Previewing The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition

It's a marathon, not a sprint. You have to be likable but you have to make an impression. You move on with stunts but you win with material. It's perverse and unfair.

It is...The Seattle International Comedy Competition.

...and it's about time.

PREVIEW OF THE 28th ANNUAL SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY COMPETITION

The sheer dimensions of this competition seem unreal. 32 comedians. 23 shows. 26 days. Countless hours. Endless miles. A mob of judges. A blur of audiences.

This is the third Seattle International Comedy Competition that we've covered here on SeattleComedy.net.

In 2005, I was a participant in the second preliminary week...and failed to move on to the semi-finals. With the help of those who had moved on, we covered the competition from afar--not really getting a full sense of how dragging yourself up and down the I-5 corridor and occasionally blazing a trail across the mountains can wear a performer down.

Last year, I signed on as an assistant to the producer, Ron Reid, for the competition. I was there for every show. I saw every performance. I reported on as much of it as I could--and those reports are still available in the archives here (with some of the photos taken down...)

This year, I turned down the chance to compete again...because I truly enjoyed the experience of helping the production of the competition, and I liked reporting on the entire event from start to finish. I signed on again--this time, I'm the Production Assistant--Director of Talent. It sounds impressive--but, basically, I'm the equivalent of a "Get Back Coach" for an NFL team for the competition.

The competition starts tomorrow...and as I write this, I know who 31 of the 32 competitors will be. There's still a spot in Preliminary Week Two yet to be confirmed. As ever, the competition has an amazing mix of talent ready, willing and able to put themselves through this ringer in order to lay claim to a title once held by Mitch Hedberg, Matt Weinhold, Tom Cotter, David Crowe, Lamont Ferguson...and others (click on the "Comedy Competitions" link to the right and you'll find information on all of the winners.)

Many of the participants are from our own backyard--but there are at least three performers hoping to keep the title in Canada, where last year Damonde Tschritter brought it home...and still others who are the pride of their scenes...Chicago...Los Angeles...San Francisco...Portland...

There are never as many women as you think there might be... There's some ethnic diversity but there are also, as you'd imagine, a bunch of 20-30-something white men. All of them are hoping that they manage the right combination of talent, observant judges, enthusiastic audiences, beneficial scheduling...whatever it takes, to get them from their preliminary week...into the semi-finals...and then into the finals.

Every year, great comedians fall shorter than you might have thought they would. Every year, someone you didn't expect to succeed pushes their way forward. You don't know what to expect until it happens.

Well...ok, maybe that's standard competition boiler plate--because before the last two competitions, I correctly predicted the winner...and, the two competitions before that, the person who I WANTED to win...did.

I've got a prediction for THIS year, too. I've written it down. I'll share it when it becomes appropriate to do so. If I get it right this year...I'll sign-up for NBC's Phenomenon show.

Tomorrow night, Preliminary Week One begins at Laughs Comedy Spot in Kirkland. The show begins at 8pm. 16 comedians will perform their 3-7 minute competition set. This will be the first chance for this group of performers to see what they're up against. There are a few veterans of the competition giving it another try...and there are plenty of absolute beginners who have no clue what they're getting into...

This weeks line-up:

Darren Frost (Brantford, Ontario)
Jaqi Furback (Mill Creek, Washington)
Kyle Harbert (Portland, Oregon)
Andy Haynes (Seattle, Washington)
Sharon Lacey (Portland, Oregon)
Key Lewis (Seattle, Washington)
Rodger Lizaola (Gilroy, California)
Geoff Lott (Kirkland, Washington)
Scott Moran (Seattle, Washington)
Adam Norwest (Seattle, Washington)
Lizzy Pilcher (Seattle, Washington)
Stephen O'Keefe (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Greg Reid (Los Angeles, California)
Lukas Seely (Billings, Montana)
Leif Skyving (Caldwell, Idaho)
Mike Wally Walter (Centralia, Washington)

Take a good look at those names. A week from tonight, eleven of them will be be out of the competition...as only the top five will move on to the semi-finals.

They'll have to perform at six shows at six different venues. Each show, they will be judged by a minimum of three judges who will score their performance in seven categories. The audience is given the responsibility of determining 1/11th of their score for the night. They're given the luxury of not counting one night's score--so, one bad show doesn't eliminate you from contention...but it certainly puts the pressure on.

All of this--and then the natural demands of simply getting on a stage and trying to make a group of strangers laugh. It verges on the nightmarish.

Luckily, they're in good hands. The "bus-driver" in charge of keeping the show moving on stage will be 2005 Seattle International Comedy Competition Champion--Lamont Ferguson (joining us from the smoke and ashes of San Diego, California.)

And then...starting on Monday, these sixteen performers will step-aside (five of them to return for the semi-finals) and sixteen different performers will go through their own preliminary week, with their own venues, their own judges, their own host...

And then five of those sixteen will meet the five who survived week one...and it's on to another week of six shows, with longer sets for each performer...

And only five from that ten will move on to the finals...where the sets are longer and the shows are bigger--and, by the time you make the finals, you've got to be on your game every night...as there's no such thing as a drop night in the finals.


If you can't get excited about this...you've got no sense of drama or adventure.

We'll be there...from the first set at Laughs Comedy Spot on Halloween Night...to the crowning of the new champion at the Comedy Underground in Seattle on November 25th.

If you can't be there...come here. It's the next best thing.