Comedy tip from Louisville Laughs: Why am I not getting booked?

By Creig Ewing

A lot of people wonder why they don’t get booked for shows. Here are some possible reasons. If you see yourself in any, it’s a chance to work on some things:

You don’t have a solid 5-minute set

Don’t ask for spots other than open mics until you can perform for 5 minutes with consistent laughs where you expect to get laughs. Also without reading from notes or saying, “Let’s see, what else?”

If you are not sure where you expect people to laugh during your set because “all of it is funny,” you also are not ready.

You are hard to reach

You send an email asking for a spot. I reply. It takes weeks to hear back from you because “you don’t check your emails.” If that’s you, getting booked is going to be hard.

If you’re serious about comedy, you need to check email, messages, texts, social media accounts, etc. Regularly.

Sometimes opportunites have a very small window — such as a club needs a host that night. Those spots often go to the first person to respond.

You are too dirty

You probably have heard many, many times that comics who can work clean get more opportunities. We get it. Working clean is just not you. But, as we told you, that means you get fewer opportunities.

Many of my shows are at breweries and places where people may never have been to a comedy show before. They aren’t clean shows, but not over-the-top dirty.

Comedy club audiences know what they are in for. Other places out in the real world, not so much. We don’t want them to feel they were assaulted.

You are funny but unpredictable

You can crush a room one night, but walk the crowd the next time with weird stream-of-consciousness material or crowd work that doesn’t work.

One thing bookers like nearly as much as a comic who can fill the room is a comic they can count on to be consistently funny.

You have solid material but you have low energy or negative energy

You can enjoy watching some comics do the same set 100 times. For others, it’s a chore to get through it a second time. Stage presence is at least 50% of comedy. I’d say it’s 80% or more.

It doesn’t help to have great material if you look like you’re working at a job you don’t enjoy.

You can’t handle adversity

Anyone can stand up on stage and tell jokes when the crowd is on fire. It’s a lot different when the crowd is just not that into you. If the crowd doesn’t laugh where you expect, and it’s clear that you are shaken, that’s a strike against you.

If you turn on the crowd for being stiff or not a good crowd, that’s two strikes.

One of the first things comics have to learn is to not get rattled when things aren’t going great. It’s a hard lesson but a much-needed skill.

Being able to handle adversity separates headliners/closers from comics who have 45 minutes or an hour of material.

You don’t promote shows

Some comics feel it’s the booker’s or venue’s job to promote a show. Sure, they should. But say a club has a choice between two comics. No. 1 they know will work to bring additional people. No. 2 is not inclined to do so. Guess who gets the spot?

You don’t take stage time seriously

You never know who is watching your set. You do a great job, and you might get booked on a show. You show up looking like you got dressed in a dumpster and spend your set telling everyone how high you are, you are not going to get booked.

You don’t seem to be putting effort into comedy

Maybe you’re waiting by the phone to be booked, but if we never see you at open mics or shows, we assume you aren’t doing comedy anymore.

Also, if we see you and you haven’t changed the 5 minutes that has never really been that great, we aren’t rushing to book you.

You made a bad impression

You blew off other shows. Are consistently late. Were too high or drunk to perform. These things make people want to avoid booking you, but you can change people’s impressions by working at it going forward.

You just don’t fit into this show

Good show promoters like a mix of comics or comics that complement each other. You may be great but just not a good fit for the headliner. Or you may be as good as anyone on a showcase but you may be too similar in styles to a couple of comics booked before you.

You are oversaturated in the market

You’re a terrific comic, but if I see that you are on shows in the area all the time, I am less likely to put you on my shows as well.

You are just too good

You may really want to be on our little show at a brewery. But we may assume you’re way too busy or would want more money than our modest budget can afford.

So, what can you do to get booked?

Continue to work on your material and stage presence. It should always be a work in progress.

Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask to be booked or considered for shows in the future. You can also ask what you need to work on if you aren’t getting booked. It may sting but you aren’t going to advance thinking you’re perfect already.

If you think you are worthy of being booked, go to shows and open mics. Spots often go to comics who are top of mind. And you would not be the first comic to just be at the club for a show and be pressed to host in an emergency or offered a guest spot.