Green room at Spokane Comedy Club is the place to be

Going green means something very different for comics who perform at Spokane Comedy Club. “I look forward to the green room every time I play Spokane,” comic Clint Coley said. “It’s a comic’s dream.” For the uninitiated, the green room is an area where performers relax before hitting the stage. Coley has experienced his share of green rooms during his comedy career, and none touches the relaxing space where comics hang out before hitting the stage at Spokane Comedy Club.

“I remember the first time I was there,” Coley said. “I was opening for D.L. (Hughley), and I was like, ‘Wow.’ There are good snacks, comfortable chairs and video games. You might get one or two of those in a comedy club if you’re lucky, but you get it all at the Spokane Comedy Club. It’s just awesome!” The Spokane Comedy Club green room, which is pea green, is perfect for a teenage boy or, well, a comic.

It’s like Halloween every day since there is an overabundance of candy including Twix, Butterfinger, Pay Day, Snickers and Tootsie Rolls. There are Oreos and Nutter Butters, too. If a comic needs caffeine, there’s a coffee maker, and Cokes are in a refrigerator. If a humorist wants to wash down the empty calories with alcohol, there’s Guinness. “I really don’t know what else I need in there,” Coley said. “I could live in that room.”

It’s true. If a comic would like something more substantial, such as a sandwich, he just rings the kitchen. A green light comes to life by the oven, and dinner is on its way. There is a game room, too. A comic can take it up a notch by chilling with Netflix or ramp it up by playing Xbox. “The cool thing is that I sat in the Spokane Comedy Club green room and played Super Nintendo and watched ‘Pulp Fiction,’ and I was at work,” comic Kristin Key cracked. “It’s amazing. It’s the perfect setup for a comic. It’s fantastic.

“There is no green room that’s better than what is set up for comics in Spokane. The guys who run the Spokane Comedy Club know what they’re doing.” After spending a couple of years as a standup, Spokane Comedy Club owner Adam Norwest knows what appeals to a comic. “Comedians are our guest,” Norwest said. “We want them to feel welcome and appreciated. They could perform anywhere in the world, and for them to choose Spokane, we want it to be comfortable and special.” Norwest’s sister comedy clubs in Tacoma, Oklahoma City and Appleton, Wisconsin, have similar green rooms.

“Our green rooms are the way they are since Adam remembers what it was like to play clubs and sit down in a chair with a mini-fridge, and there was often nothing in it,” Spokane Comedy Club administrative assistant Josh Firestine, a comic himself, said. “It was like, ‘Well, thanks for nothing.’ Adam knew what would make comics comfortable. Our aim is to give comedians the comfort of home.

“They can flick a switch and get service from the green room. We get some comics who are super famous. The last thing they need to do is pop out of the green room and try to order something and be bothered by fans who want an autograph. Our candy selection is better than what you will find at Walgreens or 7-11. We don’t serve up bite-size. We do human size.”

The witty and unpredictable John Caparulo is a big fan of the Spokane Comedy Club green room. “You can’t beat the candy there and just, well, everything,” Caparulo said. When the humorist known as Cap played there in 2019, he was surprised before his first set of the night. “There was a homeless guy who came into the green room at the Spokane Comedy Club when I was there,” Caparulo said.

“I thought he worked there. He acted like he did. He was going through stuff. But then someone who did work there said, ‘Get out of here!” Until then, I thought he was going to open for me. … But even after all that, I love that green room. I will be back in that green room, but that’s probably what all the comics say.”