He said he was the manager of a country club in Connecticut. Once when emceeing The Ivy League of Comedy sm I asked a member of the audience what he did for a living. And if audience members have interesting careers, or a fund story to delve into, or even if the conversation just takes an interesting turn, that’s something new and fun for me as well as for the audience. When I emcee every show’s different because every audience is different. Especially since the emcee is the first one on stage, welcoming them to the show.Īnother reason I emcee is that I genuinely like emceeing shows (many comics don’t, especially since they see the emcee job as entry-level). More than anyone else in the show, the audience sees the emcee as the representative of the person or group running the event. One reason is quality control If I’m emceeing the show I can be sure that I’m happy with the quality of the emcee. Which is why I’m very careful about who emcees The Ivy League of Comedy sm. I’ve watched thousands of comedy shows and it’s my belief that the quality of the emcee, probably more than any other single factor, is responsible for the success of a stand-up comedy show. Shaun Eli on stage at Goliath Comedy Club in Johannesburg, South Africa A great master of ceremonies is hard to find. As a result the emcee often spends more stage time trying to work on comedy material than on learning to warm up an audience to contribute to the show’s success. Especially if he/she becomes a good emcee– then the club wants to keep him/her at the emcee level for doing a good job in a spot that’s typically not done all that well. So the new emcee isn’t happy and becomes desperate to move up from emcee to feature act, and the way to move up is to develop one’s comedy skills. And the ‘error’ part in comedy is no fun at all. In front of a paying audience that’s expecting a professional.Īnd here’s what often happens– emceeing is a hard job to learn, especially by trial-and-error. And all of a sudden it’s a very different job to do. But while the emcee may have done a hundred open-mike nights and new talent shows he or she may never have hosted a show before. Here in America the emcee job is typically given to the least-experienced comic emceeing is the entry-level job. Even from English language shows in countries where they primarily speak other languages. the emcee spot is treated differently from shows elsewhere. Of course good emcees are supposed to be both. And then when the audience is ready, introduce the other comics as they take the stage.Ĭomics are taught that it’s more important for the emcee to be likable on stage than it is to be funny. The emcee should slowly, and seamlessly, segue into comedy material. The idea is to get a conversation flowing, make the audience comfortable with the unequal relationship of someone on stage with stage lighting, a microphone and all the attention. That’s why a good emcee will talk to the audience (what’s known as ‘crowd work’)- ask maybe where they’re from, what they do for a living, how old their kids might be or what kind of cars they drive. The audience needs to adjust to the idea. There’s a reason the emcee doesn’t just take the stage and start telling jokes. Regardless of their experience and talent. So it’s important that the emcee not only be a good comic, but also be someone who feels comfortable on stage, at home talking to an audience. Because sitting in a dark room, listening to someone on stage talk to you, conversationally, when it’s not really a conversation but a monologue, isn’t natural. It’s the emcee’s job to warm up the audience– talk to them, enhance their comfort at the idea of a stand-up comedy show and make them feel welcome. In most of the English-speaking world (including Canada) the emcee is usually the second most experienced comic in the show. The Importance of the Emcee* 15 Reasons Why Having A Great Emcee Is Very Important to the Success of a Stand-up Comedy Show
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