The LA Comedy Scheme

The biggest complaint I get from comics is trying to navigate the Los Angeles comedy scene. They feel that they keep running in circles, while accomplishing nothing. And they aren't wrong. The LA comedy scene is a showcase format that encourages sleazy bringer producers, ego heavy bookers, and gatekeeping strategies that make you feel hopeless. You are not crazy - the entire scene feels and is a pyramid scheme. I would know, as I lived it on both sides of the coin. I once was a bringer of guests, and then I worked behind the scenes for 4 years at Flappers in Burbank. So let me tell you, it's a jungle out there. Here is a breakdown of each LA Club and what their audition system looks like. 

The Comedy Store 
The Comedy Store is one of the longest running clubs in the world. Before stand up comedy was a thing, there was The Store. The greats started there and became stars because founder Mitzi Shore would showcase them in front of TV's biggest producers. Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Joe Rogan all started there. The Store also is known for their Roast Battles and three rooms: The Main Room, The Original Room, and The Belly Room. 

The auditioning process is pretty simple. On Friday between 12pm and 1pm you email [email protected] your name (NO tape, website, etc.) and then on Monday you find out if you made the 16 person lineup. You do 3 minutes in the Original Room, and you hope someone important saw you. Newsflash, no one does. 

If you want to get into the mix faster, participating in Roast Battle is the real trick. By showcasing your ability to make fun of your peers, you will find a potential way in. 

The only problem with The Comedy Store is that it's filled with awful bringer shows ran by scum. These NON PASSED wannabe comics convince newer comics to convince their friends to give them money, all while being abusive to new comics through threatening texts. These producers are scum. Rats. Pieces of trash who prey on the dreams of artists. So why does The Store let them use their room? Because Money. And newer comics don't realize the scam until it is too late. Stay away. I have heard too many comics tell me it hurts thinking how they thought being a bringer would help. It doesn't. 

The Laugh Factory 
With the owner of the Laugh Factory getting up in age, the club has gone through more bookers than The Store has gone through bringer producers. While the brand has lost it's luster, it still provides the most ridiculous audition process in Los Angeles. On Tuesdays you wait in line from 1pm until 5pm, hoping to be one of the first 10-15 comics. You will do 2 minutes in front of someone, who might tell you to come back for a 5 minute spot at the same open mic down the road. There are comics still waiting to hear they got passed who started a decade ago, but because the rotating door of bookers is such a nightmare, unless you get on the approved list during the right window of opportunity, you might find yourself still waiting. 

Your best chance of getting booked there is reaching out to Chocolate Sundaes, their Sunday show that showcases 3 comics, with a 15-18 month waiting list. Yes. I wrote that correctly. Over a year. It's a great show though. I did it in 2018. But it leads nowhere. It's just a feather in your cap. The Laugh Factory has less bringers, as comics have to be approved to perform, but don't feel crazy if communication seems impossible to understand. The club has so many passed comics, they don't need anymore. 

The Improv 
Easily, the classiest and most accessible of the three big clubs, The Hollywood Improv was started by Bud Friedman at the same time as The Store. The club has so many paid regulars with amazing credits, it's almost impossible to get stage time. There are around 14 "development" spots a week for young comics passed by the booker, all while there being hundreds of young up and coming comics eligible for those spots.

The Improv does have open mic bucket list auditions called Lab Work on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when the booker will stop by to watch. If she likes you, you might get a 5 minute spot to showcase your best set. This is easily the best opportunity for any comic at any stage. 
If all that work sounds too hard, your best bet is to produce a comedy show there. Start the show somewhere else and make it a success and eventually try to run it monthly in the Lab (the little room) to get a monthly spot. Besides that, The Improv just doesn't need you. The place is friendly to comics, due to the large bar lobby and open mic opportunities with Lab Work. The staff is always cool too. But it's just so busy and oversaturated there that becoming a regular is hard. You could try getting a door security job or bartender job there, but even then, you have to be really good at comedy to move into the development spots. 

The HaHa Comedy Club 
No one knows how to get booked here. You shouldn't worry about it. It's just a dump requiring comics to bring 5 people to every show, with random drop-ins you can't advertise because they show up after the show starts. These are the shows that wear down your friends and burn you out from worrying more about your friends finding parking than you getting your set ready.  

The Comedy Chateau
The newest club on the market, this North Hollywood club has a main and small room and is the only bringer club offering it's main stage to newbies. Auditions are every Sunday at 4pm, and by 4:05pm you will feel your soul leaving your body. The club is ran by Felix who puts himself on every show with his guitar to sing about his dick and other bodily fluids. If you drag friends here, they'll have to sit through that every time.   

The Chateau runs 20 person showcases, where each comic has to bring a certain number of guests, using a comp code to track, or they get knocked off the show, and the owner takes up their unused time. If you noticed, they never have "headliner weekends" where a big name does 3-4 shows over a weekend. Some celebrity comics use the bringer crowds to test upcoming Netflix material, but generally, the shows are populated by newbies. Traditionally, shows start 45 minutes late and your friends will have to buy more food and drink to get through the evening. No one is getting discovered there. You don't need them.  

The Ice House 
The legendary Ice House in Pasadena is currently under new ownership and are still trying to figure out their business model. There are no auditions as of yet, and the only shows are independent producer shows. If you know someone on a show there, ask them what the producer needs to be on their show. 

Flappers Comedy Club & Restaurant 
Flappers is a cross between all the clubs above. You get the big names like Kevin Hart and Jay Leno. You also get the showcase shows with the newbies asked to bring. And there are independent producer shows. There are comedy contests with cash prizes. And open mics daily. While the open mics are either $8 for 5 minutes, or $5 PLUS a one item minimum, Flappers is still the only comedy club with regular mics. You might have to mortgage your house or skip a car payment to go often, but you can get up.  

Auditions are every Wednesday. You do 2 minutes in front of the booker who then gives unsolicited feedback on your set. If you are really new, he'll ask you to bring people. You'll say yes, and then show up to a maybe half filled crowd and do 5 minutes, then you'll be asked if you want to buy a tape for $35. When I ran the school I worked hard to help students fill the room with lower ticket prices and tape discounts. The booker and owner were always upset by my "comic first" mentality. 
If you are a comic 3-5 years in, the booker will tell you that he can't use you because you don't bring anyone, and he might even say cruel things about your act. He's told comics I know:

"With your act, you might make it to the middle."

"I don't remember anything about you, you might as well talk about strawberries and cream."

"You're annoying. Don't hang out here." 

A regular Ted Lasso. 

You might even cry after when you realize all that bringing you did in your first few years meant nothing to them, and you built up no goodwill at all. So if you like feeling like crap and crying, Flappers audition is the perfect club for you! The booker also gives a terrible speech before auditions about how you shouldn't be an asshole, and then treats you like an asshole. It's a meta experience.   

I used to sit in on auditions and talk about how the club works, but the booker asked me to stop because I was "too positive."  

If you are an established headliner with access to the club, you can maybe email avails, but the booker won't email you back. 

Oh, if you do get a YooHoo room spot, the booker will give himself 5-10 minutes on the show, guitar free thankfully, and will talk about his small penis or how he wants to kill himself. So expect your friends to ask if he's okay. He's not. But just say he is so they will come back if you plan to as well. 

Overall Thoughts on the LA Comedy Scene
All of this may sound frustrating, and it is. That's why it is important to remember two things:

1. The Store, Laugh Factory, and Improv won't need you until you're famous. And that's okay.   
2. Flappers, HaHa, and The Chateau need you way more than you need them. Always remember that. 

While club spots are fun in the moment, the build up and aftermath are exhausting. Plus, when you think about how much "ring kissing" you have to do, do you really want your friends giving their money to these places, when you know they'll dump you ASAP? 

There are plenty of great bar shows, road gigs, open mics, and other venues where you can grow your act, meet great comics to network with, and still feel good about yourself. Too often, comics get discouraged because they view the clubs like high school seniors view college. The clubs will not make you famous.

That's why you want to work on your jokes in environments that aren't there to suck you dry. The Fourth Wall, Corbin Bowl, and Third Wheel Comedy all have opportunities you can use and network with the same comics you would have met at the smaller clubs. No reason to get into the pyramid scheme of bringing if you can meet the same people on your terms.

Keep your head up and know that no club defines you! You are the captain of your comedy ship. So sail on!