Starving for Laughs

Starving for Laughs Comedians are getting the shaft. That, at least, is the opinion of the New York Comedians Coalition, a group of 300 area comics who are dirt poor and demanding more money from clubs. Despite the city's recent surge in stand-up clubs, the group says that wages for local comics have remained stagnant since the mid-1980s, a time when comedians actually went on strike, wielding signs that read "No money, No funny" and "No bucks, No yuks."

The group hopes for an amicable solution (indeed, some clubs like the Comedy Cellar and Gotham Comedy Club have already given in to small wage increases) but "are prepared to do whatever is necessary to have their demands met, including going on strike."

Part of the problem, says Ray Ellin, a 10-year comic veteran and NYCC member, is the higher cost of doing comedy in the city. Comics-many of whom typically perform at multiple venues most nights-drop more cash on cab rides than before to shuttle themselves between clubs.

"[W]e're asking for a cost-of-living increase," he says.

Ten years ago, more comics were going on the road, playing college campuses and cramped clubs in smaller cities. Now, as the number of clubs and open-mic opportunities in the city expands, many comics are staying local but paying the price.

With the addition of several high-end comedy clubs in recent years and cover charges and drink prices steadily rising (not to mention that vexing two-drink minimum rule), one might think comedians would be making a bundle. But the clubs, says the NYCC, have become more commercialized and run "as strictly commercial businesses." A venue that brings in 1000 customers on a typical weekend, at a minimum cost of $25 per customer, yields at least $25,000. Of that pot, only about $2000 goes toward paying performers.

Comedians, of course, like actors in Hollywood, are not in short supply. They are no different from any other starving artist-musician, designer, writer-in the city. Sixty dollars for a 20-minute set might not seem like a lot, but it averages out to $180 per hour, which is more than most professions pay.

Maybe the reason wages haven't changed since the 1980s is that many of the routines haven't changed since then. My solution: Clubs should pay their comics more, but make it performance-based. They should reward only talented comics who don't simply recycle old material and offer up yesterday's jokes.

I'm neither pro-comedian nor pro-club. I'm pro-customer. If clubs lowered the price of liquor and comics were actually funny, the audience would walk away drunker and happier. Isn't that all that matters?