Almost every week at the Downtown Mall, The Southern Cafe and Music Hall hosts Monday Night Mic standup comedy that is free and open to the general public. Pioneered and hosted by Chris Alan, professional comedian who has opened for the likes of Michael Che, Louis C.K. and Amy Schumer, the night allows comedians of all walks of life to try out their material amongst their peers and a small crowd.
Doors open at 7 p.m. and in between the hours of 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. anyone can sign up to be one of the performers of that night, regardless of experience or familiarity with the others signing up. Most nights, there are about 20 comics performing, each given five minutes on stage. What one does in those five minutes is entirely up to the comic, with the night containing a mix of crowd work, routines or even a comedic musical performance.
Started 10 years ago by Alan, the event has its fair share of regular comics. While waiting for the open mic to start, many of the comics chat with Alan or each other, establishing a sense of community amongst the comics. Alan remarks that this stable community of people showing up every Monday is the backbone of the Charlottesville comedy scene.
“Every scene needs that stable base of people that can be counted on to get things done,” Alan said. “When I want to book a show, if I can't find people from out of town, knowing that I can book a local show that's gonna go well, makes me feel good, too.”
The stage is set up with a mic and stool in front of rows of chairs where the audience — anywhere from 25 to 50 people — sits. Having both the comedian and the audience on the same level creates an intimate atmosphere, heightened by constant audience participation initiated by both the comics and the audience.
In the instance where a comic does not have much to say, there are small pieces of paper and pens resting on the seats for audiences to write on and drop into a bucket for the comics to pull from and riff off. While some write playful words like turtle and seastar, others utilize one-liner phrases and topics such as conspiracy theories to inspire the comics.
The written strips are not the only form of crowd work, as audience members and the comics communicate throughout the open mic. Some nights this means light heckling from the crowd, but at last Monday’s show, the comics did not hold back from pointing out crowd members. Third-year College student Jill Reed attended the open mic last week and found this audience participation to heighten her experience.
“The crowd work was really the best part,” Reed said. “They definitely didn’t ignore the crowd which I think is what made it more comfortable and less awkward.”
The open mic starts with Alan warming up the crowd with a longer set. In the set he typically banters with the bartender, audience members and his fellow comics to fully immerse the room into the set. At Monday’s open mic, Alan practiced a couple pieces of new material, even remarking that that material is something he is still workshopping — a larger theme throughout the open mics according to comedian Mitchell Paige.
“You start off trying to do what you think is funny, and then people don’t laugh at that,” Paige said. “ Over time, you gotta figure out what is funny when you say it.”
Many comics use this open mic night as a chance to try out new material in a familiar environment of fellow creatives, sometimes acknowledging to the crowd that they were still trying to work out some kinks in their material. Regular comedian Taylor Knight expressed how these open mic nights help comedians grow their comedic style.
“You learn something new every week,” Knight said. “You get audience feedback, the comedians’ feedback, it's like a family.”
Even when a comic begins to doubt themself on stage, they are immediately met with Alan and the crowd cheering them on to keep going. By creating this environment of feedback and learning experiences, the open mic allows aspiring comics to gain experience in these environments. Alan, an already established comedian, tries to give back to upcoming comics in any way he can.
“It's our job as that staple group, to find the people who have the talent and bring them along,” Alan said. “Just showing people the ropes, paying it forward, doing what other people did for me.”
For those anxious to begin doing something like an open mic, the general consensus among comics both new and old is to just get out there and do it. Fourth-year College student Tara Sury has been performing at the Southern since December 2024 and has come into her own as a comedian with time and practice.
“I was so nervous when I first did it, and now I just, I don't even care,” Sury said. “If it's the right thing for you, then you'll love it and you'll want to do it.”
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