Madison Deserves a Better Comedy Club

Comedy clubs are supposed to foster the growth of local comedians. The Comedy Club on State does a poor job of it. The worst I've ever seen.

I'm not trying to be a jerk in mentioning it--I think the people that run it are good people. Good people who don't serve their audience well. The reason I feel compelled to bring it up is that I believe that Madison would be fertile ground for comedy if only it had a comedy club that respected its audience enough to book up-and-coming acts. Some of the locals here are really good- as good as anyone I've seen moving through the clubs at the middle level and often much better than the headliners. I really fear that not having club support is going to stifle the growth of guys like Sean Moore, Mike Schmidt, Tim Egan, or Chris Waelti. It already has done that to Mark Kump and I can't help but wonder whether KeaLynn Kees would still be performing if she'd gotten better support from the Comedy Club on State when she needed it. I can't stop those people from measuring themselves based on what the home comedy club thinks about them. The club is going elsewhere to book middles and headliners and I know if they'd just give some of these up-and-comers a chance, they'd help them grow.

Nobody else is willing to criticize the club here because they all need the bookings they get as the emcee. They value the role of reading drink specials and introducing the often less talented comics that come through this club as middle acts and headliners.

Audience satisfaction is only half of what builds confidence for new comedians, and the esteem of the closest local club usually accounts for the rest. The locals take what they can get from the Comedy Club on State. External validation is so important for so many, even if it means giving weight to the opinions of those that run a failing operation. This is a genuine shame because Madison's only comedy club doesn't book in-house. There is no system to work your way up to headliner status from the emcee position. The best they can offer is a recommendation to the booking agency they work through in Michigan (who book the headliners and features and must work within the weekly talent budget the Comedy Club on State sets). They hold that platitude over the heads of the local comedians to ensure that they will always be willing to work for free or next to nothing as their emcee on the weekends.

Simply put, the Comedy Club on State inhibits the growth of local comedians. They can do whatever they want to because they are the only comedy club in town. Only club for now, anyway. I hope in writing this, I am able to bring to light the need for competition from another comedy venue and to let people know there is a very good alternative comedy scene here in Madison.