Revisiting Submission Tapes

It's the difference between how you dress and present yourself for a job interview vs how you dress day to day at work.

I think it was just about a year ago that I posted a series of videos and a newsletter on submission tapes. So it's a good time for a refresher!

And a lot of y'all are new here so welcome for the first time!

It's funny, I've spent a lot of time the past few years convincing veteran comedians to be less precious about their online clips. TikTok does not reward perfection.

But you do want to put your heavy scrutiny glasses back on for any kind of submission you're sending. It's the difference between how you dress and present yourself for a job interview vs how you dress day to day at work.

What to keep in mind

Avoid common pet peeves
Audio, audio, audio
No editing
Show off each part of your set and your skills
Follow instructions!

Avoid common pet peeves

Look, some gatekeepers’ pet peeves are downright silly. This is coming from someone who became the face of “Don’t Wear Shorts Onstage” for about a decade.

But them’s the breaks, don’t put yourself at a disadvantage - this is a completely subjective dictatorship, not a democracy. As always, grain of salt that we’re each our own monsters - this is not a comprehensive list, nor does one one person likely have all of these pet peeves at once.

Don't wear shorts! Or shitty, ratty clothes (unless that's an integral part of your persona)
Don't sit down! You aren't Patrice or Big Jay, it just comes off like you don't care (in the bad way)
No plugs! Don't waste your precious minutes listing off all your socials or telling the audience about your Patreon.

Audio, audio, audio

Give a critical listen and ask at least one other person to as well. You know your set inside and out, so you might miss really obvious distractions or distortions that will keep a stranger from hearing your jokes.

Can you hear it at all? If you don’t have the mic feed, make sure it isn’t too echo-y or far away
Are there interruptions or distractions? Is a comedian or an audience member talking right near the mic? Can you hear a loud drinks order over your set?
Are you speaking at a normal, intelligible speed?

No Editing!!!

This is not a “best of” reel!!
Absolutely no cuts in the middle of the tape

Generally you should always keep that very last couple seconds of the host saying your name and bringing you up so the reviewer can see how you really start your set.

(There are exceptions and I know some people very successfully start with a Bulletproof joke to get the crowd warm and then start the tape at the second bit)

In many cases, it's fine to cut off before the dismount. If you have a 15 minute spot and do your submission 5 up top and cut the tape there, that's often acceptable to a club Booker.

Just make sure it isn't abrupt. Sit in the laughter for a beat longer than usual before moving on.

For TV and many festivals, make it completely self contained. The tape and the spot should be exactly the same - from walking on to dismounting.

Show off your full range

If you can submit complete, self contained set you're removing any doubts or questions the reviewer may have. They see you guide the set from start to finish.
Some crowd work may be okay, especially if it's part of your segues. But if you're having any kind of long conversation or tangent, or dealing with a heckler, this is not the set to submit.
Absolutely no crowd work for TV or big festivals like JFL

Follow instructions!

Most submission instructions will have some explicit instructions - follow them!
Keep to time! There's nothing worse than someone lazily sending a 20 minute tape for a 6 minute submission.

I did a three-part series of shorts that covers all of this, plus

tips for getting a tape before you need a tape and
focusing on the set, not the location

check it out!

Random Links

Dolphins are getting high on pufferfish! Humans also like to tangle with the potentially lethal tetrodotoxin they give off -it’s a delicacy called Fugu.
Ya’ll know I like a good time management plan, and I recently came across this video from Norse expert Jackson Crawford that details a really interesting (and flexible!) time management technique he uses to manage his content creation, academic and writing responsibilities. Feels really relevant to the many directions you are pulled in as a comedian.
Don’t worry, Orca’s aren’t rising up to wreck everyone’s ships - they just like to follow trends!