Audiences know to expect a two-drink minimum at most comedy clubs. Even small indie comedy shows often offer beer or act as BYOB events. But for many comics, the clubs and being on the road can put them in a vulnerable position.
Comedian Laura House, who is open about her alcoholism, called it the perfect storm.
“I'm traveling, I'm on the road, I don’t know anyone in the whole state of Missouri, and that alcohol is free, and I only work for an hour a night.”
House, who's written for TV shows like CBS's Mom, has been sober for more than a decade and a comic for longer than that. Her new Westside comedy show, "Party On," looks to flip that alcohol-forward comedy venue dynamic. Co-produced by fellow comic Kim Clevenger, the show features sober comics joking about sobriety in a sober-friendly space. It takes place on the first Sunday of every month.
House took over a different sober comedy show from another comic years ago, hosting multiple iterations of the concept since. This latest version started with a conversation between House and Nicole Blaine, owner of the new comedy club The Crow in Santa Monica. When Blaine told House the club didn’t have its liquor license yet, House said that was fine by her since she was sober.
“[Nicole] said she had wanted to do a sober comedy show for years, but she doesn’t identify in that way, and she didn’t think she was the person to do it,” House said. “I honestly don’t know how it’s going to work at a public venue. But we wanted to try it and see.”
The Crow is an upstart comedy venue focusing on social justice, including diverse audiences and performers, with women at the fore. It calls Santa Monica’s Bergamot Station Arts Center its home, meaning it’s accessible by public transportation and one of the few comedy clubs around L.A. with ample parking.
The first "Party On" show was in May, with about 40 people in attendance. Vintage records hang on the Crow’s walls as old-timey light bulbs provide a soft glow. Blaine opened the show, setting the tone. It wasn’t the typical high-energy opening act, instead aiming for connection as she described how comedy provided a lifeboat.
She centered her story on growing up in Santa Monica in a family struggling with crack addiction. Blaine and those close to her would watch Friends on Thursday nights, a half-hour of escape each week. She later had the chance to meet Jennifer Aniston, using the opportunity to ask the star whether she ever doubted herself — and, well, Aniston didn’t. But, as Blaine noted, that’s probably easier when your parents are both actors, your father a prolific and acclaimed one (and your godfather is Kojak).
Along with Blaine, House, and Clevenger, the lineup included comics Madison Shepard (Single Drunk Female), Fielding Edlow (BoJack Horseman), That '70s Show creator Mark Brazil, Percy Rustomji, and headliner Rachel Scanlon.
Earlier versions of "Party On" were often performed for audiences filled with people in recovery, held at rehabs or sober living places and meetings.
“When it’s specifically about that experience, people laugh like they’re breathing for the first time in three weeks,” House said.
But House hopes the show feels like a welcoming space for all audiences.
We want sober people to feel like, ‘Oh, here’s a neat night out for me.'
“We want sober people to feel like, ‘Oh, here’s a neat night out for me,’” House said. But non-sober people still understand the situations sober comedians talk about, she added.
It’s also not about delivering a message. Upcoming headliner Greg Behrendt said he used to try doing that, especially after rising to notoriety on the success of his He’s Just Not That Into You-era public appearances and writing.
“As I've gotten older, I've realized [audiences are] going to take away from it what they're going to take away from it. Just be as funny as you possibly can,” Behrendt said.
“To me, the alcoholic human experience, it’s everybody’s experience,” House said. “We’re just times 10 — everybody has a bad day, but we feel like we should drink a barrel of booze over it. If we just make out with a stranger, everything will be fine.”
Sobriety is a continuing journey, said Shepard.
“Relapse is a part of my story," she said. "I remember the day that I was like, ‘Well, I can either continue to do standup, or I can stop drinking.’”
At first, Shepard chose standup. But now she says she can be in green rooms and around people who drink without it being an issue.
“My family drinks around me, my friends drink around me, I go to events for work,” Shepard said, and does not drink. “I just don’t like the way it makes me feel, so I won’t be engaging.”
House said it was hard initially after she got sober, but she found coping techniques.
“You just find your little fake drink — your bubbly water with lime in it, and put a cherry in it,” House said. “You find your excuses, or whatever it is you need to say about it. You have to live in the world where there’s alcohol, as an alcoholic."
One audience member at the inaugural "Party On" who also didn’t drink shared with House that it was nice not feeling like the weird one for abstaining.
“That’s how it can feel sometimes with alcohol. ‘I don’t want to drink, but I so hate to be different,’” House said.
Behrendt noted that it became easier for him after getting married and becoming more established. He didn’t feel compelled to spend time drinking while hitting on women or ingratiating himself to a comedy venue. Instead of hanging at the club, he learned to head back to his room to watch a movie.
On their first show, headliner Rachel Scanlon joked about how not drinking has improved her comedy — now she can remember what she wants to say and the experiences themselves. Shepard agreed.
My joke recall is better. I’m more present to the moment when I’m on stage than I was before.
“My joke recall is better,” Shepard said. “I’m more present to the moment when I’m on stage than I was before. I’m not just doing it by rote, like ‘la-da-da-da-da, here’s a joke, you’re laughing. OK, next.’”
Part of her inspiration for change was when she recorded an album, listened back, and could hear that she was drunk.
“I would reeeeally get f–-ed up and just be very intoxicated,” Shepard said. “I realized that so much of that was being uncomfortable. I’m Black — I’ve never been around that many straight white men in my life.”
She discovered that she’d been masking her social anxiety backstage with alcohol. A group she credits with helping her in parts of her sobriety is Sober Black Girls Club.
“It’s just a really phenomenal resource for Black women and queer folk who are interested in sobriety, because it looks different for us,” Shepard said.
When she got sober, House worried about how it would change her life.
“The day you get sober, it’s the worst day in the world,” House said. “I was like, ‘Well, I’ll probably never laugh or have fun again, but what am I going to do?’”
Behrendt had a riff on his last album exploring how being sober can bring down the fun.
“Once you get sober, you kind of become a square — I think in the best way,” Behrendt said. “I don’t necessarily need to have fun that much of the time. Some things can just be fine, and it doesn't all have to be a thrill ride.”
House put it this way: “I have to assure people, ‘I’m still so fun!’ I’m just not the one at the party that’s going to be like, ‘Let’s all jump in the pool!’ Yeah, that was fun, but also, it’s less fun in your 40s.”
While earlier versions had a sober audience, the comics didn’t necessarily have to be sober themselves. House is starting the new run out featuring comedians who don’t drink, but she’s open to changing that up as the show works to stay fresh.
House never wants audiences to feel, “I get it, you drank, you don’t anymore,” she said. One way to combat that: she sees the format expanding to include storytelling, because everyone has a drinking story. They’ve also considered including people dealing with addictions outside of alcohol.
That’s something Behrendt has faced — he got sober from alcohol in 1996 but relapsed with pills twice, including after receiving treatment for cancer (which is now in remission). He now has a book on the way about his own experiences with sobriety from both alcohol and drugs, See You On The Way Down. Set for release this September, it includes what he described as the “downward spiral” his life took after the peak of his fame.
Shepard thinks "Party On" is something House could take on the road, touring with it and bringing it to festivals, targeting the sober and sober-curious.
“It’s really important for people to know that they’re not alone and that people have a similar experience, and they’ve made it through, and they did it without drinking,” Shepard said.
That’s what she said she takes away when she hears sober people share their experiences — “I’m like, ‘Wow, they did that.’”
The next show is this Sunday, June 4, with headliner Graham Elwood. Headlining comics set for upcoming shows include Behrendt, Jackie Kashian, and Matt McCarthy.
Come for the laughs; stay for the intense relatability.
Location: The Crow, 2525 Michigan Avenue, Santa Monica
Time: Sunday, June 4 at 7 p.m.
General Admission: $20
Getting there tip: It's located right at the Bergamot Station Metro stop
