Blue bell wood children's hospice event

hi everyone im holding a charity night for the blue bell wood children's hospice. im working in partnership with the high street retailer New look regional east division. there are very few children's hospices in our area and this one has a catchment area of south yorkshire nottinghamshire derbyshire and will take children from Lincolnshire to. the hospice only receives 5% government funding and needs millions raised every. so calling all comedian in those areas does anyone want a gig at our event!!! there will be press from all those area!! please goggles blue bell wood because if you do theres no way you can say no. or if anyone can tell me the names of local comedian in those area to that would be soooooo help full. thanks xx

Hi Kirsty, firstly let me say well done for supporting a very worthy cause, secondly though can I just warn you that putting on comedy, especially for a charity event where comedy may not be the main focus for everyone, is not as simple as booking a local comedian, who in all honesty is likely to be a new act desperate for stage time.

A few questions;

1) is the event going to be just comedy?

Comedy tends to work best if it is the main focus of the evening, when mixed with music or other entertainment it can become much harder. People can move about, talk, not really pay attention whilst a band plays, but if they do those things during a comedy set it will be ruined, the comedian, no matter how good they are, will struggle to fight against all the distractions.

2) Do you have a stage? A sound system? Lighting? Will the seats be theatre or cabaret style? Is there food? If so, will it be served before or during the show?

3) Is there a budget at all?

Most comedians are happy to help charities but we do have bills to pay, don't forget that even a local act will be travelling to the event and, if they are decent act, giving up a night's work (imagine you taking a day of unpaid leave from work, that's effectively what it is for a pro comic).

A couple of other things to consider;

4) how long are you expecting the act or acts to do?

5) what date is it?

Comedians are much more likely to be free Sunday-Thursday, Friday and Saturday are prime working days for comedians. If the event is on a Friday or Saturday you will be extremely lucky to get a pro-comic.

Sorry, I realise that's a lot of questions (and I could, easily, have typed a lot, lot more) but it's very easy to do comedy badly, things like bad lighting, bad sightlines, audience distractions, bad PA equipment all make the comedian's job much, much harder.

Your best bet might be to contact Mike at Funhouse Comedy, they run lots of gigs in your area.

http://www.funhousecomedy.co.uk/