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It's a tough crowd at the Karma Lounge. Facing a long line of patrons curved around the bar, Tashya Tummings, the open mic comedy host, hopes to grab their attention. Her eyes lock on Theresa Wright's of Suitland. Tuesday was her first open mic experience.

"Please make me laugh," Wright said to her as if there were three extra Es in "please."

Tummings then introduces Niem Lyon. The Capitol Heights native starts to talk about baseball, and how an asterisk could go next to Barry Bonds's Aug. 2007 home run that moved him past Hank Aaron's record for the most home runs in Major League Baseball history.

Lyon, 24, listed a few things more deserving of asterisks, including Rev. Al Sharpton.

"At that age, you shouldn't be that juicy," Lyon said.

Lyon was referring to the sheen of Sharpton's mane, hair so slick that Lyon believed if he stood behind him during an assassination attempt, the bullet would glide through his hair and strike him instead.

Lyon got laughs, a sign of success during an open mic — but silence is just as telling.

An open mic night works twofold. For a comic, it's a chance to tweak his or her material and an instant reaction to what jokes get big laughs and which ones fall flat. For the average person, it's a night out with friends or your significant other.

Tummings handed Sidney Etienne, 28, of Bowie a flier outside of Karma Lounge while he was on his way to the Magic Johnson Theatre next door.

"She handed me a flyer," Etienne said. "She said ‘Hey, we have a comedy show. It's free.'" [I] weighed my options. I can always catch another movie tomorrow."

Torn over whether to see "Precious" or "Law Abiding Citizen," he chose comedy instead. Etienne said he likes to laugh.

"If it's funny, I laugh," Etienne said. "If not, it was an experience."

Tummings, 28, of Perrywood in Upper Marlboro who hosts the free open mic from 8 to 11 p.m. Tuesdays at Karma Lounge at the Boulevard at the Capital Centre, hopes the lounge will become a staple for residents to relax and enjoy a night of comedy.

"Right now it's an open mic, so I hope it gets to the point where it's packed enough where it could be a paid show mixed with an open mic, so comedians can come out and get paid and get more exposure," Tummings said.

Royce Wynn, 25, of Bowie has been doing stand up for three years, starting back in his college days at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. Wynn said money typically isn't poured into open mics, which tend to come and go if the comedian isn't promoting it hard enough. He added there isn't an entertainment strip like there is in Baltimore or Washington, D.C., where the art form can flourish.

"PG's def not the strongest place," Wynn said. "D.C.'s definitely doing it."

But Wynn would definitely like to see more open mics bloom in the county.

"It would save me a lot of gas money," he said with a laugh.

When asked why there are not more open mic nights in the county, Tummings said she does not think enough people have made the effort.

"With comedy, you have to find the right venue ... where people have to be trained to listen," Tummings said. "It's a little bit different with music — with music, you don't have to be paying attention to the actual act. In comedy, you have to be focused or you're going to miss the punch line."

But Eddie Bryant of Bladensburg sees some growth.

Bryant, 33, and a six-year comic who manages Laugh Out Loud in Temple Hills, knows Tummings as a comic who started performing at Laugh Out Loud. Thursday nights are open mic "amateur nights," while Fridays and Saturdays are reserved for professional acts.

It is comics like Tummings who build on their self confidence to start open mics in other rooms on different nights like inside Karma Lounge, Bryant said.

"A lot of comedians are getting stronger because of the environment that allows them to go into other venues and create open mics," Bryant said. "In Prince George's County you have people trying to grow and become better artists."

Bryant said Laugh Out Loud audiences are filled with "genuine comedy fans" and that he prides on being able to give comics a chance to perform for comedy enthusiasts. The club, which operates from the basement of Club Elite, celebrated its two-year anniversary on Halloween.

The club is getting the type of exposure Tummings hopes for at Karma Lounge. Local comics, such as Lawrence Owens of Landover and Geegee The Beautician Comedienne of Oxon Hill, have auditioned for comedian and Eleanor Roosevelt High product Martin Lawrence's "First Amendment Stand Up." In 2008, Bryant placed fourth and Freddi Vernell of Silver Spring placed fifth out of 60 comedians competing at the Bay Area Urban Comedy Festival in Oakland, Calif.

The experience is a night full of entertainment where the crowd ranges from people in their young 20s to their mid-50s, Bryant said.

"You see couples; you get girls night out, bachelorette parties," Bryant said. "After the show there's a band that we have that plays upstairs. It's a good night out."

Also serving up laughs is EJ's Landing Restaurant, Bar and Lounge in College Park which has run open mic comedy nights since May 2007 thanks to Irwin Weinstein. Weinstein, 45, of Kensington runs Kaleidoscope Comedy which holds open mic nights the first Saturday of the month starting at 9 p.m. EJ's also hosts professional acts the second and fourth Saturdays of the month and a comedy contest on the third Saturday.

Weinstein said the open mic is a place to get your feet wet.

"You're not going to find out that Wanda Sykes did open mic two years ago," Weinstein said. "It doesn't happen that fast. There's a lot of great local comics at EJ's, but more on the regional scene."

Weinstein said anything goes at EJ's — whether it's a crowd of five people or 50 but said it is an honest room.

"If you're not funny, they don't throw things at you but if you're not doing anything funny they don't pay attention," Weinstein said. "They just don't laugh."

At EJ's, a customer will see about 10 comics perform at the open mics and, if he or she is lucky, would see 20 people in the audience who are not comics themselves.

"All the open mics are like that," Weinstein said. "It's not going to be that group of people that come to see comedy. Some of them are not funny. They're still learning. They're not at that point where they can command an audience but they will if they work at it.

Seeing a comic's growth is one of the best parts of an open mic comedy night, Weinstein said.

"Suddenly you find out, ‘He just made me laugh for 10 straight minutes,'" Weinstein said. "Some people I saw a year or two ago, I think they're hysterical."

Prior to performing at Karma Lounge, Lyon won a Nov. 14 comedy contest at EJ's. He will perform in the semifinals Jan. 9.

But Lyon does not know yet what his long-term plans are for comedic success.

"I'm real humble about it," Lyon said. "I just like making people laugh and smile."

E-mail Natalie McGill at nmcgill@gazette.net.

If You Go

EJ's Landing

9 p.m., first Saturday of the month

8601 Baltimore Ave.

College Park

301-518-9145

Karma Lounge

8 p.m. Tuesday nights

800 G Shoppers Way

Largo

917-330-0905

Laugh Out Loud at Club Elite

9 p.m. Thursday nights

3285 Brinkley Road

Temple Hills

301-894-7671

Peachez Café and Lounge

Tuesdays (schedule varies)

5010 Brown Station Road

Upper Marlboro

301-780-3467