Make Every Spot, Your Spot

Konstantin Stanislavsky famously said, "Remember; there are no small parts, only small actors.” 

And to that I say, "Bullshit." In comedy we all know there are good spots – headlining the Saturday night show to a packed house – and lousy spots – opening the Monday night show to eight people. 

Not every spot is the best spot. But every spot you get is your spot.

No matter what spot you're on, be it HBO or a hostel, they all have one thing in common … you. You are on stage, with both an opportunity and an obligation to connect with the audience and deliver the show. 

Somewhere near the bottom of the comedy totem pole is the dreaded "check spot" – the spot late in the show during which the checks are dropped on the tables and the audience gets distracted. Adding to the challenge, often it's late, they're tired, they're drunk, they're all laughed out or they want to leave. But you're there, and so are they. And if you're not there to perform, why bother?

Many comics just phone it in during a check spot. "The audience is not invested, why should I be?" But a comic who can rock a check spot is a comic who can do anything. Take two examples from SuperEgo TV.

Rob Santo's video on SuperEgo TV is the only check spot we've ever posted. We love Rob. We just don't usually feature check spot videos. 

Watch this video carefully. No, there aren't a lot of laughs in the first couple minutes. The crowd is distracted. But make no mistake, Rob is doing his best material that we've seen kill at other shows. He doesn't give up. And he doesn't badger them to pay attention. He just keeps going, staying totally committed. Watch how the crowd slowly buys into his set. By the end he's getting great laughs. All because he took the spot he was given, made it his own and he rocked it. So we put it up on SuperEgo TV. You're awesome, Rob!

Our second example is Dan Enfield's kick-ass spot on SuperEgo TV. Dan was booked to do a 5 minute check spot. Instead, the checks never came and he performed for 9 minutes. When you're performing you don't know what's happening backstage. 

So what happened?

A backstage SNAFU, that's what. The checks weren't ready. We were up against a wall and the staff was scrambling. Because of the lineup, we could not drop the checks on the next comic. So we left Dan on stage and like a trooper he just kept going. We love you, Danimal. You're a machine!

What's the lesson here? If the MC leaves you on stage longer than you expected, have more material. Keep going. Plan a set that is longer than the one you've been booked for and have your jump to closer ready for the light. Or do crowd work. Improvise. But when you're on a pro show, never bail the stage, especially if the MC is not in the room. If you haven't gotten the light yet, there is a reason. 

If Dan had bailed, we would have been in a real pinch. Instead, he rocked the house, made an awesome video and got himself on SuperEgo TV on what was supposed to have been a check spot. 

Dan scored himself a very well-paying college gig off this video. We don't claim credit for that. That's all Dan and his awesome hustle. He turned a check spot into an opportunity, and then another one. 

Bottom line … no matter what spot you're booked to do, take it, own it and rock it as hard as you know how. Do this and not only will you get more spots, you'll get better spots.