Bringer shows… the debate continues

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on July 11th, 2006

Got the following email from a reader:

Dear SHECKYmagazine:

I’m just starting out in comedy and am pretty much lost with how the business works. I’ve been doing open mic’s, bringers, and whatever else I could find for a little while now and have done fairly well. I definitely don’t expect anything to fall into my lap after such a short time doing comedy but I’m having a lot of trouble deciding whether certain endevours are worth it or not. For instance, I did a bringer at (insert name of comedy club). I did real well and the booker called me and told me he liked my stuff, etc. He wants me to do another one, but I have no way to tell whether he really liked my set or is using me to make money off of my friends… or both.

To which we reply:

You have stumbled upon just one of the downsides of the bringer. (There are many.) Our official position on bringer shows has been that they are evil. (We never did a bringer in our lives, but Male Half started doing the open mikes in 1981 and the Female Half in 1985. And in Philly. And we moved to L.A. in 1988. So our perspective is way different from yours.)

The Bringer Show is a “bad habit” that the clubs in some markets have gotten into, possibly born of tough economic times, back when the business wasn’t doing as well as it is now. And, quite simply, the clubs are asking the comics to do a portion of their work for them, in this case, advertising and/or promotion.

Our hope is that, just as market forces compelled the clubs to adopt this odious practice, so shall market forces make it unnecessary for them to do so in the future.

We are not optimistic, though. For one thing, one of the forces at work here is the desire of aspiring comedians in a crowded market to acquire stage time. Some, not all, see the bringer as a way to “buy” (or, to be more precise, “barter”) their way onto stage. Of course, this method, for the vast majority of comedians, has diminshing returns– for most, there are only so many people that they can pester before their “victims” cry “enough!”

Instead of expending all that energy and social capital to enrich a major club, we suggest directing it toward producing your own show (either through that same venue or at a venue of your choosing). In this way, you get what you want (stage time), you achieve it via the same methods (pounding the phones, mass emailing, myspace bulletins, leafletting, pestering friends and relatives, etc.) but you get it wholly on your terms. And, if you enlist the partnership of other comedians in a position similar to yours, you can pool your resources and divide the labor.

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