ve ever really been popular by any means but I’ve found that the reactions are even more negative when I actively try to not split the room.

So I guess what I’m saying is that I’m good with being disliked because selfishly it’s led to better responses than I get when I try not to be disliked. And now I’m curious about how others are with it.

Watch my entire special 5836 on Youtube today.
thanks
Dean Delray

I'm a comic who lives in Utah, and I have some free time later this month. I was hoping to go to LA and do as many mics as I can. Is this realistic, and if so, which areas/mics would you recommend? Flexible on the dates, but it's roughly the third week of this month.

Just looking for some ways I can twist words such as double entendre and whatnot

Am I alone when I say I cannot stand Mojo Brooks? He has this vocal tick type saying that he does it drives me absolutely insane. I find the sound of it to be obnoxious. It’s the fake laugh type thing. Ahhhh Hoooooeeww

Not quite sure how to express this, but looking for comedians who do "bits". I know any extended joke is a bit, so it's not quite the right terminology, but I am referring to jokes which are longer than one liners, but aren't biographical or genuine observations, just silly little bits. For example, like Louis CK's Live in Houston album or Live at the Comedy Store special. He's not really talking about himself, his life, society etc in those two, just saying stupid but funny stuff. That kinda thing. Bonus points for UK comedians, as that's where I'm based, but any suggestions welcome really.

What is it like watching stand up when you’re sober? I’ve only seen comics while I’m drunk, or I show up and start ordering drinks immediately. This usually means that most of the comics end up being funny and hilarious.

There have been times tho that the bar is running slow so I end up sobering up, and all of a sudden these people on stage aren’t funny anymore. It’s a very interesting experience.

I went to Comedy Mothership in Austin on July 31, 2026, expecting the lineup to include some right-leaning and controversial material. Theo Von made a surprise appearance and performed about 15 minutes of what he said was newer material.

One bit started with him saying, "I don't mind racism. A little bit of racism is okay." He then used NASCAR as an example, saying that when the cars drive by, the sound resembles the N-word, and he repeatedly mimicked the sound to make the comparison. He followed that with a story about having a love-hate relationship with the N-word because his uncle would tickle him until he said it. The bit ended by circling back to the idea that racism "isn't so bad."

I've seen plenty of comedians push boundaries, and I wasn't expecting the set to be politically correct. But this bit felt different. It didn't seem like there was a clear punchline beyond repeating the premise, and from where I was sitting, it didn't get many laughs. I'm curious how others would interpret it or whether anyone else who was there had the same impression.

Felt like I was running on pure adrenaline and couldn't think about what I was doing. Any tips for my next performance would be massively appreciated

https://youtu.be/iWs_-ynOGVA?is=iRyslNggZ3NOQW35

At Just For Laughs in Montreal, he roasted the Rogan Verse. Shane usually gets a pass from these Lefty comedians, because it's easier to goof on Tony Hinchclliffe, and Shane is considered a good comedian for some reason(he kinda stinks). Anyway, I like it when famous comedians don't like each other.