Before Your First Open Mic, Read This

This started as a DM to a fellow Substacker. I realized the advice might help anyone who's thinking about getting on stage for the first time.

Photo by Tonik on Unsplash

You’re thinking about attending an open mic. Maybe you’ve been thinking about it for years, a month, a week. Maybe you know exactly which one you want to hit and it’s on your calendar.

You want to try your material.

You also want to throw up just thinking about it.

I can’t help with the nausea, sorry, but I’ve been there—recently enough to remember exactly what it felt like—and long enough ago that I have the experience and perspective to answer your questions.

I've only been doing stand-up since December 2023, but in that time I've landed paid gigs, performed for crowds of up to 400 people, started an open mic, co-produced shows, and helped comedy producers earn press and TV coverage. I'm still very much learning, but I'm far enough along to remember exactly how terrifying that first open mic felt.

So when a fellow Substacker asked me how to prepare for her first open mic in a DM, I had a lot of thoughts, and I was happy to share them. Here’s a slightly edited version of what I told her.

The advice

Memorize your set

Memorize the shit out of it. When (not if) you’re nervous, your jokes need to be so ingrained that you can still find them when your brain temporarily leaves your body.

But if you feel better bringing your notebook or set list on stage, by all means, do it. It’s only a mic. I wouldn’t bring notes up for a show, but a mic

Understand that open mics can be poor testing grounds

I’ve seen completely unprepared comics show up and start telling a story that probably seemed funny in their head and I’ve seen experienced, talented professionals appear flat just because they were still working out new material.

And audiences can be so mixed. While there may be “civilians” (ie non-comics) in the audience, (ideal), sometimes they’re there because they popped in for a drink not knowing the mic was about to start.

Often, the audience is full of distracted comics who are busy figuring out what they want to try and they’re not even paying attention. Which takes the pressure off, but also can make it hard to know whether your joke was a keeper or not.

Record everything

Audio, video—whatever works. I usually just stick my phone in my back pocket and record a voice memo. Then I listen back and pay attention to where I got laughs and where I didn’t.

My personal rule: If a joke gets a laugh at a mic, keep it for sure. If it doesn’t, don’t necessarily toss it or edit it immediately.

You can’t study your way into being a comic

I love classes and books. The only way I can get myself to do core work is to watch clips on YouTube while I do it.

But the only way to work out your jokes, develop your stage presence, build your confidence, and figure out how to put the mic back in the stand without fumbling around like an awkward teenager giving your first handjob is to get up there and do it.

Get in as many reps as you can, whether that’s at open mics, paid shows, free shows, whatever.

Like anything (and everything else), experience is the best teacher.

When you bomb

Don’t sweat it. I mean, you will, you’re human; it’s a shitty feeling when your jokes are met with silence and blank stares. But this is not a show, it’s a mic. I have come to the conclusion that it’s impossible to bomb at a mic, no matter how badly it went.

Maybe it’s just a coping mechanism, but hear me out. I wouldn’t beat myself up over “losing” a workout because a workout is not a race. It’s physically impossible to lose something that was never a competition. Similarly, I say you can’t bomb at a mic because you’re goal isn’t just to make people laugh; it’s to work out new material. Or to get more comfortable holding a microphone, to practice making eye contact, to try wearing heels on stage, or to experiment with any one of a million variables. It’s a practice, not a match.

Keep putting in the reps

Nothing replaces stage time. No amount of reading, studying, or overthinking can substitute for getting up there and doing it.

Get out there and do it. And then do it again every chance you get.