There’s a network of booking agencies that represent comedians who perform at colleges for thousands of dollars per show.
How can you break into this elite group?
If you want to ply your comedy on the lecture circuit, which is what this is, there are a few minimum requirements.
• You have to have professional video (with professional sound) of you performing.
• You have to have a website
• You have to have a way for people to contact you and book you on your website
Once you have all that, you can reach out to colleges in your area. Ask for the student events coordinator. Volunteer to do a cheap show for the school (under $500) in exchange for allowing you to videotape the performance.
You’ll need to have an hour of material (or crowd work—colleges love that).
Ask for a testimonial. Ask if they know anyone at another college who might be interested in booking you.
Put this new video and the testimonial on your website.
Once you’ve got all that, if you keep active on social media, keep posting clips of you doing comedy, keep directing people to your website, and keep calling more colleges, you’ll probably land a few gigs.
After that, call any lecture agency or speaking bureau and submit your materials to them. Google them, look at their client rosters, and pick ones you think would be a good fit.
In time, you’ll have an agent making calls to colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher learning on your behalf, which makes you more legit in the eyes of the event coordinators.
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Good luck to you, and have fun!
I'd like to try this. I don't want to do standup comedy, though. I'm not funny.
I'm competent to talk about two subjects. One is Free World Theory, which is about using science to understand social phenomena. The other is story construction -- how to structure stories. The reason I got into "How to Write Funny" and other books on comedy is I wanted to learn how to sprinkle some humor into an otherwise serious subject.
I would LOVE to get gigs talking at colleges!
For a demo, do you think recording a zoom conference would work to start?
I’ve heard even comics like Seinfeld-- who I see as a pretty safe comedian-- say they don’t like playing colleges because of the prevalence of kneejerk outrage or offense-taking. I have mixed feelings about this; I love Dave Chappelle and think his comedy has been mischaracterized, but on the other hand my own sense of humor wouldn’t lead me to make jokes about transgender people.
I suspect you’d be inclined to talk about not punching down, and leave it at that.
But do you have anything to say about the danger of making jokes that might be seen as mocking a particular group even if they aren’t?
Sorry for the rambling: I think what I’m getting at is that I like the idea you’re floating here. But I’m also wondering how much I’d have to be concerned about being cautious in a college venue. I don’t need you to meet me halfway or validate my position, wishy-washy though it is. I literally want to know what I’d be getting myself into, so I could figure out if I’d have to make adjustments to my sense of humor before working up material for a serious run at this.