For too long, I have seen so many “comics” dissing the MC spot because it’s not that “glorious”. Yet, these are the same “comics” that are not really ready to host a show, have failed miserably at hosting or are too eager to jump into being a feature. But being the Master of Ceremony is more than just doing time on stage and introducing other comics to the stage. It’s an art within itself… And it’s a shame that this spot has been looked down in a negative light.

It’s truly a lost skill in most comedy clubs…

I’ve seen and worked on many shows where the MC, probably was never given any real pointers or proper etiquette on hosting a show. It irks me that most comics who got the hosting gig, either complained about it or thought that it was too beneath them (I’ve seen this apply to comics who’s been trying to move up and out of the MC spot for some time. At one point in my career, I too had this same attitude). Just because you’re booked to host a show - does not mean it’s your time to do your 15 mins of material that you have been wanting to do. In my opinion, being the Master of Ceremony is about running the show.

Now I’m not going to sit here and write out all the do’s and don’ts for every show. In fact, every club has their own system and expectations. However, what I’m going to share is a letter that I written a few years ago when I was hosting a lot of weekend shows to another comic that was just starting out.

But before I get to the letter, let me explain that I had spent 5 years hosting almost every weekend. I spoke to a lot of veteran headliners and working comics about hosting. I took it upon myself to learn this “art” of hosting. Let me say that over the years, it’s more than just writing material and warming up the crowd. It’s about being professional and running a smooth show.

Ironically, NYC is probably the only city that seems to treat the MC spot as a headliner spot. Why? Because NY audience are tough! When I was asked to host a show in Time Square, I jumped on the opportunity. Why? Because it was exciting for me to host a show somewhere new… and I loved it!

On the flip side… there are clubs elsewhere that will treat the hosting spot as if you’re a shit comic. Instead of using a seasoned comic to run the show, they promote the open mic comics to that the Hosting level with no experience whatsoever. That’s the nature of the beast I suppose. But it all comes down to just being professional… So without further adieu… here are some of my thoughts about the MC responsibilites.

BTW - a decent book to use for reference is: “How Not To Suck as an Emcee” by Dan Rosenberg.

But below are some tips from my experiences that I’ve learned over the years…

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What I am about to share with you is my personal experience from trials and errors.

Being the MC means more than just having clean material and being funny. Do you or anyone really know what the job of the MC is? First of all - I’m not a great MC. But I’m decent, better than a few, worst than others, and I’ve learned some things on my own after pissing some headliners off…

A Master of Ceremonies or MC (sometimes spelled emcee), sometimes called a compere, is the host of a staged event or other performance. The MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the show moving.

1. The MC usually will set the tone of the show! You are responsible for making the club announcements, getting the correct intros to the comedians, plugging the club’s website and upcoming shows. Most importantly - EVERY show should be treated as a FRESH show, regardless if this is your 5th show on a Saturday night at 1am somewhere in the Village or some club in BFE…

If you come on stage all unenthusiastic and tiring, you’re telling the audience you don’t give a shit about them.

2. You need to be a very likable person. But at the MC spot - it’s tough to be likable. And that’s the personal connection I’m talking about. A lot of things can and will always go wrong - with the club, comics, and the crowd. If anything, I believe you need to find a way to really capture the audience’s attention. Therefore, you need to develop your stage presence. YOU SERIOUSLY NEED TO START RECORDING ALL YOUR SETS AND REVIEW IT BY MAKE CRITICAL NOTES ON YOURSELF AND CONSCIOUSLY. MAKE THE EFFORT TO CORRECT IT NEXT TIME YOU’RE ON STAGE.

I always try to establish a connection with the crowd. By that, I want the crowd to listen to me - so I’m going to warm them up before I go into my set.

OPENING LINE (as a suggestion only):

Hey everyone! By a round applause how do you feel? (Applause)
(If no one applause) - I said how you feel people! Make some noise!

Thank you for coming on a SATURDAY night and supporting live comedy!
We got a great show lined up for you. Are you guys excited! (Applause)
(If no one applause) - REPEAT PREVIOUS QUESTION

CROWD WORK:

Do we have any first timers in the club? (Applause)

By now if you realized - I just got the audience to applaud 3x as a group.

(Celebrations) - Who’s celebrating? Birthdays!? (Applause) Anniversaries? (Applause)

Now I’ve just asked them as individuals to applaud.

INSERT YOUR LAST QUESTION THAT WILL LET YOU SEG-WAY INTO YOUR OPENING SET LINE. Or if you feel they are ready for your material, then go right to it. But warm the crowd up. Remember, the show just started and they’re probably still being seated or ordering their drinks. So the first few minutes, expect about half the crowd to be ignoring you.

Just try to capture the audience’s attention without being obnoxious. Speak loudly and I don’t mean by screaming or being hyper. Be commanding! Keep trying to get the MC spot at the Open Mics. The next time you go to a comedy show - MAKE SURE YOU WATCH THE WEEKEND MC TECHNIQUES.

3. MC is a tough spot. You need to get the crowd warmed up and you also want to do your stuff. DO NOT launch into your material too quickly. It’s better to sacrifice a minute or two extra to get the crowd properly focused.

Also, practice how you’re going to say the announcements ahead of time. Make it as smooth as possible. If you can, do some right up front and then do some in between the feature and headliner. Again, it doesn’t need to be an ordeal, make them quick; fewer words – succinct - bam, done.

For example:

Fill out the comment cards on your table…we’ll put you on our email list…you can win tickets for your birthday and get announcements of all the great acts coming up… Richard Pryor, Berni Mac will be here as well as George Carlin…

You don’t need to go into specific dates, people won’t remember that—they are DRINKING— they won’t remember the name of the comic they just saw.

Hint— you can just go up on stage and clap your hands. That helps a lot. Plus, you don’t have to do all the ‘ARE YOU READY FOR SOME COMEDY… NO, REALLY, ARE YOU READY FOR SOME COMEDY… YOU BETTER DO BETTER THAN THAT… CLAP YOUR HANDS OR I’M NOT BRINGING OUT THIS NEXT GUY!!!’ Don’t beat a dead horse. Your actions of hand clapping will get people focused and in a good mood. There’s a line between getting them fired up and annoying the crowd and the other comics.

4. There is an art to emceeing. MC’ing is a tough bag because most of the time the club doesn’t promote you as a comedian so the crowd thinks your just up there to spit out useless info and they pay more attention to the menu. Doing the birthday thing is good cause it gets their attention but you need to have something to get a laugh off your question, what has always worked for me and I’ve been doing it for years is that I’ll do the birthday thing then I’ll bust “is anybody celebrating anything else like a negative pregnancy test” it’s stupid but it works and let’s them know I’m there to tell jokes too.

Getting into your material can be tricky, you got to do it because you want to work out these hilarious thoughts you created but again what I found has always worked for me and from watching others comics whether they are MC, Feature, or Headlining, is open up with something they can relate to (something about the town you’re in , a current event, something that shows them you can relate. It’s all about gaining their trust and then you hit them with the shit you really want to talk about. But you have to lead them there. This might help you out but as you have probably already seen, stand up is a crazy bag and you always have to be ready for the unexpected. Oh yeah confidence!!! You are the baddest motherfucker in the room. You don’t have to act like a cocky dickhead but just take pride in your imagination.

5. ALWAYS PUT THE MIC BACK IN THE STAND. This is not a Comedy Baton Relay. It’s a sign of being green and amateurish!

6. Don’t ever mention the comedian’s name when he or she is not going up next.

“Hey Nick Cat’s coming up later and he’s really funny” - WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

The only time you should mention the Feature and Headliner names are at the beginning of the show. Generally, you should only mention the Headliner’s name.

WE GOT A GREAT SHOW LINED UP FOR YOU - YOUR FEATURE AND HEADLINER ARE IN THE BACK OF THE HOUSE. MAKE SOME NOISE AND LET THEM HEAR YOU.

That’s it. Don’t ever mention their names more than 2x on stage - when they get on stage and when they get off stage. 3x times if you go with the first option I gave you.

You never say - “Hey that’s Nick Cat he was your Feature” - WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

When you introduce your feature and headliner - introduce them something along this format:

YOUR FEATURE PERFORMER… [INSERT THEIR CREDITS] … PLEASE WELCOME… [INSERT NAME]

YOUR HEADLINER… [INSERT THEIR CREDITS] …PLEASE GIVE IT UP FOR… [INSERT NAME]

7. When you MC and the comic did not give you any credits don’t say shit like - “This next’s guy is funny and very hilarious and he’s going to make you laugh your ass off and put you in stitches and then he’s going make you cry and go into cardiac arrest cause you can’t stop laughing.”

If you don’t know his credits or if he says make one up - saying something like:

“Your guest spot is from INSERT HIS CITY. Please give it up for…”

Or do the generic like…

“This next comic has performed in clubs and colleges. Give a big hand for…”

Nothing fancy - but you also don’t want to look like a liar. If you say he’s funny and he’s not - the audience might turn on you. They won’t be so receptive towards you when you introduce someone else who IS funny.

BTW - DON’T BRING COMICS UP TO A DEAD ROOM. Get the applause going!

Just have fun, be funny and run the show smoothly and professionally.

Anyway, these are SOME my techniques I’ve developed over the years.

Just my opinions though. Then again, what do I know… really now!

Hope that helps.
Nick