A ticketed room pays when, after every fee, the night covers the comics’ pay, the venue, the promotion and the other costs. Rooms offer different deals: Q.E.D. Astoria publishes a ticket split with a first-dollar guarantee, the Lincoln Lodge a flat rent with the ticket sales after it yours. Work each one out as arithmetic, get it in writing, and settle every night on a sheet.
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 for the next stop, from its buyers’ own published rules where one exists. Tick each one when it’s true for you.
0 of 4 true
15 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: Produce your own night and Get paid. Keep records.. In the D.O.C. book: topics 197–233, 258–289 and 234–289.
Produce your own night · produce-03
Price the night at the room’s real capacity and a realistic crowd: the face price, the platform’s fees, the venue’s share, the comics’ pay and the promotion.
Done when A scenario that can withstand low sales.
Get paid. Keep records. · money-07
Write the deal as arithmetic: a percentage of what, after which fees, and who guarantees what. Q.E.D. Astoria, for one, publishes its first-dollar guarantee by night.
Done when Your own worked example with assumptions.
Get paid. Keep records. · money-04
Done when Fee minus realistic expenses, before taxes.
From the Career Field Manual: Produce your own night, Get paid. Keep records. and Choose help when it solves a problem. In the D.O.C. book: topics 197–233, 258–289, 234–289 and 290–313.
Produce your own night · produce-04
Done when Who sells, refunds, markets and settles.
Get paid. Keep records. · money-01
You’re the buyer now: give each comic the slot, the minutes and the fee in writing, as you’d want them given to you.
Done when A saved agreement or confirmation.
Get paid. Keep records. · money-03
Done when Who owes you what and by when.
Choose help when it solves a problem · team-06
Done when Lawyer or accountant engaged when needed.
From the Career Field Manual: Produce your own night, Turn one good night into a return and Get paid. Keep records.. In the D.O.C. book: topics 197–233, 258–289, 348–366, 383–399, 435–455 and 234–289.
Produce your own night · produce-07
One sheet, agreed the night of: paid tickets, comps, refunds, fees, the venue’s share, each comic’s pay and what’s left.
Done when Real settlement with ticket and cost totals.
Turn one good night into a return · audience-06
Done when Actual sales or attendee data, where shared.
Get paid. Keep records. · money-08
Done when A dated, factual escalation sequence.
From the Career Field Manual: Get paid. Keep records.. In the D.O.C. book: topics 234–289.
Get paid. Keep records. · money-05
Done when Sample invoice and current expense ledger.
Get paid. Keep records. · money-06
Keep the show’s money apart from your own, and set some aside for taxes; an accountant can tell you how much.
Done when A documented money-handling routine.
From the Career Field Manual: Turn one good night into a return, Produce your own night and Build a career you can keep. In the D.O.C. book: topics 348–366, 383–399, 435–455, 197–233, 258–289 and 400–455.
Turn one good night into a return · audience-05
Put each night’s paid count beside what you spent to promote it, and keep doing what sold tickets.
Done when A basic city-level result log.
Produce your own night · produce-08
Done when A written go/no-go decision.
Build a career you can keep · sustain-02
Done when A change you can test next quarter.
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.
Its baseline split, by night: the first $50 (weekend matinees), $75 (Sunday to Thursday evenings) or $125 (Friday and Saturday nights) goes to the venue, the rest is split 50/50, and producers guarantee that first amount.
The first $125 in ticket sales goes to Q.E.D. The remainder is split 50/50.
Producers guarantee the 1st $125 in sales.
You will not owe any money to QED unless you don't meet the ticket guarantee
Q.E.D. Astoria’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
A flat rent instead of a split: past the rent, the ticket sales are the producer’s.
we offer a flat rent rate and you keep 100% of ticket sales after that
We have a 40-, 50-, and 110-seat theater available to rent 6 days per week.
The Lincoln Lodge’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
Keep records and receipts through the year, and keep a record of the money you receive.
Collect and keep your records and receipts during the year.
Save receipts of your expenses.
Keep records of money you receive from gig work and sales.
The IRS on gig work’s page ↗ · checked 10 November 2026
Places that publish how a producer’s show 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 · Produce a show · Email
For producers with a proven show concept, an established audience and a track record: a show description, promotional images, a promo reel from the actual show, links to past shows, attendance and ticket sales averages or reports, your website or EPK, and the dates you want.
Worth knowing. It is building a permanent home in Eugene; for now its shows are pop-ups.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeAstoria, NY · Produce a show · Form
Tell it about your show or event through the form on its page. Its baseline for new shows and producers: a ticket split with no rental or up-front costs, up to 50 tickets, generally, at a price you set; the first $50 to $125 in sales, by night, goes to Q.E.D., producers guarantee that amount, and the rest is split 50/50.
Worth knowing. It asks its producers not to produce or regularly host other shows in Astoria within two months before or after their Q.E.D. show.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeChicago, IL · Produce a show · Form
Its show submission form, linked from its own site: what the show is and why it’s unique, a one-off or a regular run, the theater size you want and your availability. Its theaters rent at a flat rate, and you keep the ticket sales after that.
Worth knowing. Its form says that for now it has room only for monthly regular runs, not weekly or daily shows.
Checked 10 November 2026Published routeBurbank, CA · Produce a show · Form
A proposal for a show you produce: the concept, the room you want, your audience and your marketing plan.
Worth knowing. The form asks whether you can buy $200 worth of tickets to hold the space: know the terms before you agree.
Checked 10 November 2026The figures here are the venues’ own: Q.E.D. Astoria’s first $50 to $125 in sales by night, then a 50/50 split; the Lincoln Lodge’s flat rent, with the ticket sales after it yours. For any other room, ask, and get the arithmetic in writing. For tax questions, get professional advice.
On the settlement sheetQuestions to ask before you agree a deal · 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: [Your show's name] at [The venue]: our terms Hi [The venue's contact], Thank you for today. So we both have it in writing, here's what we agreed for [Your show's name] on [The show's date]: The money: [The split, rent or guarantee, as arithmetic] Tickets: [Who sells, at what price, and the fees] Comps and guest list: [How many comps, and who holds them] The room provides: [What the room provides] Settlement: [When and how you settle] If the show is cancelled: [What happens if it's cancelled] If I've got any of it wrong, tell me and I'll correct it. Thank you, [Your name]
[Your show's name] at [The venue], [The show's date] Capacity: Ticket price: Paid tickets: Comps and guest list: Refunds: Gross ticket sales: Ticket fees: The venue's share or rent: Comics' pay: Promotion and other costs: Left over: Agreed by [Your name] and [The venue's contact], the night of the show.
Hi [The comic's name], Thank you for [Your show's name] on [The show's date]. Your pay, [Their pay], went by [How you paid them] today. I'd love to have you back. The dates I'm booking: [The dates you're booking] [Your name]
1. Is the split on gross ticket sales, or after the ticket fees? 2. Is there a guarantee or a minimum, and who covers it if sales fall short? 3. Who pays the platform's fees: the buyer, or the show? 4. How many comps, and do they count toward the guarantee? 5. Who pays for sound, a door person and staff? 6. When and how do we settle, and who signs the sheet? 7. What happens to tickets already sold if the show is cancelled? 8. Can the show keep the same night each month?
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: your own shows, stop 3 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 door deals, guarantees and splits work, read Door deal or guarantee? How comedy show deals work.
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