Open mics are weird things. As I mentioned in a piece I wrote earlier this year, you are given the chance to get onstage and talk into a microphone and the only thing you have to be able to do is show up and write your name down. On that night, a person going up for the first time is on even playing field with an experienced veteran. All that matters are the jokes.
There are some open mics that are basically booking auditions. Usually held by comedy clubs, these mics are not about working on new material, but they’re about trying to get paid work. Those mics serve a purpose (comedians should learn how to professionally try out for spots) and they are important, and because of that, they’re usually very well attended.
But See You Next Tuesday, a mic celebrating its tenth anniversary of being in the bottom level of Plainfield bar MoeJoes, is not an audition mic. It’s something much, much more special than that.
Co-produced by siblings/comedians/producers Aimee & Timmy Blaze as well as the versatile entertainer Gabriel Ortiz, See You Next Tuesday (SYNT) has been a place that places a premium on supporting local comedians. Asking for nothing in return (both Blaze siblings are underbooked to an upsetting degree), the mic has been a constant beacon for allowing comics to hone their craft and find their voices. The mic exists solely because three people believe there should be a place where people can come and learn and grow. The Blazes and Ortiz are, literal, saints and parades should be thrown for them on a weekly basis.
Running an open mic is fucking hard. I haven’t run one in a long time and don’t know what situation would have to exist in order for me to want to do it again. You have to deal with drunks in the audience being unruly, horrible comics that have the potential to scare away actual audience members, and entitled douchebags unhappy with their spot on the list or the amount of time they get. And at most open mics, all of those roles are usually played by me. To run an open mic one time, you need the heart of an angel. Ortiz and The Blazes have been doing this every week (save for Fat Tuesdays, because MoeJoes is a cajun bar), for TEN YEARS.
You can only do that if you care, and care is something you see all over SYNT. You can feel warmth and smiles and support and love from the moment you start walking down the stairs. It’s a place where you feel welcome; like you’re part of something. It’s as special as the people who run it. And suburban Chicago comedy is so grateful it exists.
Fancy Boys Club 