CCPP with Valerie Lopez & Ellis Aych: Lesson #6 - Be Professional (Don't Be An A*hole)

See how I didn't run the light

See how I'm not an asshole and am polite

See how I don't cancel last minute

Very classy, very Demure, VERY PROFESSIONAL!!!

Be Good and Be Good at it 😘

This 👏🏾 is 👏🏾 the 👏🏾 Professional 👏🏾 episode 👏🏾

Oh let us count the ways! We've all seen it. Running the light. Not communicating with the show runner. Talking trash about the venue. Being high. Being drunk. Fumbling with your phone for "what you're going to talk about next". Showing up late. Doing a filthy, raunchy set when the producer told you when she booked you to work clean. Ellis busts out the Oxford dictionary to define professionalism and Valerie busts out her Miss Manners to define etiquette. Just come correct! You wouldn't treat your mama this way, would you? Well, would you??

It's not just about the etiquette. If you want to work with certain venues, you have to behave a certain way. Wanna work at Cap City? You may not have to work clean, but your material shouldn't be profane either and you should dress the part. Other clubs have different standards - learn those standards and abide by them if you want to keep getting invited back. The dream is to hire a manager or publicist to handle some of the logistics for you, but until you reach that level, you're going to be successful in the industry if you understand how the business side works. That goes for producers too.

Do the opposite of all the unprofessional things we listed above and show runners will ask you to do their shows over and over again. Which ultimately means more stage time, more money, more fans, and hopefully, bigger opportunities. Do a$$holes sometimes get big opportunities? Sure they do, but you know that everyone is snickering behind their back. Look around the scene - who do you see getting asked back to perform at venues and clubs over and over again? Do you think that's by accident? Do you think it's ONLY because they have a great joke about guacamole? Who doesn't love a good guacamole joke, but it's probably because the comic is easy to work with, on time, and delivers solid performances every single time. That brand of being reliable and funny - that's the golden ticket.