Photo: Ebyabe / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Downtown Fort Myers.
Southwest Florida has a standup scene. Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Estero, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Sanibel. You do not need a class in Tampa to get on a mic. You need a notebook and a night you actually leave the house.
If you have never gone up, start with How to Start Stand-Up Comedy. If you already have five minutes, read How to Develop a Tight Five. This is the local map: the weekly mics, the clubs, and the bars that book shows.
Rooms move. Confirm the night before you drive.
The open mics
These are the rooms where you get stage time. Start here. Hang after. The booked shows come from people the hosts already see.
Monday — Coastal Dayz Brewery, Fort Myers
Coastal Dayz Brewery, 2161 McGregor Blvd, Fort Myers. Southwest Florida Stand-Up Comedy Studio. Mondays, 6:30 p.m. Free. 21+.
Hosted and produced by Pixie2Sneakers, with guest hosts including Alex Pino, Dante Pastore, and Tim Mayta. Sign-up is 6:30, same as start, through Eventbrite, the QR at the room, or Instagram. Full write-up: Monday Open Mic at Coastal Dayz Brewery.
First Tuesday — Celtic Ray, Punta Gorda
The Celtic Ray Public House, 145 E Marion Ave, Punta Gorda. First Tuesday of the month. Irish pub with a stage on the other side of the building.
The Ray also books ticketed comedy nights, usually Thursdays at 8 p.m., hosted by Max Doyle. Those are $15 shows, not the mic. Check the events page before you go.
Wednesday — Stet’s Bar, Fort Myers
Stet’s Bar, 1926 Winkler Ave, Fort Myers. Weekly open-mic workshop. Social hour 7 p.m., mic at 8 p.m.
Hosted by Shelley Kelley and Evolving Comedy, including Emily Fisher and Tim Maetta. The performance hall has a real stage, lights, and sound. Stet’s also books ticketed shows on other nights. Full write-up: Wednesday Open Mic Workshop at Stet’s Bar.
First Friday — Snappers Comedy Club, Fort Myers
Snappers Comedy Club, 8595 College Parkway, Suite 270, Fort Myers (Sprouts plaza, College and Winkler). First Friday of the month, 9:30 p.m. Doors 9 p.m. Tickets $5. 21+.
A comic and a live DJ host. Email snappersopenmic@gmail.com to get on the list. This is the club mic: two-item minimum, assigned seats, the same room the touring acts work.
The comedy clubs
These are the dedicated rooms. Watch them before you try to get on them. Guest spots come from being a regular at the mics, not from an email.
Off the Hook Comedy Club — Naples
Off the Hook, 2500 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Suite 1100, Naples. Box office: 239-389-6901. The national-touring room on this coast. Headliners most nights of the week. Jessie Jetski Johnson, one of Kill Tony’s first regulars, just played here. Read her tour piece.
Snappers Comedy Club — Fort Myers
Snappers, 8595 College Parkway, Suite 270, Fort Myers. Box office: 239-479-5233. 21+. Two-item minimum (food or drink). Smoke-free. The brand has been around since 1988 and now runs this Fort Myers room with touring headliners most weekends, plus the first-Friday open mic.
Venturino’s Comedy Club — Estero
Venturino’s lives inside J. Vito’s Supper Club and Lounge, 20041 S Tamiami Trail #19, Estero (US 41 and Estero Parkway). Reservations: 239-471-6911. No two-item minimum. Doors 5 p.m., shows 7 p.m. unless the listing says otherwise. Larry Venturino books standup, magic, and variety. 18+ recommended, under 18 with an adult.
Venturino’s also runs a monthly series at Fort Myers Theatre, 16120 San Carlos Blvd #5, and has booked the Art Center Theatre on Marco Island, the Norris Center in Naples, and Langdon Playhouse in Port Charlotte.
Visani Italian Steakhouse and Comedy Theater — Port Charlotte
Visani, 2400 Kings Highway, Port Charlotte. Box office: 941-629-9191 (Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.). Italian steakhouse with a comedy theater attached. Dinner is served with or without a show. Weekly touring comics through The Comedy Zone. Tickets and seat reservations are on their ThunderTix page. Some GPS units want 23490 Spencer Court.
Shows are 18 and older with a parent or guardian, 23 and older without. Visani also runs 1st Comic Standing, a clean five-minute competition for a paid feature opening a national act. Comic sign-ups are by phone.
Caloosa Comedy — Sanibel
Caloosa Comedy lives at Rosalita’s Cantina, 975 Rabbit Road, Sanibel. 617-201-3184. Rob Churchill’s room. Ticketed comedy nights, usually 7:30 p.m., with touring headliners and a local lineup. They also produce shows off the island, including downtown Fort Myers at Bay Street Yard, 2136 Bay St.
Caloosa runs Next Big Thing, a competition for local comics. Schedule and tickets: caloosacomedy.com/shows.
Bars, breweries, and restaurants that book shows
These are not clubs. They put a mic in a dining room or a lounge a few times a month. Good rooms to watch, and later, to get booked into once the weekly mics know your name.
Anthony’s on the BLVD — Cape Coral
Anthony’s on the BLVD, 1303 Del Prado Blvd S, Cape Coral. 239-800-5451. The restaurant turns into a comedy room on special Thursdays: no cover, doors 6:30 p.m., show 7:30 p.m., $20 food-and-beverage minimum per person. 18+ recommended, under 18 with an adult. Reserve a table. Pixie2Sneakers also produces Comedy on the BLVD dinner shows here. Check the restaurant and Eventbrite before you go.
Stogie’s Cigar Lounge — Fort Myers
Stogie’s (Stogie Pairing), 10650 Metro Pkwy #203, Fort Myers. 239-437-4085. Cigars, craft beer, wine, espresso. Occasional standup in the lounge. No standing calendar on the site, so watch their socials or call.
Rumrunners — Cape Coral
Rumrunners, 5848 Cape Harbour Drive, Cape Coral. Recurring Saturday comedy nights produced by Comic Cure. Seating 5:30 p.m., show 7 p.m. 18+. Two-drink minimum. Dinner available, not included in the ticket. Dates land about once a month. Buy on Eventbrite.
The Celtic Ray — Punta Gorda
Same pub as the first-Tuesday mic. Ticketed Thursday comedy nights, hosted by Max Doyle, doors 6:45 p.m., show 8 p.m., $15. Lineups rotate. celticray.net.
Stet’s Bar — Fort Myers
Same hall as the Wednesday workshop. Evolving Comedy books ticketed showcases here on other nights: themed lineups, cheap date-night shows, the occasional touring name. Watch Shelley Kelley and the Stet’s calendar.
How to use this
Go to Coastal Dayz on Monday and Stet’s on Wednesday. Those two nights will teach you the scene faster than any club you are not on yet. Add Celtic Ray the first Tuesday of the month and Snappers the first Friday when you want a club room.
Watch Off the Hook, Snappers, Venturino’s, Visani, and Caloosa as a civilian. See how a host runs a show. See how a feature holds 15 minutes. Then go back to the mic and steal the work, not the bits.
When a bar like Anthony’s or Rumrunners needs a local, they ask the people who already host and hang at the weekly rooms. Be one of those people.
If a room is missing, or a night moved, tell us. This list should stay current.
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