My first solid gig is on May 1st. It's a fundraiser. I don't think it will be a paying gig. But f**k beans it's my first real gig that I don't have to make a 20 dollar minimum purchase to participate in.
My First Gig...
Quote: NateSean @ 3rd April 2014, 2:46 AM BSTIt's a fundraiser. I don't think it will be a paying gig.
How was the West won?
This early in the game I'll take what I can get.
You've been doing pay to play I'd keep that under your awesome hat
shame, your stuffs good
Well the "pay for plays" as you call them are the open mics. When they're at cafes and bars you're kinda expected to purchase food and drink for the privilege of being there. In my mind it's no different than having to rent a car, buy a plane ticket, or rent a motel room to perform a gig in another city.
The event I'm performing at is a mental health awareness fundraiser, so it's not only something to cut my teeth on but it's a good cause. If nothing else, it gets my name and face out there.
It's a lively old debate, I've never really minded pay to play.
I think the idea is if you're part of the entertainment you're bringing customers in and the bar should pay.
But most amateur stand ups are sort of like unfunny, sociopaths who drive paying customers off.
Quick update.
The person who told me to save the day for the event was my old teacher from last year. Then she tells me I'm definitely going to be there with her and one other comedian. Then she tells it's postponed.
Getting even one day off where I work isn't as easy as it sounds. It's worse when a certain supervisor does the schedule, because she has this way of punishing you for taking a day off by giving you even more time off, so that I have to work double shifts in order to make ends meet.
I haven't been doing this for ten years. I am still very much in the amateur stage and I'm not deluded enough to believe that will change soon, though I'm hopeful.
At first I was thinking it's not her fault. The event got postponed, it happens. Then she posts on her f**king Facebook the poster of her and the other comedian and the event is still going on, but it's still on the 1st. She hasn't contacted me to say "Yup, it's back on."
So yeah, I think I should just cut her off entirely and stick to doing things solo. I don't think she'll lose sleep over it either.
Thoughts?
If you want the gig contact her.
Prides a wonderful thing but you can't eat it.
It's not about pride really. She's had plenty of time to let me know the event was still going on. Maybe I should just show up as a customer since I know where the event is and see if she remembers telling me it wasn't happening.
that'd just piss you off, comedies a slippery ladder if you want the gig all she can say is sorry you're off the bill.
Then when you're rich and famous you can base an entire chapter of your autobiography to what a bitch she is. Then your millions of fans will chase her from state to state, then country to country. Till she finally eeks out a living in North Korea the only country where comedy is banned.
Yeah, I would just contact her and say " I see from your facebook page this gig is still going ahead, do you still want me to do a spot ? " You've nothing to lose from what I can see. There may have been a mis communication somewhere along the line ?
And don't forget to tell her NOT to read your posts in this thread 
From what I understand you'll likely come up against far worse in pursuit of your comedic career.
I'd say don't stress over it.
Take a deep breath, it might just be a mix up.
If it is on there still might be a gig for you.
Keep her sweet and she might be able to set you up with something else.
Good luck.
So the Mental Health Awareness thing has gone by. But she did tell me about the end of class show for her current class, which was my "Graduation" night back in October.
It's in two weeks and presumably she told me about it so that I could do a spot, as the event is about two hours long and she usually has a few established comics as well as students. I e-mailed her and asked her what time I should be there and she's notoriously bad at responding to e-mails in a reasonable amount of time.
Did she actually invite you?
Ask her unambiguously and if you can phone her.
Otherwise this is sounding like a Dougal Sirke wives in trouble epic of the 1950s, with you in crinolene weeping that your impresario really loves you. When well we the audience know this isn't the case.
So can I put this bluntly.
She is acting sufficiently unprofessionally for you to be doing better elsewhere.
Mental Health Awareness should want to keep potential fundraisers happy-maybe they wondered what you would say? Be offensive?