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UCLA alumnus Matt Balaker takes his passion for stand-up onstage as founder of the “Audienc

The Red Rock on Sunset might be the perfect place for students looking to ignore their homework for just one more day.

With the “Audience First Comedy” show tonight at 8:30, procrastinating during the first week of school just got a little bit easier. Put on every first and third Tuesday of the month by Matt Balaker, a 2001 UCLA alumnus, the Red Rock on Sunset offers both up-and-coming and established comics the chance to perform in a more intimate venue.

Balaker is the show’s founder and manager, as well as a frequent host and performer.

A financial analyst for a hedge fund by day, Balaker’s night-time gig as a stand-up comic and comedy room manager might seem a little out of place, but for him, it’s the perfect amalgamation of a dream and real life.

“You don’t really make a lot of money when you’re just starting out, so it’s nice not to beg my parents for money,” Balaker said. “(Comedy) is an outlet that I enjoy.”

Finding a way to explore that outlet in Los Angeles was a long time coming.

As a former business economics student at UCLA, Balaker found that the school’s close proximity to the entertainment world gave him a chance to explore something he might otherwise have filed away as unattainable. But it was not until Conan O’Brien came to UCLA to accept the UCLA Jack Benny Award in 1998 that Balaker was set on the path he finds himself on today.

“I asked about how one could start working in comedy, and (Conan) mentioned their internship program,” Balaker said. “I had to apply.”

He applied shortly after and got in. In 1999, Balaker went to New York to begin his internship on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

“Being in New York, going to open mics, seeing Times Square, it really solidified that this was what I wanted to do with my life in some capacity,” he said.

For Balaker, coming back to UCLA to finish his degree after the completion of the internship didn’t mean abandoning comedy. While classes in improvisation at The Groundlings and ACME Comedy Theatre helped him maintain the passion he discovered in New York, they also gave him a chance to discover what part of comedy he loved most: stand-up.

“Sketch comedy is a lot of fun, but you’re always counting on people to be there at the same time,” Balaker said. “This way, I’m accountable to myself.”

Stand-up not only allowed Balaker the flexibility he was looking for, it allowed him the sort of autonomy not always found in the entertainment industry.

“In order to perform at all, you always needed other people around you. As a stand-up, you can always get a spot,” he said.

That “spot,” the five-to-10 minute set where a stand-up can flex his wit, can be difficult to find. Because of this, Balaker had to get creative, doing shows anywhere from coffee houses to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

It was this search for a place to hone his craft that brought him to the Red Rock on Sunset. Primarily a bar, the managers didn’t quite know what to do with Balaker’s request for a space.

“At first, they didn’t think anyone would come,” he said. “It was a tough sell.”

That soon changed when Balaker began to bring in not only the various talented unknowns he had encountered during his own shows, but people with a little more cache as well. Well-known comedians such as Doug Benson, Greg Fitzsimmons, Jeff Richards and Nick Thune find the Red Rock a perfect place to work on new material.

Brendon Mulvihill, a businessman and a regular at comedy shows in the Los Angeles area, knows exactly what these comedians see in the Red Rock.

“They dig it because it’s a really good audience,” Mulvihill said. “A lot of times when you go to these rooms in Los Angeles, you get a small crowd where people aren’t really paying attention. But Matt’s show is perfect: It’s short, the crowd is large, and there’s a lot of energy in the room. You can tell that they love it because they keep coming back.”

The Red Rock show is also perfect for an audience with lives as busy as Balaker’s. With five to six comedians, a five-to-seven minute set and a headliner on stage for 20 minutes, those strapped for time and cash can still see a quality show.

“The show doesn’t run on forever,” Mulvihill said. “You get great comedy for two hours, and then you’re out. And it’s free.”

Although the show allows Balaker to control his own schedule, as a host he can also schedule his friends.

One such person is Laura Rosenberg, a 2000 UCLA alumna who had met Balaker at a coffee house comedy show. They struck up a friendship, surprised to learn they had both gone to UCLA at the same time but never knew each other. When Balaker put together his own show, he invited her, and she wound up performing at the Sept. 19 show.

“I had a killer show. Honestly, it was one of the best shows I had,” Rosenberg said. “It was just a great audience, and they were receptive to the comedy in general. It was really crowded, and (usually on a) Tuesday night, you don’t normally get such a good crowd.”

But Balaker doesn’t want to keep the comedy just to himself and his friends, and that’s why he’s back on campus to promote his show.

“I used to be the student with the newspaper stuck to his face, trying to avoid all the fliers, and now I’m there on Bruin Walk handing out fliers myself,” Balaker said. “I’ve come full circle.”