Since 2018 I have been the Production Manager for Krakow Standup Comedy, responsible for running a weekly comedy show in the heart of Krakow. This has been a very nice side project for me and through this, I have been introduced to a whole scene I didn't even know existed before then. Over the past few years, I have had a wonderful opportunity to meet lots of great comedians from across the globe.
Fast forward to March 2020 and as the world went into lockdown, my weekly comedy night was paused. Like so many others, as an events manager, I had to adapt quickly, for my day job we created Evenchilada, a virtual events company, and in our brainstorming sessions of what could we offer to customers, I realised there was an opportunity to bring my day job and side project together - virtual comedy shows!
With so many comedians and presenters suddenly out of work, adding virtual comedy shows to our offering has been a great opportunity to give our customers something new to enjoy as well as giving these wonderful performers an opportunity to continue comedy whilst in lockdown!
Challenges of Virtual Comedy
However, virtual comedy ain’t easy without an audience right there in the room with you. It really challenges the comedians. It has been amazing to see some of the comedians I have had the pleasure of working with explore this virtual style and really excel at it, overcoming the challenges it presents.
Aside from the challenge of not having the audience physically there in the room with them, another challenge for comedians is the adaptation of material. With a virtual show for a corporate team building event, the usual stand-up comedy style doesn’t work. Our comedians took on the challenge of creating fantastic (and hilarious) work-friendly humor that everyone can enjoy without feeling awkward while in the same call as their boss!
With Challenges comes Opportunity!
Virtual comedy shows have presented some new opportunities. You can really experiment and use some of the resources available that may not always be possible in live stage shows. For example, images and audio can be incorporated into a set much easier, and we have also been able to incorporate some fun games, e.g a handful quiz questions or a round of music bingo, to help the show be more interactive for the audience. Anyone can turn on a Netflix special, so the aim has to be to make shows stand out and be engaging for those watching.
Virtual comedy shows have been a wonderful addition to the range of virtual events available to remote teams. These shows have been a fantastic event for virtual teams on a Friday afternoon to help them relax, as well as part of another activity. So if you are looking for something a bit different why not book in one of our virtual comedy shows to entertain your team!
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