A High Stakes Booking!

I will never do this again!

Back in the day, one of the coolest comedy clubs to work was Harvey’s in Portland, Oregon. Great crowds, great energy, and a genuinely fun room—**if** you could get in. That was the catch.

The owner had a strict rule: comics who

were approved to perform at Harvey’s could recommend other comics, **but**—and this was a big but—if the comic you recommended bombed, then not only were they banned, BUT you were too. That policy kept people from casually throwing their friends a favor. Needless to say, getting booked there was tough.

I lucked out thanks to a magician named Great Scott

(side note: there are about 8,000 magicians named Great Scott, but this one was really named Scott). Scott and I had worked together a lot. He liked me because I was funny and clean—two important qualities for headliners who are also clean.

Scott’s act was a split show: he’d open with about 25 minutes of magic tricks, bring me out for a 30-minute comedy set, and then come back out for 20 minutes with his big closing bit big—magically producing a flock of doves that fluttered around the showroom occasionally freaking out the audience in a good way. I’d help him out from the back by catching the birds as they landed—yes, on my arm. He also did the classic rabbit-in-the-hat routine, with his rabbit named Stew. (get it?)

One day, Scott called to say he was

going to recommend me to Harvey’s. I panicked. “No way!” I said. “If I bomb, I don’t want to take you down with me.” We went back and forth. He believed in me, said he knew the owner personally, and even joked he could talk his way back in if it all (me) went south. After some coaxing, I finally agreed—but I was sweating bullets.

When our week rolled around,

Scott, his girlfriend Jane, and I stayed in the comedy condo. Stew got free run of the place ((a dwarf rabbit – ya know, small enough to fit in a hat). At one point, I asked Scott, “Aren’t you bringing the doves in from the car?” He looked at me like Im a nut and pointed out “Jan, they’re birds.” Oh… right. They’ll be fine.

The shows and more importantly my show,

went great! I got invited back, and Scott and I worked the club together a few more times. Then one day, when Scott called to book us, the owner said something like “I can’t book her with you anymore… I’m moving her up to headliner.” Boom. I booked the headliner spot at Harvey’s!

That first headlining week was amazing—until I tried to leave.

This was pre-rideshare, so cabs had to be scheduled in advance and paid in cash. Cash wasn’t the problem; location was. The first two cab companies I called refused to pick up at the comedy condo address. Turns out some previous comics (like a lot of them!) had skipped out on the fare by hopping on a plane before paying, so the address had been blacklisted! On my third attempt, I practically begged the dispatcher to schedule someone. After some pleading, they agreed, and—thankfully—the cab showed up the next morning.

Harvey’s has since closed, but my take-away remains - Hang out with people who believe in you. (AND don’t do stuff that messes it up for others—like stiffing your cab driver!)

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Jan McInnis is a Keynote Speaker, Comedian, Comedy Writer, and Master of Ceremonies. She has written for Jay Leno’s Tonight Show monologue as well as many other people, places, and groups – radio, TV, syndicated cartoon strips, and even guests on the Jerry Springer show (her parents are proud). For 20+ years she’s traveled country as a keynote speaker and comedian sharing her unique and practical tips on what business leaders can learn from comedians (no, it’s not all about telling jokes). She can be reached at www.TheWorkLady.com, or Jan@TheWorkLady.com She’s also a GREAT Master of Ceremonies. Click here for her emcee site

Some of the stories in this newsletter are taken from Jan’s popular book:

Convention Comedian: Stories and Wisdom From Two Decades of Chicken Dinners and Comedy Clubs.