New material comedy night encourages risk and creativity in Eden Prairie

Comedians often learn the hard way that a brilliant joke in their heads doesn’t always land well with audiences.

Writing and brainstorming new premises and ideas is part of the fun for comedians but also a challenging creative process. You never know how an audience will respond to a new bit until you try it on stage.

For comedians who frequently feature or headline at comedy clubs, corporate shows, and theaters, one challenge is “turning over” material periodically. Although they may have a fantastic 45-minute set that they can perform for months or even years, comedians eventually face the expectation of presenting a fresh show when rehired by the same club or company.

Comedians are left with two choices to test their new material: either try it out at an open mic night or during a regular paid show.

Therein lies the dilemma.

Experimenting at a paid gig?

When a venue or company hires a comedian for a show, they expect the performer to bring their very best to the stage.

The club is paying for laughter, so you better deliver laughs.

Most comedians who are working professionally will not experiment around too much during a lucrative gig – it’s not worth the risk of a bad show. They might slip in a new joke or two amidst some proven material to see how well it works, but many won’t go beyond that. For that reason, it’s hard to do a long chunk of new material or a full, lengthy story that’s new in these settings. That’s unfortunate, because these are the type of people you would be performing for: they seem like the perfect audience to test new material on.

Trying the open mic

The other option is to work the material out at an open mic.

Open mics allow anyone, be it a professional or an absolute newcomer, to get on stage and see if they have any skill in delivering laughs. Seasoned comics and newcomers alike find open mics the perfect opportunity to test out a couple of new jokes.

But, there are limitations: performers typically only get 3-5 minutes, which may not be enough for longer stories or extensive riffing on new or existing topics. And, if the open mic is located far away, driving a long distance for a brief three-minute comedy session may not seem worth it, especially after a stressful day.

Depending on the open mic, there may be a very small turnout and that might be primarily other comedians. As a result, it may not accurately gauge whether the material works in a real-world setting.

Comedians can also serve as an interesting sample group. We comics tend to enjoy very odd and borderline jokes. Moreover, most of the time, we’re busy making notes or fretting about our own sets, leaving us with less attention to spare. While I can’t speak for everyone, I’m definitely guilty of that. As a result, an open mic might not provide the most reliable litmus test for the material’s success.

New alternatives for testing new material

That said, some interesting variations of the open mic are taking place across the Twin Cities.

In St. Paul, at Papa Legba Lounge, there is a combination workshop and open mic. Before the open mic begins, comics participate in a workshop where they can run their ideas and premises with other comedians, seeking ideas, tags, and general feedback before performing in front of an audience. Here, you’ll receive genuine reactions from other comics genuinely interested in helping you improve.

Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy at the Mall of America is trying something similar with a show called “Work it Out Wednesday.” It’s a workshop first, where comedians can try out new material with each other, receive tags and advice from veteran comics, and make some connections. Again, it’s a very supportive atmosphere where the other comics are tuned into what you are trying to do on stage and offer supportive feedback. After the workshop, there is an open mic session where comedians can try out their new ideas.

At Fat Pants Brewing in Eden Prairie, YellowBrick Comedy has a new offering called “New Material Night,” starting Wednesday, July 26.

This is a unique hybrid of a showcase and an open mic, exclusively for veteran performers who have the chops. Each comic gets a full 10 minutes to work out whatever new material they’ve got in mind. The longer sets enable the comedians to work on stories or riff off a bit that isn’t fully developed yet.

YellowBrick Comedy’s New Material Night will periodically alternate with regular headliner shows at Fat Pants Brewing and other venues.

Barbara Champion, founder of YellowBrick Comedy, is excited about the new format.

“We’re encouraging the comics to experiment and take risks and try jokes or stories they might not get a chance to perform in other settings,” says Champion. “Some of our favorite comics are joining us for our first show so we know it’s going to be a blast.”

"New Material Night" at Fat Pants Brewing in Eden Prairie
Wednesday, July 26
7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $5 in advance at Eventbrite, or $10 cash at the door
www.yellowbrickcomedy.com

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of a periodic comedy-focused column, Little Joke on the Prairie, by Eden Prairie resident Pat LaVone. He is a writer, speaker, stand-up comic and storyteller. During the original comedy boom, Pat began performing stand-up and sketch comedy in the mid-1980s. After a brief 30-year hiatus, he returned to the stage to perform stand-up and storytelling shows as well as humorous keynote presentations. He currently produces shows for YellowBrick Comedy and performs at various theaters and clubs around Minnesota.