If there's one type of show that can go off the rails quickly, it's a bar show. Bar shows vary in their execution, but I'm specifically referring to a show where people come to a bar, and despite the venue advertising in the public bathroom, the audience is sort of held hostage by the show. In your early days you'll do a lot of these. After your "bringer days" dry up in year one or two you'll start asking for spots at bar shows just to fill out your calendar. While many comics try to avoid bar shows, I would argue if you are getting paid, they are the best place to stretch your comedy stage presence and work on your act in an unstable environment. So here's a few things to work on and be aware of when doing a bar show - if only to save the show and your sanity.
Not All Bar Shows Are the Same Bar Shows A big mistake comics make is thinking the same types of people or management or staff will be making up the bar show environment. Some bar shows are in the wide open space, meaning everyone (those purposely there and those unwilling) will see them. Sometimes it's an isolated back room. And sometimes its a weirdly spaced out bar where most of the crowd is near the stage and the other patrons are behind a half wall unseen but their rowdiness is totally felt and heard. Then there's the staff and management. Sometimes the staff is excited because they'll get a free show, and sometimes they're dreading the show because they know the crowds get restless and tips decrease as people leave early. As a general rule, I would suggest you don't make fun of the bar or the waitstaff. Don't mention how the bathroom looks like a murder scene or how the waitresses have low cut clothing. No one wants their workplace or outfit the topic of conversation. As for the crowds - it's feast and famine. It's always a mixture of local bar flies, comic's guests, and strangers wandering in from "barkers" begging people to attend the show. Some crowds are game for the night's festivities while others are clearly upset they've been dragged into a comedy night no one but the comics wanted. Regardless of the types of crowds and staff, always approach with a clean slate and open mind. The last vibe isn't always this current one. You Can Only Control What You Can Control As you see the show unfold, keep in mind, other comic's sets are not the same fate as yours. Maybe a comic bombs hard up front. Maybe a heckler takes control early on. Maybe there are TV's blasting in the background. Maybe the mic and amp echo. Maybe the waitstaff and bartender are talking loudly. There's only so much you can manage in your limited capacity. If comics are struggling, take note if they're just plowing through material or being present with the vibe of the room. If they are just acting like it doesn't matter if the crowd is there or not, you can change that vibe by doing some crowd work up front with funny loaded questions. "Who came out because they knew it was comedy night?" When no one answers you make a joke like "Good see my social media presence is doing great!" When a couple people raise their hand, you say, "Who'd you come to see?" When they say one comic you can go, "Let's hear if for [Comic] dragging his friends here! Man, that car ride home is going to be awkward." You can still acknowledge the awkwardness without trashing the venue. And by being present and in the moment, the bar flies might take notice and admire you're not just telling jokes to a dead room. Too many comics try to tell as many jokes as possible - if its working then great, but it is confusing the crowd when clearly no one is laughing. Bring the Energy and Talk Fast One great trick in a tough bar room is to bring the energy and get them to pay attention. This isn't the little room at Flappers or The Ice House. This is sink or swim, and if your room doesn't have the natural ambience of a club room with a manager to throw out hecklers, be the force of nature they can't deny. You'd be surprised how a little more energy out of you can get them to shut up. In theory, you need to be more entertaining than what's happening in the room. You need to be more interesting than a sports game on TV or a pretty bartender. Acting too cool for school won't do it. There's different energies for different rooms. When the crowd comes to a club show, they are expecting comedy. They want to listen. Theatre shows have a built in maturity. The audiences know their place. Bar shows don't inherently demand that type of dedication. Talking faster than a heckler who can beat you to the punchline is a way to maintain control of the room. By matching the chaos you end up controlling the chaos. A laid back style might be the death of you in a show dominated by blenders screeching, waiters yelling, and the sounds of outdoor shenanigans. Don't Be Afraid to Play the Front Row Only If you see other comics try high energy and fail, go small. Back in 2016 I was at 200 person bar show in San Luis Obispo. The crowd turned on the opening comic, and I was told if I didn't get the crowd into the show, they weren't going to let the last two sets perform. So instead of trying to go big, I went small. I got the first two rows laughing. Eventually, the rest of bar got quiet when they heard the crowd work generate laughs. Soon, the whole room was in my control. By creating an intimacy between me and a few guests, the others got jealous. The show ended up being a success, and I got paid an extra $50 for saving it. I used the same trick in 2021 at a bar show coming out of the pandemic. It's a bit of a Hail Mary move, but when you see the crowd is out of it, you need to get a few on your side, so the rest will follow. Final Thoughts Bar shows can be low paying (or non-paying) and annoying. They lack the controlled environment of a club or theatre show, and often they have little or no advancement opportunities. But they do one thing the safety net of club bringer shows don't - they make you a stronger comic. You learn techniques you wouldn't otherwise. And when you start getting paid casino room or bar room shows, you'll need that experience. Last year I played 20 casino shows and around 100 bar shows. So when I had 1,000 seat theatre shows, the ability to handle a lot of energy was already self taught. So don't see them as a night off - instead see them as a night to step up.
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In sports we have a word for when an athlete gets into their head and loses confidence in themselves: The Yips. In comedy, this happens too. That killer joke starts to lose steam. Your voice begins crackling at points it never did before. The act becomes dated and you start hating yourself and/or the crowd for not getting and giving the desired response. It happens to everyone, even the best of pros. Why? Because we are complex human beings whose lives are changing every moment.
From the schedule we lead to the food we consume to the money we make - all create the person we are and how we feel about ourselves. Too often we live in the false reality that whatever is will always be - when that clearly isn't the case. All that is today is just for now, and as you change, your comedy will ebb and flow. So when you find yourself in a slump, you can either push through, pause and reset, or quit. But regardless of your choice, just know the circus continues on whether you do or do not. What Defines the Comedy Yips aka Slump? For everyone it is a bit different. For some it has to deal with the amount of bookings they're getting. For others it is the amount of writing they are churning out. And for others its the amount of laughter they're getting while on stage. Depending on how long you've been doing stand up, the yips will feel differently for each individual, but it's important to know that these slumps are normal and they happen to everyone. So keep that in mind when reading the rest of this article. Why Do the Yips Invade Our Psyche? As you evolve as a comic or performer, your performance and bag of tricks will change as well. Sometimes the yips aren't because you are getting worse at stand up, but because you are outgrowing your old self. Yes, you might be in a slump because you've outgrown the rooms and jokes you relied on earlier in your career that no longer fit your stage presence. This is an easy fix, as you want to start reaching out to venues with better stages and longer sets. In a weird way, the comedy gods are telling you it's time to separate yourself from those who aren't on the same path. This is normal. Do not feel bad about having to move on, as the longer you stay doing the same places and same types of jokes you won't grow. In fact, sometimes the jokes worked before because you brought a nervous energy to the joke. But as you became better on stage, the joke that exposed your rookie mentality doesn't work the same anymore. But what if you're playing the right venues but just feeling "off?" When this happens, there are usually other factors involved. Sometimes it's about the relationships in your life. Maybe you are going through a breakup or you've met someone who makes you feel better about yourself. Maybe you've lost a loved one. After I lost my cousin, it took me months to feel good to be on stage again. And when I was dating a girl that made me second guess everything, it crept into my comedy. When we broke up, I was able to make jokes about the relationship, and got myself back on track. Sometimes it's your health. When I was really fat (280 pounds) I was able to do jokes about my weight and dating life that had a great "sitcom" feeling to it. After my heart condition I lost over 80 pounds, so I had to change my jokes around. My jokes about sweating and being a Bakersfield 9 just didn't work anymore. I found that my jokes about dating women out of my league did really well, as people connected to the idea I lost weight and started dating new people. As my health changed, my art changed. Just like when comics have kids, get married, switch jobs, or move, they'll find new points of view to pontificate on. Sometimes it's just your physical health or environment that has changed how your material or crowd work translates on stage. What About the Idea of Luck? Here's where my belief in the cosmos and the metaphysical come in. Sometimes we are just in a slump. In sports winning begets winning and losing begets losing. That happens in life too. Sometimes you're just like Job in a story where the world is against you for no specific reason, except it just is. After I was let go last year, I've had my car stolen, teeth issues, gigs canceled, women dump and ghost me, and I've even had my new car need bumper repair. When it rains, it pours. That also goes with success. You get one big gig, and suddenly you get all the big gigs. So many of my actor friends tell me this how their career goes. Homeless one day, in a Super Bowl commercial the next. Western world mindset doesn't allow for luck, but from Biblical times to today in eastern cultures, luck is very much a cause and effect variable. We like to think hard work trumps "bad luck," but that simply isn't true. Plenty of hard workers get into slumps. Plenty of song writers have one hit wonders. Plenty of salesmen have devasting slow years. It's the stuff of literature, film, and true crime stories. Go watch a few Dark Side of the Ring episodes on Hulu about the rise and fall of pro wrestlers and you'll see that you can be the top guy one day and end up in jail later in life. Sometimes its choices made and sometimes its injuries and bad management. Either way, luck does play a part in the rise and in the fall. One of my favorite books "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss deals with this very idea. Here's a part of the colorful poem we usually forget. Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss (excerpt) Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest. Except when you don't. Because, sometimes, you won't. I'm sorry to say so but, sadly, it's true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you. You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You'll be left in a Lurch. You'll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you'll be in a Slump. And when you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done. You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win? And IF you go in, should you turn left or right... or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind. You can get so confused that you'll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The Waiting Place... ...for people just waiting. Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or the waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for the wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting. Final Thoughts When you do go through a slump, the trick is keep pushing through. Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" deals with that concept with the lines: And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ There is no one size fits all way to get out of a slump, but if you can fight through and give yourself grace, I know you can find a way back to where you were. So often, comics quit after a string of bad sets or experiences. I'm not going to judge, as we all come from a different place. But when Joan Rivers was asked if any of her friends "didn't make it," she responded with "Everyone made it who stuck with it." And that's the trick. First, always remember the yips will happen and second, if you don't quit, you'll come out stronger on the other side. You might have to pivot. You might have to move. You might have to say goodbye to some people. But if you want it, and its meant to be, then keep going until the slump is no longer holding you back. |
Paul Douglas Moomjean Blog's About What's on His MindBlogging allows for me to rant when there is no stage in the moment to talk about what's important and/or funny to me. Archives
February 2025
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