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1. Ralph Tetta says:

   September 6, 2006 at 1:44 pm

   and just a clarification; I did not form this policy, I’m merely the person the club trusted to get the word out. I wouldn’t have the comedy community thinking less of me.

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2. Comix Cafe Buffalo says:

   September 6, 2006 at 9:21 pm

   Although I wasn’t around for it, this philosophy seems to have come from the 80’s comedy explosion era. The former owner of my club did the same thing, it was either work at his club or the FunnyBone. When there were other clubs in the area, I encourage my local comics to get work at the competition. I believe that the more stage time you get, the better you become, so that when you work my club, you are a better performer. All that I asked was that you didn’t take a lower slot within 3 months (before or after) the gig at my club, i.e, if you headlined my club I asked you didn’t feature at the competition within 3 months. I didn’t want the competition to say, “They were only good enough to feature at OUR club”.I don’t ever remember the FunnyBone cancelling shows because of lack of comics, so I am not sure if the idea of working one club or another really works.Randy ReeseComix Cafe – Buffalo

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3. pg says:

   September 7, 2006 at 11:06 am

   <>Sheckymag wrote:<> <>And, if the market conducted itself in a sensible manner (like in Boston and in Seattle and San Francisco and elsewhere), the big rooms knew it was in their best interests to allow the small rooms to promote themselves as they saw fit.<>As a comedian who took on the role of “small room” show producer here in Seattle, I can vouch for the positive vibes given to us from Ron Reid and Carl Warmenhoven at Seattle’s Comedy Underground. From the beginning of our <>ComedyNight<> project (an alt-comedy showcase in a variety show style at a hipster/indy rock bar known as The Mirabeau Room,) they were supportive and gracious–I think they both knew that our show would help a great group of up & comers get more experience, gain more confidence and try different things–and that all of that would, in the end, help them perform better and enhance their marketability…which would, in the end, help the Comedy Underground.I do have to point out that the response from the other club in town was not as positive. As a result of my producing this show, I was barred from setting foot on the property–as a comedian or as an audience member (this despite the fact that our show was on a night that this other club wasn’t even open.) I’ve also been told that more than a few of the up & comers who performed on our show were later threatened with loss of open mic time and were often berated for their continued work on our show.I’ve always felt that was short-sighted…but, it’s certainly not an uncommon approach in our industry, is it?pg–seattlePS–Our 31 week run at The Mirabeau Room ended tonight, with the best attended show in our run…and for a mid-week, alt-comedy show without any big names at a non-comedy venue and a non-existant marketing budget, we did very well throughout our run. The venue is closing, to be remodelled and to be sold as a non-entertainment restaurant. Even though this experience has cost me the option of working at one of the two local clubs in town, I wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to produce another similar show at another non-comedy club venue in the future. The comedians we’ve worked with were certainly vocal in their appreciation for the work put in on the show and their enthusiasm for doing it again soon.

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