C.

And those laid off employees, waiters, waitresses and bartenders.

Air certainly feeling the pain as Comedy Club sit empty.

So we wanted to tell you about an effort by a group of standup comedians now raising money for the wait staffs of comedy venues across the country.

Here's a B C's Devin Dwyer deal Hugely, Seinfeld.

These air Everybody's been here comedy clubs or launch pads for the biggest stars in stand up.

It's depressing to see it totally empty.

But now dozens of those beloved local hangouts like DC Improv in the nation's capital have gone silent.

Co owner Allison Jaffe doing all she can to help her staff survive.

I had a lay off my whole team of 50 people, and it's awful, you know, um, I love those guys and I want to help them and, you know, we set up a staff go fund me page to try to raise money.

We're close to $30,000 now, which is amazing that go fund me Page.

Given a surprise boost by comedian Mike Birbiglia, who got his start at DC Improv.

He's put together the website Tip your wait staff dot com to raise donations for laid off workers at comedy clubs around the country.

In exchange, Birbiglia and his friends from Rommie Yussef to Sarah Silverman to John Mulaney I'm gonna burn through a few because offering fans a rare inside look at how their jokes are made, I don't think it's fair to make a baby wear a T shirt that has, like an attitude that says, like going to shop or like, change my diaper like I think that's like That's that could not be their persona at all.

Maybe it's their percent.

I don't know how the Kobe 19 situation is going to adjust what's funny, but this joke was written pre cove it so I don't want any judgment from I don't know any black preppers you're asking me to be prepared for when things go back just bad for me now.

Birbiglia launched the effort with Comedy Central's Roy Wood Jr This came about because, uh, you and I were like, How do we help these clubs?

Because these clubs are just shut down right now, there's no revenue.

What we're doing here is actually kind of not what you see as an audience member, which is like comics calling each other ***, what you think it is.

His first fundraiser for the Comedy Attic in Bloomington, Indiana, were owner Jared Thompson had to cancel.

Birbiglia is upcoming performance and lay off staff because of the covert 19 shutdown.

He just texted me that he had this idea called Tip your wait staff and he was gonna go live on Instagram and, you know, he told me about it.

And then the next day he was like, All right, we're going live in like 30 minutes.

How much is he raised so far for your nine staff?

Do you have a sense?

Yeah, it's almost $4000.

It's so crazy.

Like I mean, Mike is just an unbelievable person.

Are you?

And you know, he's at a point in his career.

He could very easily just sort of do things the way that most people do and just kind of, you know, care about himself in his family, for the comedy Attic and so many other clubs, it's welcome support at a time of deep uncertainty about the future.

We're gonna do everything we can to make sure that we can reopen once we get, you know, the okay to do.

So.

I would say that the likelihood that we can have a whole pack room with a sold out show that might be a much longer thing than just having a show where we can have 30 40 50 people in there.

We can make that work.

It's just a matter of will we be able to book the high level talent that were used to booking For now, those big names are asking for big tips.

Toe laid off staff were giving all of us a good laugh.

Hey, what are you doing?

Put your mask on.

And the claws for ABC News Live.

I'm Devin Dwyer in Washington, and we're joined now by a man in a profession that we certainly need right about Now that Aaron comedian Mike Birbiglia, he started the tip.

Your wait staff effort.

Thanks so much for joining us.

Thanks for having me, Lindsay.

So what kind of response are you getting on helping these clubs and their employees both from your fellow comedians and from their fans, And do you know how much you've been able to raise?

So far?

It's been just positive.

Across the board, I think the club's feel appreciated and seeing, uh I feel like comedians between their Silverman and John Mulaney and and Melissa obvious.

And you're all willing to do it because we don't know what else to do.

Right now.

I feel like if you're not a medical professional doctor, nurse, a delivery person, a grocery worker, you feel a little bit helpless right now.

And we've seen so many people lose.

Their livelihood is in the past few weeks is this pandemic has taken hold?

How concerned are you that some of these venues, especially some of the smaller ones, aren't gonna be able to make it through?

I think I think you know, most comedians were really concerned about sort of, you know, where does this land and where do we go from here?

And, uh and, uh, yeah.

I mean, I've been going to these clubs for 20 years.

I've been, you know, the DC Improv, which was mentioned, is where I started out when I was a back waiter.

I worked the door there and it's ah, you know, it's a great group of people who run these clubs, and I think we're gonna do everything we can t o help him keep going.

We heard some concern from that comedy club owner in Indiana that it may take a while for people to start going back to venues where there were once large crowds.

Do you think that this is going to change the nature of stand up at all?

Even if just for the short term I mean, honestly, I I don't know.

I don't know of anyone knows, uh, anything right now.

And I would say that Ah, well, you know, as comedians in terms of like the tip, your wait step initiative, it's like we don't have any answers.

Uh, we just have jokes and that So all we can do is try to entertain right now, in the midst of what is what feels like in an insane amount of uncertainty.

You think that it's possible that the digital venues will be a good place in the future is that live audience component just critical to the whole experience?

I think that live performance will always exist.

I think we're living in a time where, ah, we're gonna have Thio make it to the other side of this And I think we're gonna have to become smarter as a country about science and fax and paying attention.

Thio Thio What's happening?

Because it's I think it's just a big wake up call for the country.

And, you know, I wish there was a punch line to that.

There's there's not gonna be a punch line for that for over a while, obviously very serious times to your point.

There's no punch line here, really.

But But talk about the importance of humor and laughter getting us through this well, I think, you know, all of us are You were inundated right now with with reading and watching news and really grim statistics and people dying, and it's it's very, very sad.

And I think I think comedy provides whether it's movies or comedy specials or this kind of live stream thing that we're doing is just, uh, it's just a taste of of the absurdity, uh, that that can make us just remind us of the absurdity of everything.

I mean, like, it really is like, um, you know, they It's like the old cliches that laughter's the best medicine.

But that cliche came from a real place.

I mean, like, I think that really is a degree to which it's it's healing and cathartic to hear someone really game out absurdity.

Well, as you just said it best, that laughter is the best medicine.

And after all, it is Friday, the end of another brutal week.

So if you have a good joke for us, we'd love to hear my whole last special, which is gold.

The new on on Netflix was about having a child and the first, like 13 months of her life.

And I don't really my new my new mature I'm working and I don't talk about my daughter much because she's five.

She's now.

She's adorable, and there's nothing funny about being adorable.

Except, uh, the other day I said, Mommy's gonna put you to bed and she said, She's not your mom.

She's my mom And I said, That's what my therapist keeps telling because all toddlers have a Boston accent there, like I'm tired on Boston father's heir like I'm wicked tired.

And, uh, that's my That's my one joke.

I have about my daughter right now.

We appreciate it.

And thank you so much for your time and your humor.

Mike Birbiglia, We appreciate you.

And again his website is tip your wait staff dot com.

Thanks, Lindsey.

Hi, everyone.

George Stephanopoulos Here.

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