The host opens the room, carries the announcements, brings up each comic and keeps the night on time, so a club trusts its MC with the whole audience, not just a set. Build a clean opening, rehearse each introduction, tape a full night of hosting, and keep the producers who will vouch for you.
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 4 true
19 steps in 5 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: Host, feature and headline and Grow the act without padding. In the D.O.C. book: topics 115–131, 435–455 and 51–70.
Host, feature and headline · roles-01
BARK asks its MCs for a clean 10–15 minutes: write the opening so it works clean, then two ways into each act.
Done when A timed opener and clean transitions.
Host, feature and headline · roles-02
Ask each comic before the show how their name is said and what they’d like said about them; an introduction gets the room ready for someone else.
Done when Show notes or a hosting rehearsal.
Grow the act without padding · set-02
Done when An actual timed set, not censored placeholders.
Grow the act without padding · set-03
Done when A ten-minute recording and notes.
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
Ask who gives the light. When it’s you, agree the signal with each comic before the show.
Done when A set in which you handled the light correctly.
Become the comic rooms trust · pro-03
Done when Travel, arrival, set list, sound and exit.
Become the comic rooms trust · pro-05
Done when Consistent finish times over several sets.
Become the comic rooms trust · pro-06
The host is often first to face a disruption: know who has authority, and where the manager is, before doors.
Done when Know who has authority and where to get help.
From the Career Field Manual: Host, feature and headline and Assemble booking proof. In the D.O.C. book: topics 115–131, 435–455 and 143–173.
Host, feature and headline · roles-03
Done when A show date and useful feedback.
Assemble booking proof · package-04
The Loony Bin asks for 15 minutes for MC consideration: tape a whole night’s hosting, with the opening and the hand-offs, not only your set.
Done when A clip showing what a buyer can expect.
Assemble booking proof · package-06
Done when Lengths you can deliver in real rooms.
Assemble booking proof · package-07
Done when A verifiable performance history.
Host, feature and headline · roles-05
Done when Permission to share each reference.
From the Career Field Manual: Find and pitch the right rooms and Become the comic rooms trust. In the D.O.C. book: topics 143–196 and 400–434.
Find and pitch the right rooms · bookings-03
Done when A dated first-party booking requirement record.
Find and pitch the right rooms · bookings-04
Say you’re submitting to host, send the hosting tape, give the length of your clean set, and name the rooms you’ve hosted.
Done when Three concise, different pitches.
Become the comic rooms trust · pro-07
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.
From the Career Field Manual: Get paid. Keep records.. In the D.O.C. book: topics 234–289.
Get paid. Keep records. · money-01
Done when A saved agreement or confirmation.
Get paid. Keep records. · money-03
Done when Who owes you what and by when.
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 clean 10–15 minute set, no worse than PG-13 even when the headliner works dirty, from a comic who is easy to work with, polite to staff, sober on stage and eager to learn the announcements. The MC sets the tone for the whole night.
The ability to do a clean 10-15 minute set.
You set the mood and the tone for the entire evening.
willing and eager to learn the MC announcements
BARK Entertainment’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
Hosting is its own job: crowd engagement, pacing and the tone of the night. Its first criterion for performers: stick to your time.
Hosting is not the same as doing a set.
You should be comfortable with crowd engagement, pacing, and setting the tone for the night.
Keep the energy up, manage the room, and help the audience have a great time.
Durango Comedy’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
Full-length, unedited video: a 15-minute set for MC consideration, with the full-week clubs you’ve worked in that position.
We book from full length, unedited set video.
15 minute set for MC consideration
a list of full week clubs you have performed at in the position (MC, Feature or Headline) for which you are applying.
The Loony Bin, Tulsa’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
Places that publish how a host 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 routeOklahoma City and Tulsa, OK, and its other clubs · Club spots · Form
What it looks for in a paid MC, before you apply: a clean 10–15 minute set, no worse than PG-13 even when the headliner works dirty, and a comic who’s easy to work with, polite to staff, sober on stage and keen to learn the MC announcements.
Worth knowing. Its page calls MCing a difficult position that sets the tone of the night, and not for everyone.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeTulsa, OK · Club spots · Email
Email a full-length, unedited set: 15 minutes for MC, 30 for feature, 45 for headliner. With it: the full-week clubs you’ve worked in that position, your avails for the next 12 months, a bio and headshot or press pack, any recommendations, your phone and email, and your social media.
Worth knowing. It won’t download a program or sign up to a service to watch a video, and it gets in touch only if your act is a match.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeTulsa, OK · Club spots · Form
The club’s contact page links BARK Entertainment’s comic submission form, shared by its clubs: choose Bricktown Comedy Club, Tulsa, and the positions you want (MC, showcase, feature, headliner), with a video (5 minutes recommended), the clubs you’ve worked in the past 12 months and any referrals from comics who work for it.
Worth knowing. Once you’re passed, you go on its avails email, sent at least once a quarter: the only way to submit for dates. It may not answer every submission, and it welcomes new video every six months.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeOklahoma City, OK · Club spots · Form
The club’s contact page links BARK Entertainment’s comic submission form, shared by its clubs: choose Bricktown Comedy Club, Oklahoma City, and the positions you want (MC, showcase, feature, headliner), with a video (5 minutes recommended), the clubs you’ve worked in the past 12 months and any referrals from comics who work for it.
Worth knowing. Once you’re passed, you go on its avails email, sent at least once a quarter: the only way to submit for dates. It may not answer every submission, and it welcomes new video every six months.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeLafayette, LA · Club spots · Form
A 5–10 minute stand-up video, not set to private, the role you want (host, opener, feature, headliner) and references who can vouch for you. Its own examples of set lengths: a feature 10–25 minutes.
Worth knowing. It mostly brings in national touring comics; the showcases are where it books others.
Checked 10 November 2026Seasonal: check firstDurango, CO · Club spots · Form
Its 2026 performer form, for openers (5 minutes) to headliners (up to 60) and hosts; national and non-regional headliners are booked by invitation only.
Worth knowing. A 2026 form: check that it’s still taking names before you send.
Checked 10 November 2026BARK Entertainment calls the job a paid MC, but none of the buyers on this page publishes what a host is paid, so this page gives no figure: ask, and get the answer in writing.
In writing, 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: MC submission: [Your name], [Your home town] Hi [The booker's or producer's name], I'm [Your name], a stand-up from [Your home town], submitting to host at [The club or venue]. A continuous [Your hosting clip's length, in minutes]-minute clip of me hosting, from the opening through the hand-offs: [Your clip's link] My clean set runs [Your clean set's length, in minutes] minutes. Rooms I've hosted: [The rooms you've hosted]. I'm available [The dates you can do]. A producer who will vouch for me: [A producer who will vouch for you]. Thank you for looking, [Your name]
Hi [The comic's name], I'm hosting [The show's name] at [The club or venue] on [The show's date], and you're on the lineup. So I get your introduction right: 1. Your name, the way you say it? 2. One line or credit you'd like said, or just your name? 3. How long are you up, and how would you like the light? Check-in is at [The check-in time]. See you there, [Your name]
1. Which nights, how many shows, and how long do I do up top? 2. What's the fee, and is it per show or for the week? 3. When and how am I paid? 4. Which announcements must I read, and who gives them to me? 5. What's the content rule for my set? 6. Who gives the light, and what's the signal? 7. Who do I check in with at [The club or venue], and when? 8. What happens if a show is cancelled?
Subject: Thank you, [The show's name] Hi [The booker's or producer's name], Thank you for having me host [The show's name] on [The show's date]. Is there anything you'd like done differently with the announcements or the running order next time? I'm open [The dates you can do] if you need a host. The night's clip: [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.
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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: club circuit, stop 2 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 what a host does, read What does a comedy host do?.
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