"Show Tips" with David Sedelmeier: Comedy and Fundraisers

Nov. 22, 2010
Posted By - Emma Venezie
Source Credits - David Sedelmeier, talent network, inc.
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 “Show Tips” is a weekly insight with David Sedelmeier, owner of talent network, inc., parent company and entertainment booking agency that handles events all over the world. “Show Tips” is a live interview with David in which he shares his insights and experiences about entertainment and performers as well as his tips on how to enhance your event. This week, we'll be talking about comedy and fundraisers.

Why a comedy show for a fundraiser?

Fundraisers are always looking for something unique to find ways to generate revenue - to get people to attend. We came up with the idea of doing them as comedy nights. Some of the outlying areas outside the city are kind of starved for entertainment, so we found that if you could get a good venue and put on a good-name comedian, people will be very interested in coming to the event. Besides generating revenue from the ticket sales, and there are some other means that we can creatively extract some money from guests while they're there, too.

Common fundraiser concern: How will you generate revenue?

There are a couple different ways: Mainly it's through the door/ticket with charge to get into the event. Sometimes, you want to have a name comedian to have such a profile that it is a drawing card. The other aspect is to just sell the concept of a comedy night.

The big thing is, to make sure it's a good comedian, and that's where our job comes in. We go out and see each comedian that we book. We know the essence of their routines. And we want to make sure that they're the type of comedian suited for the audience.

How do you make a comedy night successful?

This is a question we take a lot of time to try and explain to our clients. Comedy is kind of odd; it is a fragile art. For it to be successful, there are a couple different factors. One of them is the setting of the room.

Why is the setting of the room important?

Some of these private affairs will have a DJ and a band, and the comedian is going on after dinner; so he's up on stage, and there's this big dance floor and the first audience member is 30 or 40 feet away. All the houselights are up and the sound system is in-house in-the-ceiling speakers, and that's all a recipe for disaster. I don't care how good the comedian is.

So what should the setting/atmosphere of the room be?

Comedy is about intimacy; it's about a performer very close to you, telling jokes and stories, and you have to feel comfortable. You need a good quality sound system, so everyone can hear what the comedian is saying, and the audience needs to be as close to the stage and at as small of tables as humanly possible; sometimes that's a challenge at venues where they have 8 and 10 tops, but if you can do the 4 tops or the 6 tops, it helps with people's table talk, so they're not talking amongst themselves as much.

How do you get the audience's attention?

Stage lighting is vital, so when the lights go down, your visual focal point becomes where the light is, and you're visually drawn to the stage. These are the little things that we try to put in there, and now the comedian has the proper atmosphere to create a successful show.

What is the importance of the opening act?

We feel it is extremely important to have someone to warm up the crowd, set the stage, get the crowd acclimated to what's coming. We've seen dramatically different results in the response of the crowd to the headliner when we've had an opening act. All of our headlining comedians love the fact that we put openers with them on private shows and college shows.

What are some characteristics of the opening act?

We call it "taking the bullet" because it's not an easy gig: you're the first guy out on stage; you're trying to get the crowd to pay attention to you; people are still finishing dessert and talking, so it's tough, but the talented ones kind of win them over. No one usually raves about the opening act, but his job is to make the headliner look good. So when the headliner gets that standing ovation, part of that is because that opening act did such a good job.

Do you try and match up similar styles; do you try and get comedians that are similar?

We try and get comedians that aren't going to conflict. If you get a Mark Eddie that is doing songs and impressions, I'm not going to put an impressionist type comedian in front of him, and I'm not going to put a musical act in front of him. If a comedian is a magical type, I'm not going to put a magician in front of him. With openers, you generally like energy; you like somebody that's kind of like the guys that do the game show warm-ups.

How do you know if a comedy night is successful?

With comedy, you kind of know right away: if the people are applauding, on their feet, and wanting more. There isn't a lot of mystery to the success of a comedy show.

Do you think you know within the first few minutes?

No. With some comedians, like a Rocky LaPorte, who I think is one of the most talented comedians, it takes awhile. Listening to him, you go "what is this?" But the next thing you know, you're absolutely loving everything he's saying. Other people, like a Mark Eddie, walk out and they're instantly funny because you just marvel at how he can acclimate so quickly. Greg Hahn is someone with tremendous energy, and it's funny but it's kind of odd and then it gets really funny and then it gets hysterical because it's just this monster energy. He's a hard act to follow.

When it comes to a fundraiser, why comedy?

There are a lot of things to do as a fundraiser, and we've done them all. The reason we like comedy is because if you deliver a good quality comedy show, it's something that you can set up on a quarterly or semi-quarterly or annual basis in which people are intrigued to come back to. Comedy is extremely popular; it breaks all the boundaries. Everybody loves to laugh.

For more information or to book a comedian, please contact:
talent network, inc.
412-264-4727


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