August 18, 2025 • 15 mins
Want a packed room and zero complaints after comedy night?
Learn how to:
- Book talent your members actually love
- Avoid the AV pitfalls that kill energy
- Set expectations that save your inbox
- Budget for the headline act, not just the dinner
Comedy night should be a club highlight, not a source of member complaints. In this episode, entertainer, club favorite, and PCR host
Denny Corby breaks down exactly how to host a packed, laughter-filled comedy night that delights members and drives real engagement.
Download the Ultimate Comedy Night Blue Print here
From avoiding amateur mistakes like bad room setups and poor AV to booking headline talent that matches your club's vibe, Denny shares a proven blueprint tailored for the private club industry. He also uncovers why many comedy nights bomb and how a few simple changes can turn things around fast.
Whether your club has sworn off comedy night or you're planning your first, this episode is a must-listen for every GM, event planner, and club marketer who wants events that members rave about.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club
Radio Show, where we give youthe scoop on all things private
golf and country clubs frommastering leadership and
management, food and beverageexcellence, member engagement
secrets, board governance andeverything in between, all while
keeping it fun and light.
Whether you're a club veteranjust getting your feet wet or
somewhere in the middle, you arein the right place.
(00:20):
I'm your host, denny Corby.
Welcome to the show.
In this episode I'm going tohelp you pack the house without
packing an apology email to themembers the next day.
We are diving into how you canhave the most epic, most
hysterical comedy night possible.
Now let me preface this with Idon't do a straight standup show
(00:41):
.
I don't do straight standupcomedy.
My show, the Denny CorbyExperience there's excitement,
there's mystery.
Also there's magic,mind-reading and comedy.
A ton of laughs, gasps and holycraps, a bunch of crowd work
and banter.
That is my specialty.
But I've been in the industrylong enough.
I've been in the entertainmentindustry and I've worked and
talked with clubs and I'vetalked to too many clubs that
(01:06):
have had bad comedy nights.
And even though I don't dostraight stand-up comedy, I want
to help you and your club havethe best comedy night possible,
because I think comedy night atclubs is a beautiful thing and
I've talked to too many clubsthat have had a bad comedy night
and they shun comedy nightforever and you shouldn't be
doing that, because there is anart to the comedy night and I
want to help you bring the humorand the laughs back to your
(01:28):
club, and that's what we'regoing to talk about here today
in this episode is a couple oftips and tricks and things that
I think you can do and use tomake your comedy night amazing.
Before we do, I want to give aquick shout out to some of our
show partners.
Thank you all so much for allyou do for us here on the
channel.
If you're interested in any ofour show partners and their
(01:50):
products, reach out to them andtell them you heard about them
here on Private Club Radio oryou're reaching out because you
like their support here onPrivate Club Radio.
It costs nothing, it means theabsolute world.
And if you would like to learnmore about my show, the Denny
Corby Experience, head on overto dennycorbycom.
And if you don't want to listento the episode, if you find
this episode useful and you wantto learn a little bit more, a
(02:12):
little bit deeper information.
I made the ultimate comedynight blueprint.
You can download the guide atdennycorbycom slash comedy guide
Also.
Real quick, before we get tothis episode, if you have not
heard about which I'm sure youhave but I am so excited for my
(02:33):
management leadership eventManagement in Motion.
September 22nd at the MonticelloMotor Club.
It is going to be absolutelyepic.
And now we have CMA credits, soif you're coming, you're
getting CMA credits.
It is a day of ripping up BMWM2s, threes and fours on the
track.
We're going to be drifting,drag racing, karting, and all
while learning from other clubmanagers who have spent time on
(02:55):
the track and hall and how allof that relates to club
leadership.
It is going to be so much fun.
I cannot wait for you to bethere.
I'm going to see so many of youthere.
I can't even talk.
I get so excited thinking aboutit it makes me stutter.
The stutter comes out.
If you want to learn more, headon over to privateclubradiocom
(03:19):
slash management in motion tolearn more.
But now let's get to theepisode.
Rule number one Not even a rule,step one.
Rule one, whatever you want tocall it, is you have to know the
room, know your room, know yourmembers and ask your members
what type of comedy night theyare looking for.
At a bare minimum, members wantrelatable, they want tasteful,
(03:39):
they want warm humor thatconnects the room together.
Good comedy nights connectpeople together.
Laughs that bring peopletogether, not jokes that split
the room in half.
There are plenty of good, greatand I say clean, quote unquote
clean but PG-13, not R, but good, clean comedy acts that are out
(04:00):
there that you can bring intoyour club.
Now, side note, fulltransparency.
A raunchy comedian or anR-style night comedy night can
and does work in a club.
But it boils down to one thing,that is, transparency and
expectations.
If you tell people what type ofcomedy night is coming and who
(04:23):
is coming and what the act is,then it could be fine.
But it's about transparency andexpectations, because I have
chatted with some clubs and theylove raunchy comedy and that's
what they like to bring in.
But they'll also bring in fordifferent nights, maybe like one
.
You know they'll do maybe oneor two comedy nights a year.
One will be a little bitcleaner, the other one will be a
little bit more risque, alittle bit more dirtier, and
(04:46):
that's fine because the membersknow, the people showing up know
.
I think the reason whysometimes I don't want to say
clubs get into some heat ormembers get upset is it's just
because there's no expectation.
So you have to know who thetalent is, who you're bringing
in and the expectation andtransparency on what type of
comedy night you are bringing in.
(05:06):
So you have to know the room.
Part two, step two, whatever youwant to call it, is quality
beats quantity.
More doesn't equal better,better equals better, and what
that means is you don't needthree or four comedians for a
comedy night, a good comedynight.
You need one.
Four comedians.
For a comedy night, a goodcomedy night, you need one,
(05:29):
maybe two max.
One strong headliner can easilyhold the room for 60 to 90
minutes and that is so muchbetter than three or four subpar
, not great quality acts.
Sometimes, I don't know, maybeclub managers think, oh, I can
pay this amount and get four, orI can pay this amount and get
one or two, and they think moreis better but better is better.
One great headliner and astrong opener will absolutely
(05:55):
crush and is night and daycompared to three or four subpar
acts.
And, side note, if someone iswilling to come to your club to
quote unquote headline Saturdaynight for less than a thousand
dollars and we'll drive two,three, four hours to do that.
That is not a bargain, that isa plot twist waiting to happen.
(06:18):
And with that you have to vetthe talent.
You have to vet who you'rebringing in.
You have to do research andwatch videos and make sure that
you like and click with thosepeople, and not just the acts,
but also, if you're using abooker or an agency, you have to
vet them too, because sometimesthey're not looking out for
(06:38):
your best interest, sometimesthey're looking out for the best
interest of their own pocketsor they just have their friends
and they just use their friendsand they're not listening to you
.
A good act in a good booker andgood talent if they have one.
Good people listen right, justlike we do it.
We listen well and when youlisten to what you want and who
(06:58):
your club is and they fit thevibe and what's going on in the
club's world and your world,good acts know how to bring all
of that together.
So when you can work withsomebody, you can be great
partners and you can lead withclarity and you can tell them
what your crowd loves and whatyou're looking for.
And kind of going back when youcan vet your members and you
can ask them what they'relooking for in a comedy night or
(07:20):
ask them what type of comediansthat they like, and you can
take that information and go toyour comedian.
Or you can go to the booker, ifyou're using one, and say, hey,
you know, we pulled our membermembers.
They kind of like this style,they like this, they like a
Seinfeld, they like a witty,they like crowd work.
You know if, when you can findout what they like and then
portray that and say that toyour acts and to your bookers or
(07:44):
whoever you're using, it goessuch a long way.
So really, at a minimum, checkfor and watch clips and not just
one viral clip right, there's alot of.
Now with social media, peoplecan get quote, unquote, famous
very quick or become popularvery quick.
And just because they'repopular on social media or on
(08:05):
TikTok and just because theyhave a solid five, 10 minutes
somewhere doesn't mean they canhold the room for 45 to 60.
And that's a big, big, big, bigdifference, big difference.
So make sure you know whoyou're booking.
Do a call with the talent.
Do an actual phone call Evenbetter if it's a video call with
(08:26):
the people who you are bringingin A quick little Zoom call,
five minutes it goes so muchmore and such more powerful than
20 emails.
And make sure the booker, makesure the talent, whoever you're
using, whoever you're workingwith, make sure they understand
the private club culture and notcomedy clubs.
(08:46):
Those are night and day Because, as you know, comedy clubs and
private clubs are totallydifferent places.
So make sure everybody is onthe same page of what is going
on and what the expectations arefor that night, of what is
going on and what theexpectations are for that night.
Now next thing is, as we'retalking about the night, the
show doesn't start at the firstjoke.
(09:07):
The show doesn't start whenthey get on stage.
The show starts the moment thepeople enter the room.
So I want you to think comedyclub energy, not banquet hall
vibes.
So what that means is sound.
Sound is super important.
It has to be crisp, it has tobe clear.
Comedy is all about hearing.
(09:28):
You have to hear the person.
So having really crisp, clearsound is so, so, so important.
Make sure you do a sound checkbefore.
When in doubt, get an outsidesound system.
You can buy a system for 500 toa thousand bucks.
The Fender Passport systems areamazing.
I think every club should haveone.
(09:48):
For less than a grand you havean amazing system.
That is just powerful.
Sometimes the in-speakersystems, the ceiling systems,
they're maybe fine for apresentation, but for when
you're rocking a show andthere's comedy and there's
people laughing jokes is aboutclarity.
So making sure they can beheard.
(10:10):
The same token, making surethat they could be seen, so
making sure the lighting isproperly there, right, and think
comedy club vibes.
The best comedy nights have alittle bit of a dimmer room but
the acts are lit up well.
So having a little, maybe asound or a lighting system
brought in, maybe some up lightsin the room, the show starts as
(10:31):
soon as people show up.
So if they show up in the roomhas a vibe and there's good
music playing and the energy'sthere and it looks cool and it
looks good, oh, it just makesfor such a better night and it
makes the comedian's job or theentertainer's job.
And this whole thing is notjust about comedy, it's about
all entertainment.
(10:51):
So when they can be seen andheard, well, oh, chef's kiss.
And then to bring it alltogether.
The layout of the room is superimportant as well.
You want to bring people asclose together.
Tightness bring people up frontright, connect with the room.
Maybe some smaller seats upfront and then even in the back
(11:13):
you can do some high tops, justso people can see a little bit
better.
Right, we want people in there.
We want clear sight lines.
We don't want, you know, junglecenterpieces, we don't want
people facing the back of theroom.
We want everyone facing thestage, looking together, making
sure everything is seen andpeople are tight and that energy
is there.
Sometimes you know you can'thelp it.
The room is just big, but bringthe show as close together, as
(11:37):
close to the stage as possible.
Next step is budget properly.
I think when you're doing,especially when the
entertainment, your headliner,your person who you're bringing
in, the reason why people arethere for the evening, when that
is the thing, that is what youshould start with price-wise and
(12:00):
then back the rest of theevening into that.
I talked to too many clubs thatthey say we're having comedy
night, we're gonna have dinnerand a show, and they plan out
all the food and everything elseand then whatever is left over,
they go.
That's our budget for theentertainment and that is wrong.
I think what you should do it'sall about fit.
So it's going to those firstcouple steps.
(12:21):
It's finding what act you want,vetting them properly, making
sure they're going to fit withyou, your club and your vibe.
You find them, their pricingand what they want, and then you
back the rest of the show intothat.
We're club people.
You know how to make.
You can make anything tastegood and be good.
You know how to work around thefood and guess what?
(12:41):
Sometimes let's just say theact is really expensive.
You maybe don't need a dinnerwith it too.
You can just do the show andhave dinner on their own.
So it makes the ticket priceslower, so it makes it more
appealing for the member.
But most clubs, I think, startwith the end.
They start wrong.
You can't just take what's leftover and use that for the
(13:02):
entertainment.
You have to start with theentertainment first and build
the evening around that and withthat you have to book early or
at least talk to people early.
So many clubs it's even to thisday people go hey, are you
booked next month?
Yes, I am.
A lot of good acts are bookedthree to six months a year out.
(13:22):
Good acts book fast.
So if you're not starting theconversations and penciling
people in having thoseconversations, you're going to
lose out and what's going tohappen is you're going to wait
till the very end and you'regoing to be just using who's
available, and that's not alwaysthe best.
Sometimes you might get luckyand you're going to have a great
night, but sometimes you mightnot.
(13:44):
What I think is really a neat,interesting concept, a total
little side note here is there'sa lot of great headlining
touring comedians who arefantastic.
That might be very expensive,but a lot of them are booked
Fridays and Saturdays.
If you can find a comedian or astyle that you like and you can
(14:05):
see when they're going to bearound your area, you can
probably pick them up on aThursday night when they're
already going to be in town orplanning on being in town for a
little bit of a discount.
And if you're enjoying theepisodes so far and want to dig
a little bit deeper, make sureyou download the guide, the
ultimate comedy night blueprintand over to dannycorbycom slash
comedy guide.
And now I know what you mightbe thinking is listen, we've had
(14:28):
a comedy night and it bombed.
Just because you had one roughcomedy night, one bad comedian,
your comedy night isn't cursed.
It could have been a couple offactors.
If you look back, think aboutwhat may have caused that.
Was it you, the club?
Did you maybe not planaccordingly?
Did you maybe not budget right?
Did you make it somebody cheap?
(14:48):
Was the room maybe set up wrong?
Was the audio weird?
If you had a bad night, guesswhat?
It was okay, treat it like amulligan.
There's always another comedynight.
You can always do it again.
Your members will come back ifyou give them a reason.
So remember, pick the rightvibe, pick the right comedian
for your club.
(15:10):
Make sure you vet them properly.
Quality over quantity.
Better is better, more isn'tbetter.
Remember the holy trinity ofnot bombing, lighting, seating,
sound, book, early, bookproperly, and you should be good
.
If you want to learn more aboutthe ultimate comedy night,
download my comedy nightblueprint.
(15:30):
Dennycorbycom slash comedyguide.
That's this episode.
Until next time, catch y'all onthe flippity flip.
Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club
Radio Show, where we give youthe scoop on all things private
golf and country clubs frommastering leadership and
management, food and beverageexcellence, member engagement
secrets, board governance andeverything in between, all while
keeping it fun and light.
Whether you're a club veteranjust getting your feet wet or
somewhere in the middle, you arein the right place.
(00:20):
I'm your host, denny Corby.
Welcome to the show.
In this episode I'm going tohelp you pack the house without
packing an apology email to themembers the next day.
We are diving into how you canhave the most epic, most
hysterical comedy night possible.
Now let me preface this with Idon't do a straight standup show
(00:41):
.
I don't do straight standupcomedy.
My show, the Denny CorbyExperience there's excitement,
there's mystery.
Also there's magic,mind-reading and comedy.
A ton of laughs, gasps and holycraps, a bunch of crowd work
and banter.
That is my specialty.
But I've been in the industrylong enough.
I've been in the entertainmentindustry and I've worked and
talked with clubs and I'vetalked to too many clubs that
(01:06):
have had bad comedy nights.
And even though I don't dostraight stand-up comedy, I want
to help you and your club havethe best comedy night possible,
because I think comedy night atclubs is a beautiful thing and
I've talked to too many clubsthat have had a bad comedy night
and they shun comedy nightforever and you shouldn't be
doing that, because there is anart to the comedy night and I
want to help you bring the humorand the laughs back to your
(01:28):
club, and that's what we'regoing to talk about here today
in this episode is a couple oftips and tricks and things that
I think you can do and use tomake your comedy night amazing.
Before we do, I want to give aquick shout out to some of our
show partners.
Thank you all so much for allyou do for us here on the
channel.
If you're interested in any ofour show partners and their
(01:50):
products, reach out to them andtell them you heard about them
here on Private Club Radio oryou're reaching out because you
like their support here onPrivate Club Radio.
It costs nothing, it means theabsolute world.
And if you would like to learnmore about my show, the Denny
Corby Experience, head on overto dennycorbycom.
And if you don't want to listento the episode, if you find
this episode useful and you wantto learn a little bit more, a
(02:12):
little bit deeper information.
I made the ultimate comedynight blueprint.
You can download the guide atdennycorbycom slash comedy guide
Also.
Real quick, before we get tothis episode, if you have not
heard about which I'm sure youhave but I am so excited for my
(02:33):
management leadership eventManagement in Motion.
September 22nd at the MonticelloMotor Club.
It is going to be absolutelyepic.
And now we have CMA credits, soif you're coming, you're
getting CMA credits.
It is a day of ripping up BMWM2s, threes and fours on the
track.
We're going to be drifting,drag racing, karting, and all
while learning from other clubmanagers who have spent time on
(02:55):
the track and hall and how allof that relates to club
leadership.
It is going to be so much fun.
I cannot wait for you to bethere.
I'm going to see so many of youthere.
I can't even talk.
I get so excited thinking aboutit it makes me stutter.
The stutter comes out.
If you want to learn more, headon over to privateclubradiocom
(03:19):
slash management in motion tolearn more.
But now let's get to theepisode.
Rule number one Not even a rule,step one.
Rule one, whatever you want tocall it, is you have to know the
room, know your room, know yourmembers and ask your members
what type of comedy night theyare looking for.
At a bare minimum, members wantrelatable, they want tasteful,
(03:39):
they want warm humor thatconnects the room together.
Good comedy nights connectpeople together.
Laughs that bring peopletogether, not jokes that split
the room in half.
There are plenty of good, greatand I say clean, quote unquote
clean but PG-13, not R, but good, clean comedy acts that are out
(04:00):
there that you can bring intoyour club.
Now, side note, fulltransparency.
A raunchy comedian or anR-style night comedy night can
and does work in a club.
But it boils down to one thing,that is, transparency and
expectations.
If you tell people what type ofcomedy night is coming and who
(04:23):
is coming and what the act is,then it could be fine.
But it's about transparency andexpectations, because I have
chatted with some clubs and theylove raunchy comedy and that's
what they like to bring in.
But they'll also bring in fordifferent nights, maybe like one
.
You know they'll do maybe oneor two comedy nights a year.
One will be a little bitcleaner, the other one will be a
little bit more risque, alittle bit more dirtier, and
(04:46):
that's fine because the membersknow, the people showing up know
.
I think the reason whysometimes I don't want to say
clubs get into some heat ormembers get upset is it's just
because there's no expectation.
So you have to know who thetalent is, who you're bringing
in and the expectation andtransparency on what type of
comedy night you are bringing in.
(05:06):
So you have to know the room.
Part two, step two, whatever youwant to call it, is quality
beats quantity.
More doesn't equal better,better equals better, and what
that means is you don't needthree or four comedians for a
comedy night, a good comedynight.
You need one.
Four comedians.
For a comedy night, a goodcomedy night, you need one,
(05:29):
maybe two max.
One strong headliner can easilyhold the room for 60 to 90
minutes and that is so muchbetter than three or four subpar
, not great quality acts.
Sometimes, I don't know, maybeclub managers think, oh, I can
pay this amount and get four, orI can pay this amount and get
one or two, and they think moreis better but better is better.
One great headliner and astrong opener will absolutely
(05:55):
crush and is night and daycompared to three or four subpar
acts.
And, side note, if someone iswilling to come to your club to
quote unquote headline Saturdaynight for less than a thousand
dollars and we'll drive two,three, four hours to do that.
That is not a bargain, that isa plot twist waiting to happen.
(06:18):
And with that you have to vetthe talent.
You have to vet who you'rebringing in.
You have to do research andwatch videos and make sure that
you like and click with thosepeople, and not just the acts,
but also, if you're using abooker or an agency, you have to
vet them too, because sometimesthey're not looking out for
(06:38):
your best interest, sometimesthey're looking out for the best
interest of their own pocketsor they just have their friends
and they just use their friendsand they're not listening to you
.
A good act in a good booker andgood talent if they have one.
Good people listen right, justlike we do it.
We listen well and when youlisten to what you want and who
(06:58):
your club is and they fit thevibe and what's going on in the
club's world and your world,good acts know how to bring all
of that together.
So when you can work withsomebody, you can be great
partners and you can lead withclarity and you can tell them
what your crowd loves and whatyou're looking for.
And kind of going back when youcan vet your members and you
can ask them what they'relooking for in a comedy night or
(07:20):
ask them what type of comediansthat they like, and you can
take that information and go toyour comedian.
Or you can go to the booker, ifyou're using one, and say, hey,
you know, we pulled our membermembers.
They kind of like this style,they like this, they like a
Seinfeld, they like a witty,they like crowd work.
You know if, when you can findout what they like and then
portray that and say that toyour acts and to your bookers or
(07:44):
whoever you're using, it goessuch a long way.
So really, at a minimum, checkfor and watch clips and not just
one viral clip right, there's alot of.
Now with social media, peoplecan get quote, unquote, famous
very quick or become popularvery quick.
And just because they'repopular on social media or on
(08:05):
TikTok and just because theyhave a solid five, 10 minutes
somewhere doesn't mean they canhold the room for 45 to 60.
And that's a big, big, big, bigdifference, big difference.
So make sure you know whoyou're booking.
Do a call with the talent.
Do an actual phone call Evenbetter if it's a video call with
(08:26):
the people who you are bringingin A quick little Zoom call,
five minutes it goes so muchmore and such more powerful than
20 emails.
And make sure the booker, makesure the talent, whoever you're
using, whoever you're workingwith, make sure they understand
the private club culture and notcomedy clubs.
(08:46):
Those are night and day Because, as you know, comedy clubs and
private clubs are totallydifferent places.
So make sure everybody is onthe same page of what is going
on and what the expectations arefor that night, of what is
going on and what theexpectations are for that night.
Now next thing is, as we'retalking about the night, the
show doesn't start at the firstjoke.
(09:07):
The show doesn't start whenthey get on stage.
The show starts the moment thepeople enter the room.
So I want you to think comedyclub energy, not banquet hall
vibes.
So what that means is sound.
Sound is super important.
It has to be crisp, it has tobe clear.
Comedy is all about hearing.
(09:28):
You have to hear the person.
So having really crisp, clearsound is so, so, so important.
Make sure you do a sound checkbefore.
When in doubt, get an outsidesound system.
You can buy a system for 500 toa thousand bucks.
The Fender Passport systems areamazing.
I think every club should haveone.
(09:48):
For less than a grand you havean amazing system.
That is just powerful.
Sometimes the in-speakersystems, the ceiling systems,
they're maybe fine for apresentation, but for when
you're rocking a show andthere's comedy and there's
people laughing jokes is aboutclarity.
So making sure they can beheard.
(10:10):
The same token, making surethat they could be seen, so
making sure the lighting isproperly there, right, and think
comedy club vibes.
The best comedy nights have alittle bit of a dimmer room but
the acts are lit up well.
So having a little, maybe asound or a lighting system
brought in, maybe some up lightsin the room, the show starts as
(10:31):
soon as people show up.
So if they show up in the roomhas a vibe and there's good
music playing and the energy'sthere and it looks cool and it
looks good, oh, it just makesfor such a better night and it
makes the comedian's job or theentertainer's job.
And this whole thing is notjust about comedy, it's about
all entertainment.
(10:51):
So when they can be seen andheard, well, oh, chef's kiss.
And then to bring it alltogether.
The layout of the room is superimportant as well.
You want to bring people asclose together.
Tightness bring people up frontright, connect with the room.
Maybe some smaller seats upfront and then even in the back
(11:13):
you can do some high tops, justso people can see a little bit
better.
Right, we want people in there.
We want clear sight lines.
We don't want, you know, junglecenterpieces, we don't want
people facing the back of theroom.
We want everyone facing thestage, looking together, making
sure everything is seen andpeople are tight and that energy
is there.
Sometimes you know you can'thelp it.
The room is just big, but bringthe show as close together, as
(11:37):
close to the stage as possible.
Next step is budget properly.
I think when you're doing,especially when the
entertainment, your headliner,your person who you're bringing
in, the reason why people arethere for the evening, when that
is the thing, that is what youshould start with price-wise and
(12:00):
then back the rest of theevening into that.
I talked to too many clubs thatthey say we're having comedy
night, we're gonna have dinnerand a show, and they plan out
all the food and everything elseand then whatever is left over,
they go.
That's our budget for theentertainment and that is wrong.
I think what you should do it'sall about fit.
So it's going to those firstcouple steps.
(12:21):
It's finding what act you want,vetting them properly, making
sure they're going to fit withyou, your club and your vibe.
You find them, their pricingand what they want, and then you
back the rest of the show intothat.
We're club people.
You know how to make.
You can make anything tastegood and be good.
You know how to work around thefood and guess what?
(12:41):
Sometimes let's just say theact is really expensive.
You maybe don't need a dinnerwith it too.
You can just do the show andhave dinner on their own.
So it makes the ticket priceslower, so it makes it more
appealing for the member.
But most clubs, I think, startwith the end.
They start wrong.
You can't just take what's leftover and use that for the
(13:02):
entertainment.
You have to start with theentertainment first and build
the evening around that and withthat you have to book early or
at least talk to people early.
So many clubs it's even to thisday people go hey, are you
booked next month?
Yes, I am.
A lot of good acts are bookedthree to six months a year out.
(13:22):
Good acts book fast.
So if you're not starting theconversations and penciling
people in having thoseconversations, you're going to
lose out and what's going tohappen is you're going to wait
till the very end and you'regoing to be just using who's
available, and that's not alwaysthe best.
Sometimes you might get luckyand you're going to have a great
night, but sometimes you mightnot.
(13:44):
What I think is really a neat,interesting concept, a total
little side note here is there'sa lot of great headlining
touring comedians who arefantastic.
That might be very expensive,but a lot of them are booked
Fridays and Saturdays.
If you can find a comedian or astyle that you like and you can
(14:05):
see when they're going to bearound your area, you can
probably pick them up on aThursday night when they're
already going to be in town orplanning on being in town for a
little bit of a discount.
And if you're enjoying theepisodes so far and want to dig
a little bit deeper, make sureyou download the guide, the
ultimate comedy night blueprintand over to dannycorbycom slash
comedy guide.
And now I know what you mightbe thinking is listen, we've had
(14:28):
a comedy night and it bombed.
Just because you had one roughcomedy night, one bad comedian,
your comedy night isn't cursed.
It could have been a couple offactors.
If you look back, think aboutwhat may have caused that.
Was it you, the club?
Did you maybe not planaccordingly?
Did you maybe not budget right?
Did you make it somebody cheap?
(14:48):
Was the room maybe set up wrong?
Was the audio weird?
If you had a bad night, guesswhat?
It was okay, treat it like amulligan.
There's always another comedynight.
You can always do it again.
Your members will come back ifyou give them a reason.
So remember, pick the rightvibe, pick the right comedian
for your club.
(15:10):
Make sure you vet them properly.
Quality over quantity.
Better is better, more isn'tbetter.
Remember the holy trinity ofnot bombing, lighting, seating,
sound, book, early, bookproperly, and you should be good
.
If you want to learn more aboutthe ultimate comedy night,
download my comedy nightblueprint.
(15:30):
Dennycorbycom slash comedyguide.
That's this episode.
Until next time, catch y'all onthe flippity flip.
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