Oh, for the good old days.
The days when you could go to a comedy club on an open-mic/amateur night and see raw talent as it developed. For comics, it was a chance to work on your act, smoothing over the rough edges.
It was also a time to meet other comedians who were either above or below you on the talent ladder. Going to those small clubs and working on your set, you could get a sense of what other people were doing, and you could help each other with your material.
Those days are long gone for some locations across the country, including Chicago. But those are the days that Sheila Kay remembers well.
“There’s not, like, the little places where people start out and work together and stuff like that,” says Kay, a comic for almost 14 years now.
“I mean, you’re kind of on your own once you get into it now. There aren’t even as many open mics . . . where the first couple of days of the week, Monday or Tuesday maybe, were devoted to newcomers who worked on material.”
Kay, 44, got her start that way in her native Detroit. She went to a comedy show, talked to comics and they, in turn, invited her to watch a show.
“They would go into this little bar,” Kay says “and during the afternoons they’d go in and try the material. They’d do improv stuff, they’d work out together . . . they’d critique each other.”
Because of the lull that comedy has taken in the last few years, there aren’t as many of the small comedy clubs for people to go and work stuff out anymore. Other clubs have cut back on the days that they’re open, eliminating those Monday and Tuesday amateur nights.
The closing of the smaller clubs is what can hurt comics who are just starting out, because “they have nowhere to go to begin,” says Kay, who has performed on the Arts & Entertainment Network and MTV.
“You can’t go in front of a big audience and bomb and not have your ego be affected,” says Kay, who is at the Laugh Factory in Aurora next week.
“Whereas, when it’s an open-mic night and it’s just your friends and it doesn’t matter whether you’re good or bad, and you can experiment.”
Another factor to consider is how comics today are starting in the business.
“If you can get into a club and get guest sets and do whatever, then you can start getting paid almost immediately and start working as an opening act,” explains Kay.
“We had to really hone ourselves before we were let on a bill,” adds Kay, who came up with Tim Allen and Dave Coulier.
But newer comedians can still learn their craft, by watching those who have come before:
“They get to learn by our mistakes. There’s a lot more comics now than there ever have been. You can go into a comedy club anywhere across the county now, and sit around and watch comedy and pick up pointers, and learn things and watch the timing.”
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Sheila Kay performs at the Laugh Factory, 4395 Fox Valley Center Drive at the Fox Valley Mall in Aurora, starting on Wednesday. Call 708-978-2800 for show times and reservations.
The standup lineup
Here’s who’s working at the comedy clubs. Current sets are scheduled to run through Sunday; all new acts begin on Tuesday unless otherwise noted. Lineups are subject to change.
Funny Firm (318 W. Grand Ave.; 312-321-9500): Barry Sobel appears this weekend. Beginning on Thursday is the show they thought would never be seen at the Firm again: The Len Show, starring Len Austrevich.
Zanies (1548 N. Wells St.; 312-337-4027): Headlining through Sunday is Zanies favorite Fred Klett, who has appeared on Showtime’s “Comedy Club Network.” Find out on Tuesday why high-energy comic Doug Ferrari is nicknamed “Dougzilla.”