FAQ for The Ivy League of Comedy’s Corporate, Charity and Theatre Shows

• How much do your shows or comedians cost?

It really depends. For a theatre show in the NYC area it would depend on the night of the week and the size of the theatre. For shows that sell tickets we can often work for a percentage rather than a flat fee or a fee plus bonus.

For a corporate event, it also depends on when, where, how many attendees, and which comedian. We’re not all the same price. We are quite good at meeting a variety of budgets.

Our fee for non-profits is much, much lower than for-profit organizations and industry groups.

And most importantly, I’m not greedy. There are agencies that take most of the money for themselves and pay the comics very little. So the $5000 (as an example) that you’re paying? They’re offering the comic $750. I’m a comic and I’ve seen that happen frequently. I don’t ever want to be one of those selfish greedy awful guys. I’m not secretive- I’ll tell the comic what the gig pays. There’s nothing in my agreement that prohibits a comedian from discussing pay with the client.

Recently I had a comic tell me that for all the work I was doing on a particular gig I should take 15% instead of 10%. I appreciated the offer, but I refused. I got into this business by accident- basically to provide clean comedy shows and to get myself and my friends more work. Not to get rich. I make most of my money when I’m on stage.

 

• Are travel and lodging expenses included in your fees, or are they billed separately?

We generally like to quote a flat fee because that makes it easier for you, even though it adds risk for us as airfares and hotel costs change. But it also avoids any sort of figuring out what the costs actually are, if a comedian is coming from, or going to, somewhere other than home. And sometimes comics want to stay with a friend even though we tell them we’ll pay for a hotel.

Oh, here’s another example of my lack of greed. I booked a comic for a charity gig. I paid for the airline tickets. Then she booked a comedy club gig for the next night and said she’d split the airfare with me. I said no, you got another gig, that’s great, let me just change the return date. I did have her cover the slightly higher cost for changing the ticket, but it was way less than half. She did the work to get more work and both of us were happy with that. Though I did appreciate her offer to split the airfare.

 

• Do corporate comedians charge differently based on whether the event is in-person or virtual?

Oh, absolutely. Virtual comedy is way less expensive than even if we’re performing just across town.

 

• How can I guarantee the comedian’s material will be clean and safe for a corporate/religious/health care/seniors/family audience?

That’s often a main concern. And it’s why I got into this business- people were saying “You’re clean but the other comics at the club weren’t. Where are the all-clean shows?” There weren’t any, so I started putting them together.

We do shows in churches and synagogues, including for some very devout audiences. We’ve been doing this a long time. I can’t absolutely guarantee that a comedian won’t use the S word in a theatre show, for example, but it’s quite unlikely to happen in a house of worship. We’re all very experienced clean comedians. Do note that some of us are clean when it’s appropriate, and not clean when that’s allowed or called-for. So if you saw one of us curse or do edgy material in a comedy club, that’s not the act you’ll be getting from us.

 

• Can the comedian customize their jokes or roast company executives/specific people at the event?

Some of us can. I (Shaun Eli, the owner) really don’t like this unless the person being made fun of specifically asks for it in a private conversation. Most people really don’t like being picked on, and you never know until you do it. Often you never have any idea, but they’re unhappy.

 

• Do corporate clean comedians still perform well without relying on profanity or edgy topics?

Yeah, that’s kind of the point! There’s nothing inherently funnier about dirty or edgy comedy. Sometimes a curse word helps a joke, but if the joke can’t survive without it, it’s probably not a very good joke.

Sometimes the laughter comes from the shock value of a dirty word or phrase rather than from something funny or clever. That’s not what we do.

 

• What kind of sound, lighting, and staging equipment does a comedian need for a standard hotel ballroom or banquet hall?

They probably have it. We need a hand-held microphone (and a back-up mic, and if wireless an actual second mic, not just a battery pack). A stage and stage lighting are helpful, but if you don’t have stage lighting we can talk, before the performance, about how to light the room. Ideally the comedian should be lit from the front and the rest of the room should be dark. With any luck the light switches can make that happen (but sometimes the lights are either all on or all off, or they’re in rows). We’ll figure it out and make it work. If necessary you can rent or buy a spotlight, but those circumstances are rare.

 

• Can a comedian also act as the event emcee, auctioneer, or award ceremony host?

Most of us can. Please ask this before we hire someone. I once showed up at a charity gig and most of the way through the show they asked me to auction off a couple of items. I’d never done it before and frankly I was a bit nervous. But I came up with some jokes that worked well for the items being auctioned.

They had me auctioning off the items that nobody bid on in the silent auction, and they were quite happy with how it worked out. I think we sold all but one, and remember that these were items that nobody had bid on.

 

• Where can I find a roster of clean comedians who specialize in specific industries (like finance, tech, or healthcare)?

I wouldn’t say so much that any of us is a specialist, but some of us have more experience than others in certain industries. By way of example, I (Shaun Eli) worked in finance for 20 years so I’m pretty good for those audiences. I understand that business more than the average person. Others of us were attorneys* or worked in engineering, advertising, architecture, publishing, education, etc. But it may not be necessary. I did a show a couple of years ago for a pharmaceutical company and had jokes about their new product. They were quite surprised. How’d I even know about it? I was on their website and read the press release (I had also read their annual report).

* Plenty of attorneys. It’s probably the most common former profession for stand-up comedians, at least in the NYC area. I wrote an article about lawyers who became comedians. 

 

• How do I check a comedian’s references or watch reliable footage of them performing in front of a similar corporate crowd?

I can’t say that a lot of us have clips from corporate shows, because it’s not always easy to record them. Mostly what we show are people performing on late-night TV. It might not be the jokes you’d get at your event but it gives you an idea of their style. And the lighting and sound are perfect. But we’re not going to give you a clip from a cell phone camera in the back of a comedy club, with wait staff walking by, patrons talking, and other noises and distractions. We all have better clips than that.

Oh, and references? I have plenty of testimonials for our services. If you want references for a specific comedian, ask and I’ll ask them. We rarely get asked. Almost always, potential clients are thrilled at who and what they can get within their budget.

 

• What kind of material do you perform?

Clean, smart comedy for corporate events, financial institutions, industry events, charity fundraisers, houses of worship, theatres and private parties. It’s just what you’re looking for!

 

• How long is a typical performance?

That depends on what you’re looking for. A full, 3-4 comedian show in a theatre is typically around 90 minutes. Plus, if you want post-show Q&A, however long that lasts. Sometimes it’s 3 questions. Our longest Q&A went on for around 45 minutes, but that’s not typical.

For a corporate show, which is usually one comedian, we recommend 20-30 minutes. Not really longer, because it’s not the main focus of the event and your attendees have already probably spent all day sitting and listening to people talk. We’ve had comedians booked for just ten minutes, but usually it’s longer than that.

For a charity event, it depends. If the comedy is the main focus of the evening, and it’s 2-4 comedians, 90 minutes. If the evening also consists of speeches, workshops or other activities, then shorter.

We can make recommendations based on our knowledge and experience, but it’s your event. How long do you want it to be?

 

• Do you also work as an event emcee or host?

Yes, most of our comedians have corporate event hosting experience.

 

• How far in advance should we book?

Typically we recommend three months in advance, but it depends on your event. If you have a last-minute need, call (don’t email or text) and we’ll see what we can do. In general we suggest that it’s not so much about us as about giving you enough time to market your event to your audience/subscribers/congregation/donors. And three months is good for that.

 

• What’s your contract like?
People tell me it’s funny. I think it’s just me. Also my lawyer has a good sense of humor, although I don’t know that anything funny was his contribution. My contract is written in plain English and it’s friendly. I specifically told my attorney that I didn’t want a one-sided contract because I didn’t want push-back or to have to negotiate anything.

It also covers a lot of contingencies, because, well, it was explained to me that a contract starts out at a half-page, and then every time something goes wrong you augment your contract so it doesn’t happen again. And then after ten years the contract is really long. Mine actually isn’t.

But here’s an example- I added a clause to say that the show may not be moved from indoors to outdoors without my express written permission which I’m unlikely to give. Why? Because someone moved a show from a nice room with a sound system to an outdoor balcony where the audience was only to either side, and the sound system had only one speaker. We ended up pointing one way, and shouting our act in the other direction. It was a really good show, but it could’ve been much better.

And our tech rider isn’t onerous either. It’s divided into Must Have (sound system, seated audience, stuff like that) and Would Be Nice To Have (stage lighting, stage, etc.).

 

• Can I book a full comedy show with multiple acts—like an opener, a feature, and a headliner—rather than just a single solo performer?

Absolutely. That’s what most of our theatre and charity shows are. For corporate events you can probably afford three comedians but you also probably don’t need to, because it’s unlikely you want that long of a show.

 

• If I’m booking a package show (like a multi-comic corporate showcase or theater event), do you handle all the booking coordination for every comedian, or do I negotiate separately?

We handle it all and make it as easy for you as possible.

 

• Can a comedian successfully weave our company’s annual theme, core values, or conference messaging into their comedy routine? Will the comedian interview our leadership team or research our industry to weave custom, company-specific jokes into their set?

We can do that, but custom-written material, if done right (and we want to do it right) takes time and it’s expensive. You probably don’t need that. It’s likely that a comedian we work with- we’ve all got more than two decades of experience- has a joke or two that touches on what you do, or will come up with something. And that’s really all you need. You don’t want it too much about you, because frankly you want to be entertained and take your mind off work.

As far as core values, most of us specialize in making people laugh, not delivering a message. The theme of the show is laughter.

 

• What standard deposit or retainer fee is required to lock in the date, and when is the final balance due?

We follow the industry standard, which is 50% on booking and the balance due at the event (a check or ACH transfer). We also take credit cards, but we have to pass our credit card company’s fee onto you, which is around 3.3%.

We will do everything we can to hold a date for you while we work out the details, but some comics are in high demand and won’t hold a date too long. So if there’s someone specific that you want, see if you can expedite it. We’re responsive- I usually get a contract out within 24 hours.

 

• What is the cancellation or postponement policy if our organization has to reschedule the event due to weather, low registration, or corporate changes?

If it’s weather that’s no problem at all (well, it kind of stinks, but we deal with it). If it’s low registration, that’s really on you. If it’s far enough in advance it may be no problem or we may keep the deposit. If it’s close to the show date, you might be stuck, although anything we can save from canceling flights or hotels would go back to you. It really depends on the comic. Some will say they didn’t have anything else for that date, so it’s no loss. Others have passed up other opportunities, or they just want to get paid for having planned for the event. As the guy in charge here, I’m fine with giving back my portion.

If it’s “corporate changes” that’s a cost you probably considered when making changes or cancelling the event, but we’re reasonable people here and we know that stuff happens.

 

• What happens if the audience is distracted, such as people still eating dessert or networking during the performance, or there’s a heckler? How does the comedian handle it?

We try not to start the performance when people are still eating, but if some people are still on dessert it’s not that drastic. We do require the audience to be seated, and I don’t really recall having people get up and network ever being a problem. Sometimes audiences get chatty, but it’s rare with our comics, because we’re funny.

And we’re all experienced at dealing with all sorts of circumstances. That’s the benefit of two things- experience and common sense. The common sense comes into play because most of us are smart enough to anticipate what could happen, and figure out how we’d respond to it if it does. Risk management isn’t only for risk managers.

For what it’s worth, hecklers are pretty rare at corporate, theatre or charity shows. The style of our experienced comics tends to discourage it. If necessary, we deal with it.

 

• What’s the best way to set up the room for comedy?

We’d love it if you can arrange the room for us, but we know the world doesn’t revolve around our performance. If you can, generally the stage should be along the long wall. The audience should be as close to the stage as possible (really, like starting at 3 feet) and the tables/chairs should be as close together as possible. Not spread around the room. We really want the audience up front and close together.

If you get there and there’s a lot of room upfront, don’t start moving the rows forward. That takes forever. Instead, take the back row of chairs and move it to the front. Then take the second-from-back row and make it the second row. Etc.

And please pay attention to sight lines. Everyone needs to be able to see the comedian. If some seats won’t be able to see the comedian if the comedian moves back and forth, please mention it. They may ask you to tape the stage to delineate where they shouldn’t go. That said, most of us don’t pace around much.

If your event requires a dance floor space in front of the stage, well, that’s not ideal but we’ll make it work. The comedian might choose to stand at the front of the dance floor instead of on the stage. Please make sure the mic cord is long enough to permit this, and that the lighting can accommodate it, if possible.

 

• Do clean corporate comedians ever do crowd work (talking directly to audience members), and is it safe from awkward or embarrassing moments?

We don’t pick on our audiences but some of us may ask questions. If you don’t want any crowd work, please tell us. It’s not a big deal at all.

 

• Do stand-up comedians require a green room, and what are standard backstage or hospitality rider expectations (e.g., specific drinks, snacks, or parking accommodations)?

It’s nice to have someplace private and indoors to relax before the performance. For a house of worship it’s often the rabbi’s/pastor’s study or office, or a library. Theatres and performing arts centers have green rooms, but really even a chair backstage is better than nothing. For a corporate event there’s usually somewhere to sit quietly. We’ve sometimes been stuck in storage rooms, which isn’t horrible, but we don’t want to be in an active, noisy kitchen or hallway.

Expectations for food/drink/parking depend on the comedian. If we’re driving we will need a place to park, but if there’s only a parking lot two blocks away then that’s where we’ll be parking. If the event is around dinnertime we probably want something to eat. Most of us aren’t that picky, and if you’re not serving food then we could see what’s available to be delivered. These days that’s almost anything. Certainly most of us want a couple of bottles of water (and not those tiny stubby ones).

A couple of us are vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free. One of us is on a no-carb diet. That’s pretty much it.

And a stool on stage, where we can put down the water, is useful.

For what it’s worth I don’t work with divas. I thought it was surprising when a comic asked for both sandwiches and a fruit and cheese platter backstage, but the venue had no problem with it. I ended up eating most of the cheese so I was glad she’d asked for it.

 

• Can you avoid certain topics?

Sure, but tell us in advance!

 

• How do you handle sound check?

If it’s for a theatre show, we can get there before the doors open, which is typically only a half-hour before show time. We’re not picky- sound and light check is usually “Can you see me? Can you hear me? Okay, see you in forty five minutes.” Sometimes we may ask for an adjustment- house lights down but not off, or louder sound. But it’s quick.

If it’s for a corporate or charity event, and it’s been going on all day, the comedian probably won’t show up several hours early. So we’ll be relying on you to make sure the sound works. Please have someone available to speak about the lighting, someone who knows how to adjust it. And someone should be listening at the start of the performance, so if the comedian wants it louder they can do that.

If it’s too loud we can talk more softly or hold the mic farther away, but if it’s not loud enough there’s not much we can do except ask you to turn it up (which we may arrange in advance by agreeing on hand signals so as not to interrupt the performance). Comedians generally like it loud, so we can speak softly but get loud for emphasis when we want to.

 

• What’s your dress code?

It’s your event, so you tell us. Comedians vary in what we wear on stage, so if you have specific requirements (coat-and-tie, black tie, no sneakers or t-shirts, or whatever) please tell us before hiring us. Every once in a while one of us has lost or put on weight, or is traveling and won’t be back home before the gig, and doesn’t want to get a call the day before saying “Oh, by the way, wear a suit.” Note that I’m a guy so this paragraph talks about men’s clothing. The same holds for the female equivalents.

 

• What ages are your shows for?

They’re not for little kids, because they won’t understand the show and they’ll get bored. Best estimate is 14 and up, with the proviso that a 14 year old probably won’t appreciate the show as much as the adults will. But in general we try to avoid cultural references that only certain groups or ages will understand.

 

• What if the comic gets sick?

So far in more than two decades it’s happened only a few times (we’re healthy people- we get a lot of sleep). We have a roster of good, responsive comedians so when it has happened we got someone else very quickly. If a comedian cancels, I never want to be accused of bait-and-switch so I will try to get someone at least a little more famous, even if I lose money on it.

 

• Do you book corporate imposters?

A corporate imposter is someone introduced as an expert, but he or she is not. Instead they just get more and more ridiculous until the audience slowly realizes they’re being put on. I dislike this, so I don’t book corporate imposters. But if you want one I can make an introduction and leave you two to figure things out without me.

 

• How should we introduce the comedian?

They will probably tell you at the event. The intro should be short- usually just “Please welcome ~” or mentioning one or two of their credits or things they’ve done. “She’s appeared on The Tonight Show, please welcome ~” or “He’s just back from a tour with Armed Forces Entertainment, please welcome ~.”

Please do not stand there and read the comedian’s biography out loud. I know that’s often standard for corporate events. For a comedian it’s not only unnecessary, it slows things down. We want to get on stage and get laughs as fast as possible.

And one more thing- the audience needs to know, in advance, that a comedian is coming. It’s not a good idea for you to surprise them with it. You want to build anticipation.

 

• Why is this list of FAQ so long?

I’m thrilled you read all the way to the bottom! I listed questions we’re often asked, and I wanted to include as much as possible. If nothing else, it’s good salesmanship and risk management.