After-prom events are all about a fun, safe way for higher schoolers to keep celebrating after the big dance. You have options for entertainment, and hiring a comedian is a super-popular choice.
Why Hiring a Comedian for an After-Prom Show is a Great Idea
1. It’s memorable.
Prom is already an unforgettable experience, but adding a comedian to the after-party makes it even better. Years later, the students will remember jokes your comedian told, or how so-and-so laughed so hard they snorted pop through their nose.
2. It’s appropriate for high schoolers.
Appropriate content is a big deal. After all, you don’t want to be responsible for introducing an entire senior class to a new, ahem, “position.” But an experienced, skilled comedian can deliver humor that resonates with teenagers without crossing any lines. That makes it perfect for events where appropriateness is key.
3. It breaks the ice
Comedy has a way of breaking the ice and bringing people together. Stand-up helps students relax and interact. This is especially important for those who didn’t come with a date or group.
4. It’s cheaper than a hypnotist, magician, or live band
Compared to other entertainment options like hiring a DJ, booking a live band, or a hypnotist or magician, comedians are less expensive, so you can spend more of your budget on swanky TVs and an XBox. Setup is easy: a mic and a “stage”, so it’s low stress for the committee.
5. It’s fun but not physically exhausting
After dancing at prom, students want entertainment that is engaging but not physical. Comedy keeps the energy up while students can sit down.
How do I find a comedian for after prom?
You’re ready to find an after prom comedian, woo hoo! Don’t go charging into this — you have to be careful.
Comedy shows in general are like walking through a minefield, but adding teenagers to the situation makes things ten times more difficult.
Want to cut to the chase and get a custom quote for your after prom? Let’s go.
Should I hire a clean comedian for after prom? Or an edgy one?
To incentivize kids to go to after prom instead of getting wasted or raising hell, after proms usually have some entertainment (comedian/hypnotist/magician), movies, pizza, candy, and of course, prizes.
Will parents be upset if the after prom comedian is dirty? Will the kids be bored if he’s “clean”?
Paranoid parents, and teenagers. Hoo boy. Let’s start with the parents.
Truth is, their hearts are in the right places. But they forget what it was like to be a teenager.
Parents often want sterile, no controversy, don’t-even-approach-the-line jokes. But they’re not thinking about the kids.
The kids are watching Cody Ko on YouTube, and want comedy about real life.
The high schoolers want a little dirt; they don’t want to be mollycoddled.
Which means the struggle of the comedian is attempting to make both sides happy.
This can be challenging, and leave neither side satisfied.
You don’t want a comedian that’s going to be swearing non-stop. You also don’t want an hour of “What’s up with the reclining seat on airplanes?” yawners.
The trick is to find a comedian who has a proven record, and to trust their experience.
Side note: I’ve been doing this for a looooong time, so my record is pretty great. Reach out to get a custom quote.
If you over-police your comedian, you’re going to end up with a boring show. I’ve seen it, and unfortunately, lived it.
What’s the best setting for an after prom comedy show?
Let me tell you about two after-prom shows I performed at last year; one was an failure, the other a success.
We’ll start with the failure. To begin, I was going on at 6am.
The good intentions were there, but the timing was bad; every kid was completely wiped out by then.
The kids had ingested untold amounts of sugar and caffeine, and were crashing hard.
Not the ideal start to a show.
Comedy does not belong in the gym, with kids scattered across the bleachers.
At my failure after prom show, I was told the performance would take place in the gymnasium; the kids would be sitting on the bleachers.
But proximity of the audience to the comedian is uber-important.
The audience needs to be seated directly in front of the comedian and packed in as tightly as possible.
The gym can work, but only if you limit where they can sit. Pack ’em in.
Make your after prom comedy show a no-phones event.
Do you know how difficult it is to take a phone from a teenager? I know, it sucks. But this is key to a good show.
My “failure” gig didn’t even try, and I don’t blame them.
I walked out on “stage” to see 75% of the audience staring half-dead at their phones.
Get your PA system in order.
The failures at this bomb of an after prom show just kept going.
I opened my mouth to greet them, and spoke into a dead microphone. The entire PA system had gone down.
This left me in an enormous gymnasium, doing my best to shout-talk my jokes using my theater voice.
I doubt anyone could hear me three rows back.
I still had a job to do, so I powered through. When all was said and done, one girl in the front row told me I was “low-key funny.” (Turns out that’s a compliment?)
But truth be told, I bombed. Hard. And not because of the jokes. When the setting is wrong, nothing else goes right.
How to have a great after prom comedy show
Before my next after prom show, I gave the parent who booked me very clear advice on how to set up her show for success.
- Start the show at midnight. Kids had time to change, grab a slice of pizza and make their way to the show.
- Set up the show in the cafeteria, and they packed ’em in. No one was more than 100 feet away.
- Come to an understanding about content beforehand. The committee trusted me to tiptoe around the line of good taste, which made for a show that adults and kids loved.
- Cap it at half an hour. The show was the perfect length. More on this below.
What kind of jokes are in an after prom comedy show?
I told this joke at both shows: the failure and the success.
The failure show parents scolded me that the joke was inappropriate.
The great after prom show parents laughed along with the students when I told the joke.
Here’s the joke that killed and flopped: “I hope you appreciate your parents and volunteers, what they’re doing for you tonight. It’s a lot of work. I heard two of them talking when I got here. One said, “I’m so tired. This is too much work. Next year, let’s just let them go out and get drunk and pregnant.”
Let’s just call it what it is: the whole point of after prom is to keep the kids from making bad choices.
Everyone in the room knows why they’re there, but it’s the elephant in the room: nobody talks about it.
It was a nice moment, and the relaxed parents at the successful show laughed, while the Karens at the failure show said I shouldn’t have said anything.
How long should your after prom show be?
Don’t be fooled: longer is not better when it comes to a wee-hours comedy show.
No matter what the committee thinks they want, even when I’m turning down extra income, my after prom shows are a max of 30 minutes. I’ve learned that this is the sweet spot for after prom.
Teenagers are easily distracted, and especially when they’re keyed up on sugar and adrenaline. The best you can hope for is to hold their attention for half an hour before they grow bored.
In summary: the keys to a successful after prom comedy show
- Trust your comedian. Have a conversation with them about content, but don’t paint them into a corner where they’re going to be telling knock-knock jokes to bored teenagers.
- Find the right location. The gymnasium? Too big. Do you have a school theater? Use it.
- Put the comedy early in the night. At 5am, you want something interactive for the kids; keep them involved, and motivated. When they’re tired, “Be quiet and listen” isn’t on their radar. Start no later than 1:00a.m.
- Keep the length to 30 minutes or less. Tired teenagers with smartphones aren’t going to watch anything for an hour.
Looking for an after prom comedian?
I perform for after-prom events throughout the Midwest (never met a highway I didn’t like). I’ll travel even farther afield, too. Just ask for a custom quote.
Performances start at $750.
Contact me to request a custom quote.
Check out the other posts in this series:
- Links coming soon.
Photo credit: Apollo & Ivy Photography , North Liberty, Iowa