Hi all,
I have recently done my first open mic and it went quite well so I'm going to try and do some more. I would really like to do this as a career and was wondering how you go about doing that. Do you target certain venues where there is a chance of progression? Or just do as many open mics as possible even if the crowds are rubbish and they seem a bit pointless? I should also point out that this isn't me getting ahead of myself; I'm not expecting to get paid gigs any time soon or anything like that, I just don't want to make any mistakes that will limit my opportunities in the future.

Thanks as always

The biggest positive and also one of the negatives about stand up comedy is that there are no rules about how to do it.

All I would say is gig, gig, gig.

Do as many gigs as you can, gigs to students, gigs to OAPs, do clean gigs, military gigs, corporate gigs, gigs in rooms above pubs, gigs in "proper" comedy clubs, take every opportunity you can (whilst making sure that you are not being totally exploited).

Try to learn something from every gig and remember that the easiest time to experiment in your "career" is at the beginning when no one knows who you are, so if you want to try something different then give it a go.

Also write as much as you can, keep turning over material, keep what works, re-write what doesn't or save it for later (never throw anything away).

Be nice to everyone you come across, that lowly open spot you met yesterday could be selling out the Hammersmith Apollo in 2-3 years time. Comedy is a people business, treat people well and you'll go further than if you are a dick.

Personally I would say don't worry too much about "progression" until you have been gigging for a few years (or at least done several hundred gigs), you don't want to get too many opportunities before you are ready, people in comedy have long memories, they'll remember you as a rubbish open spot for years, it's very hard to change people's initial opinions, much better to improve under the radar and then burst onto the scene when you actually know what you are doing and can repeat it on a frequent basis.

Good luck and remember to enjoy yourself, if you're not enjoying it then neither will the audience.

Thanks very much for your advice, having seen some of your material it means a lot.

Speaking of getting gigs, I live in brighton and was wondering if anyone knows of any pure comedy open mics that run here. Although I am willing to travel to london I would prefer to find some gigs closer to home.

Cheers

Join the Comedy Collective group on facebook - it's a great way to find out about venues that are booking open spots:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/139773036092597/

One of the administrators of that group also compiles this, which should help fining clubs in Brighton:

https://www.facebook.com/TheComedyClubMap