First off, chill. Relax. Don’t be scared.

Who We Are and What We Do:

- Off the Wall is the University of Maryland’s only student group devoted solely to stand-up comedy.
- We were founded in February 2008 by Justin Cousson. The first members recruited for the group were Atif Myers, Brittany Borghi, Vish Bhatt, Steve Shafran, Terry Hayes, Adam Fishbein and Joe Welkie.

- Comics involved with Off the Wall have performed at numerous venues, including the DC Improv, Magooby’s Joke House in Baltimore, The Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia, the Gotham Comedy Club in New York, The Comedy Store in Los Angeles and the Bentzen Ball Comedy Festival.

Joining Off the Wall:

- To audition for Off the Wall’s feature shows and become a part of the core group that plans the shows and runs the promotional machine, you simply sign-up for a spot at one of our open mics and let the group know you’re interested in getting more involved, as the group meets regularly for joke-writing workshops.

Where We Are:

- Off the Wall shows are primarily held in the Stamp Student Union of the University of Maryland - the rooms will always be specified on this site and on Facebook events.

Audience Members:

- Because we like to keep our venues fairly intimate, you’ll want to get to an Off the Wall show at least fifteen minutes before that to make sure you’re not in a scramble for seating.
- Laugh, love, and get comfortable.
- If you dig what you see, feel free to join the Facebook group so you can get the latest updates on all the group’s shows.

Open Mic Rules:

- We’re at a strict five-minute rule for performers. Someone will be in the back of the venue giving you a finger count (“3 fingers = 3 minutes,” “2 fingers = 2 minutes” “waving cell phone = wrap it up/one-minute”) Be respectful of the time, as ignoring the signals is the easiest way to guarantee not getting an invite back.

- Generally on a show that’s a feature show/open mic, we have six open mic spots available that you can snag by showing up early to any show. For the open mic challenge shows, there are fifteen spots, and you’ll want to sign up in advance by firing off an e-mail to UMDOfftheWall@gmail.com.

- Be social. Stick around for the show and don’t just bolt after you’ve gone up.

- There are no restrictions on content. The only jokes that are offensive at Off the Wall are the jokes that aren’t funny.

- If you’ve signed up for an open mic spot, bring five people to the show. We try to keep a good crowd, and you want to have people who already dig you there, don’t you?

Local Spotlight Rules:

- If you’re a comedian from outside of UMD and you’re looking to do a feature spot at Off The Wall, write to UMDOfftheWall@gmail.com with a link to an 8-10 minute video of your set. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can, but keep in mind we rarely schedule shows more than two weeks in advance.

Videotaping Policy:

- If you want to tape your own set, all we ask is that if you use a tripod, set up in the back of the room so as not to obstruct anyone’s view.

- If available, we do taping and uploading by request - if interested, find the host before the show. We do not accept taping requests after the show, as we do not tape performers without their permission.