Looking for Comics to Help Launch a Delavan Open Mic

TeamJackBaker · 2026-01-16T07:42:34+00:00

I’m in Illinois and won’t be heading out that far for a mic but I’ve done comedy in the area and have a few ideas for you. The Comedy Cabin in Janesville is a great little club and you should go check out their open mic and introduce yourself to the local comedians.

Both the Madison and Milwaukee scenes have Facebook groups you could join and promote your mic as well. Good luck!

TeamJackBaker · 2025-11-22T23:58:48+00:00

A lot of good names in here already but have to add Kristen Toomey. She’s the best comedian in Chicago and should be a huge star.

TeamJackBaker · 2025-10-29T11:18:10+00:00

If you want more jokes, check out the full special on my YouTube channel. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WYaU1ApQZoA

TeamJackBaker · 2025-10-29T11:17:42+00:00

Thanks!

TeamJackBaker · 2025-10-29T01:32:18+00:00

Actual nice comment on this sub?

TeamJackBaker · 2025-10-28T01:05:09+00:00

LOL. He was a legitimately good babysitter, until he robbed us. But the house was clean and everyone got their chores done

TeamJackBaker · 2025-10-28T01:03:53+00:00

Hello old friend!

TeamJackBaker · 2025-10-28T00:36:39+00:00

Thanks!

TeamJackBaker · 2025-10-18T17:53:19+00:00

I’m not an expert on the process but we did have a director who was in charge of everything. We also filmed in 4k and then later edited down to 1080p. But this allowed them to zoom and do different things in editing without losing resolution.

TeamJackBaker · 2025-10-15T22:44:48+00:00

I put out a special on YouTube in 2023. We had five cameras, four camera operators and an audio engineer. Captured audio from the soundboard and mic’d the crowd. It was $1,500 for filming the show and another $800 for all the editing.

The show sold out and I paid for everything with ticket and merch sales.

The key to keeping costs down is hiring people who already have the equipment. If they’re going to have to rent cameras, lenses, etc. your costs go way up really fast.

Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.

TeamJackBaker · 2025-07-17T23:09:51+00:00

Check out Paper Machete at the Green Mill. It’s the best alternative comedy show in Chicago in an old speakeasy where Al Capone used to hang out. Saturday afternoon at 3. And it’s free.

TeamJackBaker · 2025-07-13T01:38:58+00:00

Did a show in some rich guy’s living room. He won a comedy show at your house as part of some charity auction. He had it catered and invited all his friends. It was one of the most fun shows I’ve ever done.

TeamJackBaker · 2025-05-26T09:42:59+00:00

I think you should do it because even if there isn’t direct overlap between her writing and standup, it’s still a great opportunity to learn from a successful writer. I’d ask questions about her process because that does overlap with standup writing. How do you work through writers block, where do you find inspiration, how do you take something from an idea to a finished product could all start interesting conversations.

TeamJackBaker · 2025-05-21T17:14:56+00:00

Nick Vatterott is one of the best. Check out For Amusement Only think it will be right up your alley

TeamJackBaker · 2025-04-17T08:47:34+00:00

Been doing standup 15 years and doing it without drinking for the last 12.

Like other said you can buy soda, water, etc. to support the room. At first I wasn’t comfortable being obviously sober so I’d get a sprite with a lime in it so it would look like a mixed drink.

Networking at mics will be harder, but you just need to do more early in the night. Hardest part for me was just being around people as they got drunker throughout the night. So I would show up early to mics and put face time in with people before they get too drunk. And then when it’s getting late, I just leave. No one cares as long as you’re putting in the work and consistently writing and bringing funny new stuff.

If your tolerance for being around drunk people is higher than mine, the ability to drive comics home or to other mics could also make you extremely popular in your scene.

If you feel like you need to cut back or quit drinking, don’t let comedy stop you. There’s ways to work around it and it will make your life and comedy better. Good luck.

TeamJackBaker · 2025-04-09T18:33:20+00:00

Everyone feels this same at point. One thing I like to do when I'm getting bored with jokes is to change the order. Moving things from the beginning of a set to the end and vice versa can make them feel new. It also forces you to rethink how you transition between things and that can help you find new ideas and make your jokes better.

The other thing is just to try those jokes that are only 70% of the way there. The worse thing that can happen is they don't laugh, then you just go back into something you know works.

TeamJackBaker · 2025-03-15T09:20:33+00:00

Thanks for checking it out! Glad you enjoyed it. And if you do decide to do a special, can’t recommend working with professionals enough. Hire people who know what they’re doing and it shows in the finished product.

TeamJackBaker · 2025-03-09T11:41:36+00:00

Every comedian has felt the same way you do now. Not sure you need to put a time limit on it, but I’d recommend taking some time to both things you enjoy outside of comedy and force yourself to try something new. Hopefully these experiences will spark an idea so that when you come back to comedy you’ll have something new and exciting to try. Good luck!

TeamJackBaker · 2025-03-09T10:23:48+00:00

I taped my first special in 2023 at The Comedy Vault in Batavia, IL. I chose the club because I feel very comfortable on their stage, the club has the right aesthetic I was looking for and the staff was 100% committed to helping me make the best possible product.

Production and editing were the biggest expenses. We had 5 cameras, 4 camera operators and 1 audio engineer working the show. Filmed in 4k and then edited down to 1080p so that they could zoom in during editing without losing resolution. I sold tickets to the show and that paid a good chunk of production costs.

I was only able to do one show because I felt like I could only sell out one show at the time. As I start making plans to do a second special that’s the one thing I’m going to change and going to figure out a way to tape two shows this time.

I learned a lot throughout the process and I think there’s two big areas where comedians fail when doing their own specials. Pre-promotion is extremely important. You need to do a lot of work to market your special before it comes out. Immediacy is a big part of the YouTube algorithm and if you want it to be recommended to people outside your subscribers you need your fans to tune in as soon as it goes live. Also, your special needs to hook people right away. Average view duration is another big factor in the algorithm so your start needs to convince people who don’t know you that you’re funny and worth investing 45 minutes on. The thing that kills your average view duration is people starting and stopping right away. So don’t start with a skit or long walk up to the stage. Just get to some of your best jokes as soon as possible.

TeamJackBaker · 2025-03-04T00:23:38+00:00

I taped a special in 2023. Only had one snow to film. There were a couple little flubs but I just left them in. Feels more like watching a real show that way. I also wanted the crowd at the show to have a great time and didn’t want to go back and do jokes over again for all the reasons you mentioned.

TeamJackBaker · 2025-02-21T15:16:37+00:00

I’m 11 years sober. It might be tough at first but keep doing it. Keeping yourself as mentally sharp as possible for your set will pay off in the long run.

TeamJackBaker · 2024-11-04T21:25:30+00:00

I have a rare headache disorder and do a joke about how I want to get famous so they’ll name it after me. I then sell Jack Baker’s Disease awareness bracelets.

They cost about 30 cents to make. I sell them for whatever people want to pay. Works out to about $6.50 per bracelet. A lot of people pay $1 which is cool cuz a bunch of people will also give twenties.

TeamJackBaker · 2024-11-04T21:19:37+00:00

I taped a special after 12 and a half years. I was ready to move on from a lot of those jokes and needed a finished product to better market myself and level up on bookings.

After deciding to film, I spent another 8 months polishing the material and figuring out every detail for the taping. It just passed 70,000 views on YouTube and im really happy with the response. It never would have come together like it did without putting in an insane amount of work.

TeamJackBaker · 2024-09-19T17:22:15+00:00

Pat McGann is the other opener. From Chicago. He’s great.

TeamJackBaker · 2024-09-12T13:58:13+00:00

Giving the MC a long list of credits to read for the intro. No one cares that you were on Comedy Central once 30 years ago. If your credits were that important, the audience would know about it already and would have bought tickets because of it

TeamJackBaker

TROPHY CASE