A guest spot, a showcase or an audition night puts you in front of the people who book a club’s shows. Build a short set you can repeat, tape it the way each room asks, go in through that room’s own route, and keep the proof of each spot you deliver.
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.
These are the tests the next stop’s buyers set in their own published rules. Tick each one when it’s true for you.
0 of 5 true
18 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: Write original material, Grow the act without padding and Build a repetition habit. In the D.O.C. book: topics 21–50, 51–70, 115–131, 435–455, 96–114 and 415–434.
Write original material · write-07
Some first sets are shorter than five: Comedy Works starts new comics with two minutes, and Flappers’ auditions ask for your best two. Keep a version that still closes.
Done when A shorter version that still closes clearly.
Grow the act without padding · set-01
Bushwick asks for your best five minutes and Gotham for two to five: a five you can repeat is both the tape and the spot.
Done when Two or more performances that fit the slot.
Grow the act without padding · set-02
Done when An actual timed set, not censored placeholders.
Build a repetition habit · reps-06
Done when Evidence from several different sets.
From the Career Field Manual: Become the comic rooms trust. In the D.O.C. book: topics 400–434.
Become the comic rooms trust · pro-01
Comedy Works gives a 30-second light and cuts the mic at your time. Finishing on the light is part of the audition.
Done when A set in which you handled the light correctly.
Become the comic rooms trust · pro-02
Rooms set their own rules: Laughs Comedy Club asks its performers to keep its code of conduct, and Lexy’s asks auditioning comics to agree to be recorded.
Done when A note for rooms with different expectations.
Become the comic rooms trust · pro-04
Done when A short professional introduction.
Become the comic rooms trust · pro-05
Done when Consistent finish times over several sets.
From the Career Field Manual: Assemble booking proof. In the D.O.C. book: topics 143–173.
Assemble booking proof · package-01
Done when One consistent name across your records.
Assemble booking proof · package-02
Done when Current facts without inflated credits.
Assemble booking proof · package-04
Done when A clip showing what a buyer can expect.
From the Career Field Manual: Find and pitch the right rooms and Choose help when it solves a problem. In the D.O.C. book: topics 143–196 and 290–313.
Find and pitch the right rooms · bookings-01
Done when Ten candidates and their official sources.
Find and pitch the right rooms · bookings-02
Done when Opportunity types labeled in your lead list.
Find and pitch the right rooms · bookings-03
Read each room’s own page the week you send: Bushwick wants your dates at least two months out, Comedy Works a sign-up each week, BABS its form and nothing else.
Done when A dated first-party booking requirement record.
Find and pitch the right rooms · bookings-04
Done when Three concise, different pitches.
Find and pitch the right rooms · bookings-05
Done when A list showing sent, replied, follow-up, declined.
Find and pitch the right rooms · bookings-06
Done when Follow-up dates, not repeated random nudges.
Choose help when it solves a problem · team-07
Know what a showcase asks of you before you agree: a fee, a ticket quota or a recording release.
Done when Documented checks before paying any fee.
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.
A tape of two to five minutes, with clean audio and a clear view of you on stage, for its New Talent Showcase, where new comics share a mixed lineup with professionals.
Send us a 2–5 minute tape (clean audio and a clear view of you on stage).
Stage time on a mixed lineup with new talent and professional comedians
Gotham Comedy Club’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
From comics out of town, it books from video: your best five minutes as a YouTube link, a definite window of dates, and the tape in at least two months before them. It answers only the comics it picks.
We book entirely off of video submissions.
Send us your best 5 minutes.
Please submit your tape AT LEAST 2 months before your dates.
Bushwick Comedy’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
At its New Talent Night, everyone starts with a two-minute set. To move up, the coordinators look at your presence, your connection with the audience, your laughs per minute and how soon the first laugh comes.
Everyone starts with a two-minute Newbie set to show us what they can do.
How quick do you get to your first laugh?
Know your opener. Know your closer.
Comedy Works’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
Places that publish how a guest or showcase comic 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 →
Published routeEugene, OR · Audition · Form
A 5–10 minute set as a video link, a headshot and your website or EPK, to audition with two 5-minute sets before a live audience and a panel of bookers.
Worth knowing. Auditioning means agreeing to be recorded: read its recording and media consent first.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeBurbank, CA · Audition · In person
Happy Hour Auditions on Wednesday nights, 6:30–7:30 PM in its bar: pre-register by claiming a free ticket on its website, and bring your best two-minute set. Feedback comes afterwards.
Worth knowing. Slots fill fast: it sees the first 25 comics who sign up.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeDenver, CO · Showcase · Sign-up
Sign up on its New Talent site for each week you can perform; it picks the comics who have signed up most and gone longest without a set, and first-timers get a two-minute set. Comics visiting Denver use the stand-by list at the upstairs bar, out from 6:30 to 7 PM on show nights.
Worth knowing. Its FAQ says a first set generally takes 8 to 10 weeks of signing up.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeNew York, NY · Showcase · Email
A 2–5 minute tape with clean audio and a clear view of you on stage, to be considered for a New Talent Showcase.
Worth knowing. A showcase spot is stage time, not a paid club booking.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeBrooklyn, NY · Showcase · Form
A short bio and a performance video link anyone can open, for the weekly Rising Stars Showcase and other new-talent shows.
Worth knowing. The form also signs you up for an alert when the next showcase is being booked.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeBrooklyn, NY · Club spots · Form
Local comics have their own submission link; producers pitch a show by email.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeBrooklyn, NY · Club spots · Form
Your best five minutes as a YouTube link and a definite window of dates, sent at least two months before them. It books entirely from video, and answers only the comics it picks.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeForest Park, IL · Club spots · Form
Apply through its form for the Friday Local Laughs Showcase; one person books the comics and watches every clip sent.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeLos Angeles, CA · Club spots · Form
A video submission form on its website for its booking team, and a Tuesday open mic, 5:30–6:30 PM, with sign-up in person from 5:00.
Worth knowing. Its FAQ says neither the form nor the open mic guarantees a booking.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeSeattle, WA · Audition · Form
Its auditions and booking sign-up form; the club’s founder is its new-talent coordinator.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeSeattle, WA · Club spots · Form
Its contact page says it is accepting comics’ submissions, through the form it links.
Worth knowing. Its email address on that page is for tickets, not bookings.
Checked 10 November 2026A guest spot, a showcase or an audition is stage time, and none of the places on this page publishes pay for one. Before you say yes, know what the night asks of you and what getting there costs you.
Ask before you goQuestions to ask before you say yes · 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: Showcase submission: [Your name], [Your home town] Hi [The booker's name], I'm [Your name], a stand-up from [Your home town], submitting for a spot at [The club]. My best [Your set length, in minutes] minutes, in one continuous take: [Your clip's link] Where I perform now: [Where you perform now]. I can do [The dates you can do: a definite window, if you're visiting]. My bio and photo: [Your SUCDb record or website] Thank you for watching, [Your name]
1. Is the spot paid, and if it is, what and when? 2. How long is my set, and who gives the light? 3. When should I arrive, and who do I check in with? 4. Am I asked to bring guests or buy a ticket? 5. What's the content rule for the show? 6. May I film my set, and who may use the footage? 7. If it goes well, what's the next step at [The club]?
Hi, I'm [Your name], and I'm on tonight. Thanks for having me. How long am I up, and who gives the light? Is there a way you'd like to bring me up, or would one line help: [One line the host can use to bring you up]? I'll be by the stage when you need me.
Subject: Thank you, [The club] Hi [The booker's name], Thank you for the spot on [The date of the spot]. [One line on how the night went] If there's a chance to come back, I'm free [The dates you can do: a definite window, if you're visiting]. The set from the night: [Your clip's link] Best, [Your name]
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.
Saved in this browser
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: club circuit, stop 1 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 comics get booked at clubs, read How do comedians get booked at comedy clubs?.
Updated · The Career Atlas · Comic's Corner · Privacy
