One of the most universal features of life as a standup comedian is The Light. When you approach the end of your allotted time, a club employee (or open mic organizer, depending) turns on a small light within your field of vision to signal you that you should start wrapping up.
If you’re good at what you do, you’ll be able to wrap up the bit you’re doing, transition into your closing bit, and get off the stage within a minute or two. It’s polite to nod slightly or make eye contact with the person holding the light so that they know you see it. If you do that, the manager or organizer is generally content to let you wind up your set appropriately, even if it means you go a teensy bit over. They’re in the business of putting on an enjoyable comedy show, not turning off your mic at exactly 5 minutes, after all.
If you’re not good at what you do, or if you’re an asshole, you’ll keep going, long after your allotted time. This is incredibly inconsiderate. It’s inconsiderate to the comedians taking the stage after you, because they may get their time cut short because you took too long. It’s inconsiderate to the organizer/manager, who potentially has the continued existence of that open mic riding on the behavior of the comedians, or their financial success riding on the quality of the shows being offered. It’s also inconsiderate to the audience- maybe you got the light because you weren’t doing very well, and by going over you’re essentially making them listen to more unsuccessful comedy.
But on the other side of this comedic social contract is the person who selected The Light to be used. I have been to countless open mics where this very basic, very necessary detail was essentially neglected. More often than not, the organizer sits in the back of the room and waves the backlit screen of their cell phone at me to signal that I’m approaching the end of my time. I performed at one open mic where The Light was somebody’s little keychain LED light, in the middle of a fully-lit restaurant.
Why is it so hard to get this right? Flashlights aren’t expensive- you can get mini Mag-lites at Target for a couple of bucks, for God’s sake. I know one guy who runs a few open mics in the area who has a traffic light that he sets up in the back of the room. The light is green throughout your set, until you get the yellow light at one minute two minutes, and then the light turns red when you have reached the end of your allotted time.
That level of light isn’t necessary, but I don’t think it’s too much to ask to bring something along that I actually have a prayer of being able to see from the stage.
Rarr.
