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How to Survive Your First Open Comedy Mic Night!
Everyone’s a comedian at H·MAC. Join us for our second open mic comedy jam featuring Damien Robinson, Sunday, July 22nd at 8 PM. All comedians are welcome.
Sign-ups will take place at 7:30 PM sharp. This event is free to the public to both attend and/or perform. If you’re new and interested in participating in open mic comedy nights, check out the list of tips below on how to be the ultimate act of the night.
Attend an open mic to watch. Watching what other comedians are doing will help build your self-confidence. You’ll see each comic going up one after the other, casually listing off their jokes from their notes. You might think that you can do that, but better!
Prepare your jokes. To avoid freezing up, it’s best to prepare your material. Many people attend open mics thinking they’ll speak off the cuff, which is a huge mistake. Perhaps you may be quick-witted, but wit runs out of gas real fast when there is no arc to what you’re saying. Additionally, if you are new to public speaking, you may not know how you’ll react to speaking in front of a room of strangers, especially if your joke bombs. Make a list of keywords to jog your memory so you aren’t reading your jokes off a page and disengaging from the room.
Record yourself. By recording yourself, it will help you get through your first open mic experience, as well as helping you move forward. Your recording will help you see where your jokes went right or wrong and what you can improve upon.
Move the mic stand. If you choose to remove the mic from the stand, be sure to set the stand to the side to cause less of a distraction. The stand can serve as a visual irritant to onlookers and prevents you from physically engaging with the audience.
Tell everyone it’s your first open mic. For the sake of your self-esteem, people will generally be more supportive, curious and excited to hear it is your first time. They will be intrigued by what you have to say. Sometimes, people who don’t recognize the performers going on stage, they may tune out, this will prevent this from happening to you. Every comic remembers their own first time performing, so they will likely be more supportive if they know it’s yours as well. Remember it is completely normal to be afraid.
So, go forth and be funny! Have a drink and check out the area’s funniest talent. It’s always a good time with our roster of comedians.
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