Interview with she who runs the open mike at the Hollywood Improv

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on March 9th, 2009

Here’s an article in the LAT, written by comic Pat Mellon, that affords a peek into the mind of Reeta Piazza who runs the open mike at the Improv on Melrose.

“I do a great open mike now,” she says, beaming as she explains how and why it’s been streamlined since the days of chatty hosts and overzealous audio guys. Now, there is no host — the comedians are brought up over the PA, which is also how they do it at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood on Tuesday nights, and Piazza tries to watch every set. For comedians, that’s huge, because there are basically two reasons we do open mikes: (1) for practice, or (2) so important people see us. The UnUrban Coffee House in Santa Monica is a great place to practice Thursday nights. But if you want to catch the right eye, the Improv is where you should be.

A must-read for anyone starting out in L.A. … or anyone who is moving to L.A. and planning on doing open mikes.

Wanna know how Los Angeles works for all but the most experienced standup comics? Read the whole thing.

(Thanks to former SHECKYmagazine columnist Paul Ogata for the heads up!)

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