New Open Mic Opportunities
MaranaLaughs is mixing things up in the local comedy community by offering open-mic pre-shows to their monthly clean comedy lovers in Marana.
For the uninitiated: Comedy open-mic shows offer a place for new comics to gain experience and for experienced comics to try new material that may or may not make it into their final sets. Typically, the audience is made up of other comics waiting for their chance to perform—you’d have to be a pretty diehard comedy fan to go to one of these things just to watch. That’s not a dig; open mics serve a purpose: to help comics get good enough that audiences will pay to see them.
Typical sign- ups are an hour before the show and require you to bring a couple of friends for support, but more importantly, to finance the cost of the show because the free admission comes with the obligation to buy at least two overpriced appetizers or beverages. If it weren’t or the booze, many of aspiring comics would not have the courage to take the stand, nor would the audience find them particularly funny.
Each comic gets three minutes to perform and exceeding your allotted time can result in the sound guy cutting off the mic, unless you're killing it; then he'll probably let you continue another minute or two.
The crowds that come for the shows that Randy and Stephanie Jenkins produce, however, are a couple hundred warm and inviting, encouraging folks that love to laugh so long as the comics respect them and their sensibilities. The place is filled couples enjoying date-night, or families enjoying the best value in live entertainment anywhere in southern Arizona, as the cost of admission is capped at $30 per family, no matter how large.
In a world of increasingly low standards, there are a few in entertainment committed to staying clean. Stand-up comedy is too often associated with crude language and sexual humor. Not them. They use "clean” comedians —those who consciously avoid profane language and offensive subject matter. Convinced that by replacing vulgarity with a variety of performers who say “No” to objectionable material their audience doesn’t have to be worried about embarrassing moments with family & friends.
They simply will not have blue or off color material--- and expect open-mic participants to say no to GRROSS. No making fun of God or religion or race, nothing offensive, no swearing, no sexual innuendo. Don’t even come close to the line in the open-mic and the crowd will reward you abundantly. Cross the line, and you will have a tough time getting out of the place and will be asked to leave triggering the trespass statutes! On the positive side, however, the audience will vote at the conclusion of the open-mic before the booked talent comes to grace the stage with their talent.
Participants will be provided their rankings and the best ones will be awarded paying gigs to open or feature at future shows, including upcoming weekly shows.
Sign up using the form below.
