Repeat campus work comes from schools that book you again and tell other schools, and from dates routed so the travel pays. Keep a record for each school, write again when a new board takes over, offer blocks of dates to schools near one another, and keep your kit and your price current.
Where you are, the tests for the next stop, and the steps between, in the order most comics take them. The steps are the Career Field Manual's; mark each one as you go, and the day goes in your passport.
The travel market can be a next step for a campus act: Warshaw Entertainment looks for comedians with experience in clubs, cruise ships, resorts, casinos and colleges. These are the tests its buyers set in their own published rules. Tick each one when it’s true for you.
0 of 4 true
15 steps in 4 parts, from the Career Field Manual. Each has its “done when”, a D.O.C. tool for it, and your status, note and target date; star up to twelve for your 90-day plan.
From the Career Field Manual: Become the comic rooms trust and Host, feature and headline. In the D.O.C. book: topics 400–434, 115–131 and 435–455.
Become the comic rooms trust · pro-07
Write again when a new board takes over: student officers change as they graduate, and the staff adviser often stays.
Done when A concise thank-you or useful check-in.
Become the comic rooms trust · pro-08
Done when Return requests or references, with permission.
Host, feature and headline · roles-05
Ask a pleased adviser as well as the student who booked you, and quote no one without their permission.
Done when Permission to share each reference.
Host, feature and headline · roles-08
Done when A verified date history, not a guess.
From the Career Field Manual: Route the road, not the poster. In the D.O.C. book: topics 197–233 and 314–347.
Route the road, not the poster · road-01
Done when Verified opportunities and reasons for each city.
Route the road, not the poster · road-03
Start from the dates you have, then offer the schools nearby a block: APCA’s Cooperative Buying lists blocks of 2 events in 3 days, 3 in 5 and 5 in 7.
Done when A route with confirmed dates distinguished.
Route the road, not the poster · road-08
Count the whole run: a block’s lower price per show works when the drives between campuses are short.
Done when Post-tour reconciliation, not ticket gross.
Route the road, not the poster · road-09
Done when Actual draw, attendance and net by town.
From the Career Field Manual: Grow the act without padding, Assemble booking proof and Build a career you can keep. In the D.O.C. book: topics 51–70, 115–131, 435–455, 143–173 and 400–455.
Grow the act without padding · set-07
A school that books you again, and the travel market after it, want a longer show, in more than one version.
Done when Audience-tested act, not just a timed draft.
Assemble booking proof · package-08
Done when Accessible bio, clips and contact information.
Build a career you can keep · sustain-06
Done when Confirmed versus out-of-date opportunities.
Build a career you can keep · sustain-03
Done when Three measurable deliverables under your control.
From the Career Field Manual: Get paid. Keep records. and Choose help when it solves a problem. In the D.O.C. book: topics 234–289 and 290–313.
Get paid. Keep records. · money-09
Done when A written threshold with explicit exceptions.
Choose help when it solves a problem · team-03
An agent earns a place when the dates, the follow-up and the paperwork outgrow you.
Done when A specific time, access or negotiation problem.
Choose help when it solves a problem · team-05
Done when The agreement reviewed before signing.
Habits, not a timetable: the atlas has no stopwatch. Keep these going, and the proof for this stop builds up week by week.
Each buyer's published rule, quoted from its own page, checked on 10 November 2026. They differ, so send each one what its page asks for, and read the page again before you send.
Schools at APCA’s conferences can pool their buying power and offer an act a block of dates, for a lower price and shared travel.
offering performers/speakers a block of dates in a specified time period in exchange for a lower price and sharing of travel costs with other schools
2 events in 3 days
5 events in 7 days
APCA Conferences’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
NACA’s rule for its lower-priced showcase acts: a single date can leave travel out, but a block price includes it. And schools can post what they’re looking for in NACA’s 24/7 database, which tells members who fit.
Isolated dates for Spotlight Low can be exclusive of travel, but block prices must include travel.
Schools enter information about acts/services they are looking to source and you'll get notified if you meet the criteria.
NACA Membership’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
APCA’s artist profiles stay up through your membership year, and a school’s interest form goes straight to you or your agent.
Schools and talent buyers can view your profile and submit an Attraction Interest form at any time throughout the year.
Interest forms are forwarded directly to the Agent or Self-Repped Artist!
APCA’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
Places that publish how a campus act gets in, each checked on 10 November 2026. Save one to your booking desk to keep its status, a follow-up date and a note. 62 places in all, on the Career Atlas →
Seasonal: check firstHershey, PA · College market · Membership
Join APCA first (a self-represented artist membership is $269 a year), then apply to showcase at its national conference, 27 February to 2 March 2027: there’s no application fee, and nothing to pay until a showcase is accepted. A 10-minute non-catered showcase package is $2,399, a booth included.
Worth knowing. If you’re accepted, you also need a delegate pass ($549 early, by 25 January) and a room in the conference hotel block, and payment is due within 10 days of the showcase notice.
Checked 10 November 2026Seasonal: check firstSt. Paul, MN · College market · Membership
Showcasing at a NACA regional conference takes associate membership first (a regional membership covers one conference a year), then a $180 showcase application, a booth and a full registration. Of the 2026–27 regional conferences, NACA St. Paul (8–10 April 2027) is still taking showcase applications, until 7 January 2027.
Worth knowing. The costs add up, and delegates are expected to stay in the conference hotel block: price the trip first. An act that has never showcased at NACA, with minimal tech needs, can also apply for its People’s Choice Showcase, for St. Paul by 11 February 2027.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeNationwide · College market · Email
At least 5–8 minutes of clean, college-appropriate material on video, a bio of 200 words at most, two high-resolution photos and your college dates.
Worth knowing. A submission to an agency isn’t a booking or a promise of representation.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeNationwide · College market · Email
A college comedy agency’s representation inquiry: a bio, a headshot, your experience in the college market, your credits, your website and social links, and a video demo of 4–8 minutes, sent to the address on its page.
Worth knowing. It asks for a college-appropriate video, not a club set with a note that you can be clean, and does most of its reviewing in May and November.
Checked 10 November 2026None of the buyers on this page publishes what a school pays a comic, so this page gives no figure. Quote two prices, a single date and a lower price per show in a block, and say what each includes: NACA’s own rule for its lower-priced showcase acts is that block prices must include travel.
In writing, for each blockQuestions to ask before you take a block · Road Maps: the Math of a Gig, with your own numbers · Get Paid, Get Back: the deal in writing · The IRS on gig work ↗
Fill in what you know once: it fills every note below and stays on this device. Anything left blank shows in [brackets], to fill in by hand.
Subject: Comedy for [The term or semester]: [Your name], who played [The school] in [When you played there] Hi [The adviser's name], I performed for [The school] in [When you played there], and I'd love to come back. [One line on how the show went] Here's a recent clip: [Your clip's link] I'm routing campus dates near you [The dates you're routing], as a single date or as part of a block with schools nearby. Best, [Your name]
Hi [The adviser's name], Thank you again for having me at [The school] in [When you played there]. May I give your name and email to other schools as a reference? If you'd rather not, I completely understand. Best, [Your name]
Subject: Campus dates near you, [The dates you're routing] Hi [The adviser's name], I'm [Your name], a clean stand-up comic, and I'll be performing at schools near you [The dates you're routing]. A single date is [Your single-date price]. As part of a block with schools nearby, it's [Your price per show in a block] per show, travel included. Video and one-sheet: [Your clip's link] Best, [Your name]
1. Which schools are in the block, and how far apart are they? 2. What's the price per show, and does it include travel and lodging? 3. Who is my contact at each school, and who signs? 4. What paperwork does each school need, and when does each pay? 5. What are each school's content and recording rules? 6. What happens if one date is cancelled?
Tick each piece when you have it: the day goes in your passport with it. The passport keeps your whole career's record on this device, to download, print and review once a year.
Nothing yet: your status changes and ticks appear here, each with its day.
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The buyers' rules are quoted from each buyer's own page, checked on 10 November 2026. A buyer can change its rules at any time, so read its page before you send anything.
By D.O.C. Editorial. This is one stop of the Stand-Up Career Atlas: colleges & campuses, stop 5 of 5. It's a way to plan, not a promise of bookings: it gives no expected years, its only figures are the ones buyers and venues publish on their own pages, and the buyers' rules are theirs. For how the college market works, read How do comedians get college gigs?.
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