Drink Up! Comedy Down!

“Drink up! It makes the show funnier!” If you've been to enough comedy shows, you've probably heard this phrase used by a comic, but I think it's one of the worst ways to reach out to an audience.

The phrase normally gets said by the host of a show or a comic randomly during an open mic/showcase. It's likely that the crowd is not laughing or tight in general, and it's an easy way to try to get them pepped up. But, in reality, the statement is only offensive to comedy. To me, it's basically saying that the comedy you'll see tonight is insufficient and the only way it could possibly get better is if you alter your mind. I can understand where it comes from. When you're having a rough set, what do you do? To me, it's a quick out and there are other better ways to gauge and potentially excite the audience. Or, just truck through your set—sometimes a crowd is just not a fan of what you do and maybe the comic after you will fare better. Or, perhaps this crowd is just terrible, and any use of the phrase “Drink up!” should be directed towards the other comics.

The only way in which this phrase is acceptable is that it potentially brings business to the club/bar. If people drink more, the club gets more money, doesn't go out of business, and we can keep telling jokes here, which is awesome. However, there are so many better ways of approaching the business aspects on stage without sacrificing what you're saying about the quality of the show.

The statement also provides for some twisted logic. The comic is encouraging an audience to drink, which if they choose to do heavily, only increases the odds that a crowd member will yell out during well-timed jokes, talk during the show, and/or be obnoxious enough to get kicked out of the club. What a fun night of comedy for everyone involved.

My main point is that I've done comedy long enough to hear this “Drink up!” statement too many times out of comic's mouths on stage and it's only disrespecting our craft, giving the wrong perception to audiences of what is the appropriate way to engage in and act at a show (it's surprising how many don't know how to already), and has become a simple out for a comic when he/she might be bombing up there, which if you're a strong enough comic, you can accept that it just happens sometimes. Comics can figure out a better line onstage to try to make a crowd happy.