But when she found out about auditions for the second season of NBC's Last Comic Standing reality show, the short notice only allowed her to send one starry-eyed comic: Herself. And, thankfully, she remembered to follow her own advice.

"I was really proud that I made the camera guy laugh," she says. On Jan. 17 at San Francisco's Punch Line comedy club, Woodhull and hundreds of hopefuls were given three minutes to make the show's producers laugh. While Woodhull was able to skip much of the waiting because of her club-owner clout, her status didn't ease her nerves.

"They actually told one guy that he didn't have the look they wanted before he even opened his mouth," she says. "That room was full of people from the club, NBC and the producers, and they'd been listening to jokes since 10 a.m." Woodhull came up with a strategy—quick jokes with rapid punchlines—simply to avoid a premature departure from the stage. "I just tried to show my character," she says.

While Woodhull didn't make it beyond the preliminary round, she was allowed to finish her full three minutes, and even got a smile from one of the producers, who asked if she was coming down to Los Angeles any time soon. "I was happy they didn't just thank me for waiting so long," she says.

Woodhull only decided to try out for "Last Comic Standing" the day before the audition, but had already started reality-show-like competitions at Rooster's for wannabe comics when she took control of the club two years ago. The second annual Amateur Comedy Competition happens every Wednesday night throughout February, March and April, with the winner receiving a full week of performances at Rooster's. Comics come from all over the state to compete.

"It's almost like 'Comedy Idol,'" she says. "The audience votes, and people get so into it—they even write notes on their ballots. Some just want to see the train wreck."

But Woodhull says that 25 years in Sunnyvale has refined the typical Rooster's audience. While amateur nights bring out the gentler side of her patrons, seasoned comedians aren't given the same leeway. "Comics tell me this is one of the hardest rooms to work, but the people in Sunnyvale know good comedy," she says. Some comedians remark that they can tell smarter jokes here—tech-industry comedy doesn't play well everywhere.

Rooster's has fostered comics like Jerry Seinfeld, Drew Carey and George Lopez before they made it big in Hollywood. Woodhull says she spoke with Seinfeld recently in Las Vegas, and he fondly remembers Rooster's.

Originally from Denver, Woodhull has been a stand-up comic for nine years, but was bartending at Rooster's when the previous owners were looking to sell. She says owning Rooster T. Feathers appeals to her business side, and it provides a constant arena for her to try out her routine. "Now, I don't have to dress in a banana suit and tell jokes for 20 minutes in Modesto," she says.

With a routine based on her own life, Woodhull often incorporates the humor of owning a business into her jokes. Soon enough, she will be able to add the wacky hijinks of planning a wedding—she recently became engaged to her boyfriend, who isn't involved in professional comedy. But they met just as Woodhull took over the club, and she says the stress of that situation proved to her that they can conquer anything.

The club's stability and great staff enable her to take her own routine on the road, but she's happy with her current life. "If ["Last Comic Standing"] had chosen me, I would have gone, but I love it here," Woodhull says. In addition to fostering young talent, she also has a job where she gets to laugh on a nightly basis. "My regulars tell me this is like therapy," she says. "It's a two-hour vacation."

The Rooster T. Feathers Comedy Club is located at
157 W. El Camino Real in Sunnyvale. For more information, call 408.736.9021 or visit http://www.roostertfeathers.com.