Last week I said four mics was my limit. I was wrong. Zac Newford has no limit!
Spanx the Hog BBQ (Pompano Beach), Riverside Mic (Plantation), Cliff’s Restaurant and Sports Bar (Hollywood), Thank You Miami (Little Havana), 7 Seas Bar (West Miami) all have open mics on Monday. The earliest, Spanx, is the furthest North. 7 Seas is the furthest South and the latest. By some small miracle I was able to get to each spot along the way and get five prompt spots in the line-ups. At Riverside, there were only three acts ahead of me when I signed up; I made it to Cliff’s as the last act was finishing up and Al P granted me an impromptu set. The wait at Thank You Miami was longer but there was no rush because Seven Seas would be starting after Midnight.
From my early arrival at Spanx at 6:30 until Peter Gurl closed out Seven Seas at 1:30am, I was watching, performing, and thinking about comedy. I had some new jokes to run. On the drives in between I’d watch my sets and think about how to improve. I also saw at least 25 other comedians go up, some at multiple locations!
Specifically, I was working on Millennial Jesus as well as some tweaks to my latest bit— Kanye & Kyrie— and a couple new jokes related to the classic: I disagree.
My first set I spent some time roasting a crowd member and used my new friend as a prime example of “Millennial Jesus.” This was good fun and I am interested in making some roasting of the audience/comics a staple of my opener. It’s good writing practice and helps connect to the crowd.
Connecting to the crowd is one of the five responsibilities of the comedian from a list my friend Marty imparted to me:
Write
Prepare
Entertain
Connect with the audience
Leave them wanting more
I’ve always loved to write and I consider myself betters prepared than most (but I could always practice more). On entertainment, I could work here on bringing more energy and confidence to my sets. But it is the final two points that I feel I fall the furthest short on. I am not a “crowd work” comedian but it is still my responsibility to connect. That can mean making eye contact, being relatable, or using prompts that draw a response from the audience. My most successful “connection” comes from immediately disagreeing with the crowd. This inversion is fine I just need more moments in my set to bring the audience into my act.
What I really need to work on is the final point. I rarely save a strong joke for my close. It’s well known that a good ending will stick with the audience more than any other part of the set but I usually go through my most promising material right away. I should structure my set lists so that I can leave the audience wanting more landing on my best punch. I certainly had some punches from this long night that would have done the trick. Now I need to write and prepare these jokes into a more memorable and impactful part of my set.
My favorite set of the night was Spanx the Hog (below). It was my first time there and I did a great job connecting with the audience. Using a receptive audience member to be the target of my material made my act seem more spontaneous. Harkening back to the advice of my first comedy mentor, crowd work should help set up bits and make the crowd part of the show!
I also submitted to a comedy contest. It is open to all Birthright participants and I consider it a long shot but I have a well-produced video from my graduation show at the Villain that I sent in. You can vote for me by scrolling to the bottom of this page and clicking on “Vote.” Thank You!
Guess what visual I can’t shake now? 🤦🏻♀️