Hey Dave – I was in your workshop and we talked about getting last minute bookings at local clubs. You said not to put your home address on your promo material and just tell talent bookers you live on the “east side or west side” of your city rather than make it sound like you live someplace too far away to fill in if someone cancels at the last minute. It worked! I just got a call from a club manager. He said his guest emcee for tonight canceled and he needed someone local. I actually live an hour away but have plenty of time to get there. I’m not sure he would’ve called if he had known what town I actually live in. Thanks for the tip! – DB
How soon can you get here?!
Hey DB – You and I know the city you’re referring to, because you named it in your email. For everyone else I’ve left that info to be filled in since the same tip can be used just about everywhere to get nearby gigs. It’s a universal “stretching of the truth” and as you just proved – it works.
The advice I gave you is nothing I made up.
Comedians and speakers have been doing this for years and are the ones that filled me in about it. At first, I was like… are you serious? But if it’s worked for others, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t take advantage of it.
Let me explain how this works…
One of the problems talent bookers must deal with is last minute cancellations by comedians or speakers. Every booker who has been in this crazy biz for any length of time has had this happen. And it registers on their mental charts as an emergency because if a show is canceled no one – including the booker – gets paid. The only solution is to find a replacement fast. And a good way for a performer to get in with the talent booker is to be that replacement – and to be that replacement fast.
The tip we’re referring to starts with your promotional material and networking.
I’m on my way!
Talent bookers (in this case club bookers) want to know what comics or speakers live close enough to call in case of an emergency. When they need someone fast, they start calling local. If you’re within close enough driving distance to be there by show time – and that could mean hours as well as minutes – there’s no reason why you can’t be considered local.
Here’s an example of how this can work…
The manager of a major comedy club called me because he had one of these emergencies. His feature act had canceled, and he needed to find another one FAST!! The show started at 8 pm and his call for help was coming to me at… well… around noon.
In other words, eight hours before show time.
He was in a panic and wanted my help to find a local comic who was available and funny enough to play his major club that night. I knew a few and gave him names. He wanted to know where they lived.
Every honest location I gave him was at least an hour or two away and his panic shot up a notch. He kept saying he needed someone local, even though a two-hour drive in my opinion (and I’m sure in every working comic’s opinion) was local enough in this case. He still wouldn’t listen and probably wasted the rest of his afternoon raising his blood pressure trying to find someone within a twenty-minute radius of the club.
So, here’s the tip.
The goal is to keep your name in the emergency pool for the clubs within driving distance by appearing to be local.
For instance, if the closest club to you is in Dallas and you live an hour or two from Dallas – use Dallas as your home location when you audition and on your promo material. Same for those of you who live near Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta – or whatever major city that’s within driving distance.
That’s your home base – your home city.
It’s not important what suburb or small town you actually live in because the booker might not even know where it is. But when you say it’s the same city where his club and emergency are both located, you could be the calming solution to his or her rising stress level.
And to backtrack a bit, a recent FAQs And Answers article was about not getting too personal with your promotional material and networking. In other words, you don’t want to put your home address out there because you can’t control who will see it – and therefore, who will find you.
In some cases, that could turn into your own emergency situation.
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So, when you have an opportunity to showcase or meet the club booker, let him or her know you are local and available in case of last-minute cancellations (emergencies in their mindset). And if they ask where you live, be vague. Just say east or west side, or north or south – it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you’re in the same city (okay, close enough) and have a great chance of being there when needed.
But here’s a warning about this “stretching of the truth” advice.
If you get the emergency phone call, be honest about whether you can make the gig or not. Don’t push your luck and ruin any future opportunities you might have to play the club. If you live two hours away and the show starts in twenty minutes, thank the booker for calling and just say you’re not available.
But if you have enough time – take the gig and be there.
Thanks for reading and as always – keep laughing!
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For comments, questions about workshops and coaching please email – Dave@TheComedyBook.com
