Austin vs New York Comedy
What’s it like doing comedy in Austin vs New York? Having done comedy in Austin for over 7 years, I visited New York to see if it was actually that good.
I only spent 3 days doing comedy there so I’m pretty much an authority.
I’m going to compare these 2 cities’ comedy scenes from what little time I’ve had to do so.
NEW YORK
PROS:
- Way more mics
- Way more shows
- Way more clubs
- Way more industry
- Comics actually watch each other… until they’ve done their set and leave.
- Way more Headliners to interact and learn from and possibly take you on the road with them
- Don’t need a car to get to shows
- The Stand has Roast Battles. I’d love to do those.
- Way better scene. Nerd meta-comedy doesn’t dominate. Actual testosterone. Reminds me of Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn.
CONS:
- Half the mics want you to pay
- Most of the mics are going on at the same time so the number of mics is arbitrary
- Zero audience will be there to see your mics, if you’re last, most of the audience(comics) will be gone.
- Most shows want you to bark or be a bringer
- A lot of mics are very far from one another and with most of them being bucket lists, the most I could rack up in one night was 3.
- Super expensive to live in NYC. So you better love having roommates.
- So many comics and the city is so spread out that most of them don’t even know each other.
- Way more competition, I don’t know how anyone could start there.
- I own a big dog. I’m sure that would be very difficult to pull off there.
AUSTIN
PROS:
- Lots of mics and shows
- Live cheap and easily
- Has 1.5 comedy clubs and they promote local talent
- Close to San Antonio so you can get into that scene as well
- Great place to get started
- Connections to industry and other comedy clubs
CONS:
- Most of the good mics require sign-ups and are hard to get on
- Only 1 real comedy club, so if you can’t get in there you’re fucked
- Glass ceiling, you can only do so much here.
- Strong liberal nerd meta cutesy UCB vibe. Sorry, the best way I could describe it.
CONCLUSION:
- I could leave to NYC because I like its vibe better. But would I want to live with roommates in a shitty yet expensive apartment?
- I can almost do just as many mics here, though I’m so tired of mics.
- I don’t have strong enough credits or connections in NYC to give me a beginner’s boost like some of my comedian friends.
- Maybe I need another market to do comedy in. I think I somehow had a falling out here locally, plus I started here so I’ll always be remembered as an open micer.
- It’s easier to live here which allows me to do filmmaking and other hobbies. If I go to NYC I would be solely focused on comedy. Which is cool, and maybe what I need. But it’s the all your eggs in one basket thing.
- Are there any advantages in staying and being a local comic in a smaller market like Austin vs New York?
- I don’t really have anything tying me to Austin except for easy rent that allows me to do filmmaking.
- Looking to see if I can get my online business doing well enough to make an NYC move an easy choice.
- So the conclusion is no conclusion. We’ll just have to wait and see.