From the vault: my ninth Instagram post ever. March 26, 2017. Caption: “It’s working”
The whole post is just a lineup sheet. No stage photo, no crowd shot, no picture of me holding a mic like I invented comedy. Just a clean printed list for a show called Zoolarious, dated 3-26-17, tagged at Zoo Bar.
Audrey Farnham hosting. Then Brad Stewart first, Ross Brockley second, me third, and Jack Comstock fourth. That is it. That is the photo.
And my caption was two words, “It’s working.”
I know exactly what that means, because I have been that comic. It is working does not mean famous. It does not mean paid well, or reviewed, or discovered. It means the thing you keep doing in small rooms is actually starting to turn into a real lineup with your name printed on it in the right order. Somebody booked you on purpose. Somebody put you third, not as a favor at the end if there is time, but right there in the middle of the show where you have to actually be funny.
Third is a perfect early spot, by the way. The host has warmed them up, the first two comics have set the tone, and now it is on you to keep it moving before the closer. You do not get to coast in the three spot. You also do not get to blame the room being cold. The room is already warm, pal. Do not cool it down.
Looking at this now, I love how plain it is. A name on a list was enough to post about, and honestly it should be. That is how this job actually builds, one printed lineup at a time, one room at a time, one night where you look at the sheet and think, okay, keep going, it’s working.
Same guy now, on the roster at Comedy Works, won their 2026 New Faces Contest, out on the road hosting THE DOSE. The lineups are bigger now and my name moves around on them, but I still get that same feeling when I see it printed before a show. Good, it’s working. Now go earn the spot.
Nic
Original post: https://www.instagram.com/p/BSILz5VDIQh/, see the current tour dates at nicdean.net