Side Splitters Comedy Club - Tampa Starts To Laugh

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Since the early 1990s, Side Splitters Comedy Club has been one of the premier places in Tampa to enjoy stand up comedy from both amateurs and professionals alike. The walls are filled with the comp cards of these numerous great performers. Side Splitters Comedy Club even was the birthplace to a few popular comedians, most notably Larry “The Cable” Guy. This was the feat that helped turn Side Splitters into the club it is today.

It wasn’t long before the owners realized the potential this club had, not only for the Tampa Bay area but aspiring comedians too. For years they held an open mic night, where anyone who brought in some of their own people could get on stage and perform. This was later revamped by the owners of the club to be a competition that would make Side Splitters Comedy Club the number one spot in Tampa for amateur comedian’s to develop.

Now the Open Mike competition is a 6 round contest that birth’s one winner who receives a $1000.00 prize pot. This competition is also heavily scouted for comedians who show they are ready to take their act to the next step. If a comedian looks like they have an organized act, write their own material and are moving toward a professional status, Side Splitters will host a special event for them called the “Stand Up Stand Up Comedian Competition.”  Similar to the Open Mic, the winner will still get a $1000.00 prize, but they also get a paid gig in another city.

Side Splitter’s doesn’t stop there for amateur comedians. They created a workshop that the owner says takes the comedians from “soup to nuts.” In other words, they will make comp cards, show how to hold the mic, and stand on stage, help tighten up the act and learn promotion and networking.

So with the development of these programs and workshops, Side Splitter’s Comedy Club is the place to be if you are an inspired comedian looking to break into the market. Before you decide to jump in, they gave us some simple tips to follow that will make your start easier and will be information needed down the line anyway.

1. Get yourself a website, if not a website at least a MySpace page.  Everyone is on the Internet; it’s a great way to promote yourself.  Without one, “you might as well be dead.”
2. Have some tapes of some of your act. Taped at your home, or something you have done on stage preferably, this will help the booking agent see where you stand, and what your act is about.
3. Don’t be shy to promote yourself.