This is the main form to request a slot to produce a show at The Poly Mic 9 pm show.
The Poly Mic is a queer and trans centered double bill comedy night happening at Bar Notre Dame des Quilles, a queer bar located in the Little Italy neighborhood of Montreal.
The double bill consists of two shows:
- An open mic at 7pm, centering queer and trans performers, mostly for comedy but also open to music, poetry and other artistic expressions.
- A comedy show at 9pm, sometimes ran by a member of The Poly Mic team, sometimes ran by a guest producer. This form's purpose is so you can be one of these producers.
Who can apply to produce a 9pm show?
Pretty much anyone who is not an asshole. We prioritize queer and trans producers, but we are open to anyone who can put on our entertaining show for our audience (a queer event in a queer bar).
Besides LGBTQ+ producers, we encourage the following:
- Experiments with new, original, show concepts
- Out of town performers
- Comedians running their long sets
Does it have to be a stand-up comedy show?
Not necessarily. We are open to sketch and improv as well. If the idea sounds cool, we'd be open to a lot of stuff. You're warned though, when it comes to music, the tech setup isn't ideal for a music show.
How long does the show have to be?
The bar closes at midnight on Wednesdays, but for the 9pm slot we recommend a 75 minutes show, and finishing no later than 10.30 pm. It's a Wednesday after all.
What's the venue capacity?
Notre Dame des Quilles has two connected rooms. The room with stage has a capacity of 45 to 75 depending on whether folding chairs are used. The way the room is set up, it only takes 15 people in the audience for it to feel full enough.
If the crowd you are drew is small and there happens to be a few loud people in the other room, we'll hear them in the background. Nothing in life is perfect!
What's the tech situation?
The bar has two wireless microphones, and connecting any device through Bluetooth can be done easily. For any other tech requests, we would need to look into them on a case by case basis. The bar also has a projector.
How does ticketing work?
We let you sell your own tickets, at whatever price you want to, whatever platform you want to use, and you keep that money. That's a pretty good deal, isn't it?
In case your show doesn't sell tickets, you can still have a crowd by talking to the host of the 7pm open mic show, who will invite the open mic audience to stay and see the show on a PWYC basis.
What do you want in exchange, though?
The shows will be promoted on Instagram and Facebook, with both a monthly schedule, that looks like this and a weekly post that looks like this, as well as regular Instagram stories.
Starting on July 10, we'll charge selected shows a small fee of $25 to cover some of the admin and promo work needed to maintain the 9pm slot.
So, if you are selected and we agree on a date for your show, before the 15th of the previous month of the show, we will need the following:
- Payment of the $25 fee
- Name of our show and lineup
- A square poster or graphic
Will you contact me to confirm if I am selected or not?
We will contact you as soon as possible if we have a date for you.
Due to the amount of work it takes running The Poly Mic, it wouldn't be possible to answer to every single request that isn't accepted. The reason might be that we are booked on the weeks you requested, or maybe we don't think that the show pitch fits the planning of that month, but if you are interested in working with us, don't hesitate to fill out the form more than once.
If you have any further questions, please contact Raquel Maestre at @raquelmaestrecomedy
