A decision has been made to end our independent coverage of the 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition. There are simply too many reports to try to catch up and post in any timely fashion and less time to accomplish that task than expected.
There continue to be concerns regarding the content included in our coverage and rather than try to walk through that minefield with every report, it seems safer and more productive to stay out of the minefield entirely.
We encourage you to continue following the progress of the competition at the OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE and we will continue to post images from every step of the competition on the SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR page.
It is also likely that all of the blog entries below regarding the competition will be taken off the web within the week, so cut & paste your favorite parts while you can. :)
Thanks,
pg
Saturday, November 17, 2007
SICC: Semi-Finals Week--Scoring Analysis
I know you haven't gotten much in the way of written reviews from our nightly coverage of the 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition here on SeattleComedy.net. The demands of my role in helping the production of this competition, the sheer Sisyphean task of physically getting to each of the venues and back, as well as some personal issues have kept me from publishing the reviews of each night's show, based on the notes I'm taking, for too long now.
I will get around to publishing all of those notes when I can--but I can appreciate how frustrating it might have been for those of you trying to follow the competition through our reports.
That said, there have been concerns raised by some about the kind of coverage that HAS been offered here--be it complaints about the thoroughness and editorial nature of the nightly reviews that have been posted, or discomfort with the statistical breakdowns that I personally think are valid and important pieces of information to share with a knowledgeable readership--such as you are and we have.
At some point, I don't think I would have posted anything unless I could stand beside it--but, at the same time, I am sensitive to the concerns being raised. It makes absolutely no sense for SeattleComedy.net to cover this event as and adversary of either the participants or the producers of the competition--and I hope that everyone knows that I have always tried to be as fair and as accurate as I could ever hope to be in generating these reports.
This mea culpa is important, because one of the most popular elements of our coverage of the competition is our scoring analysis going into the last night of the competition--and that is one of the elements that has generated some concern by some. Again, I feel justified in presenting the level of coverage that we have given and would like to continue to give--however, I am also sensitive to the concerns of those who feel that their concerns are as legitimate as my justifications.
So...
In this post, I'm going to try to give a scoring analysis for this Semi-Finals Week of the 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition without posting the actual scoring elements--so, unfortunately, you won't be able to follow my math at home...
Hopefully this will be enough of a compromise to please those with concerns and those who look forward to knowing how dramatic the final night of the week will be in advance...
Wish me luck in trying to make myself clear.
Going into the last night of the week, each of the ten performers has already earned five scores from the five shows that they've already done. Since the final rankings are based on taking the performers' five best scores, we can directly analyze what a performer's minimum score would be (which would mean their current five night score--as if they score below what is currently their drop score, they would then keep their current drop score and drop that new low score...thus, their current score is the MINIMUM score they could possibly achieve) AND we can directly analyze what a performer's maximum score would be (which would mean that they would take first place in the 6th show, thus replacing their current drop score with an 11.00 score.)
In order to determine a performer's highest possible placement AND their lowest possible placement, one simply has to compare a performer's highest possible score against the lowest possible scores of their competitors to get the performer's highest possible placement AND to compare the performer's lowest possible score against the highest possible scores of their competitors to get the lowest possible placement.
In between those two extremes are scores where improving upon one's current drop score is the most important factor. A performer with a low drop score might find it easier to improve their position than a performer with a higher drop score--even if that performer currently has more points after that drop score has been taken out of the picture.
That's the basis for the following analysis. I can only ask you to trust me that my math is accurate here--and, as a reminder, I should point out that this analysis is based on unofficial scores going into the last night of the competition...and nothing, especially the unsanctioned statistical analysis found on this website, is official until final determination by the Official Scorekeeper of the competition.
Going into Semi-Finals Week-Show Six at the Lucky Eagle in Rochester:
1) Marcus is locked into the finals. His minimum score is so high that no one can even bump him out of first place for the week.
2) Tony Boswell is locked into the finals. He could hold onto 2nd place for the week or he could drop as low as 4th place--but no lower, thus, he's in the finals.
NO ONE ELSE IS A LOCK TO MAKE THE FINALS.
That means three spots are up for grabs in the sixth and final show of this semi-finals week.
3) Key Lewis is currently in third place for the week. Key started out slowly, but he's gotten a better score than the last every show this week. Due to a very low drop score, his minimum score for the week is low enough that if everyone gets low scores, he'd be on the outside looking in. That also means he has great room to improve upon his score, if he scores above his low drop score. Key could displace Tony out of 2nd place or he could fall as low as 8th place for the week. Key could absolutely guarantee himself a spot in the finals by scoring a 10.08 in Rochester--and if he did that, then no one could bump him out of the top 5 for the week. Lower than that, and he may need some help to move on.
4) Andy Peters is currently in fourth place for the week. However, his drop score is pretty high, and that means he's actually in a stronger position for making the finals than any of the other performers scrambling for those three open slots. It does, of course, mean that he'd have to knock it out of the park to improve upon his current score. Andy could place as high as 2nd place for the week but he could find himself just missing the finals by placing as low as 6th. In order to absolutely guarantee himself a spot in the finals, Andy would need to score a 10.37--then he'd be completely safe. As it is, a night of low scores across the board would leave him in good standing.
5) Geoff Lott has parlayed his win in Show Five into the fifth place spot going into the final night of the semi-finals. Strangely, if neither Geoff nor Key would improve upon their current drop score, Geoff would go ahead of Key by one-hundredth of a point--which might mean the difference between moving on in the competition and going home. Geoff can score as high as 3rd place, but he could also stumble and finish as low as 8th. For Geoff to absolutely guarantee a spot in the finals, he'd need to pull a 10.80 in Rochester.
6) Currently on the outside and looking in is Leif Skyving. Leif could finish as high as 3rd place or as low as 8th--but there's no score that he could get for himself to automatically make the finals. He'll have to do well and those above and around him--at least one or two, anyway--must falter, a bit. Like Key Lewis, however, Leif's scores have improved every night of this week. It should also be pointed out that Leif's minimum score is higher than both Geoff Lott and Key Lewis--so, he may be hoping for a night of stingy judges.
7) Ruben Barron is currently listed in seventh place. If my calculations are correct, Ruben could end up in 3rd place for the week...or fall all the way down to 8th place, depending on how the scores on the last night go. He both needs to do well and have others not do so well.
8) Allyson Smith is also sticking around and in strong contention for moving on in this competition, but, stumbles in the two recent shows at The Skagit put her in a precarious position. A good score in the last night and stumbles by her peers could sneak her into the finals in either 4th or 5th place. Another major stumble and she could actually end up in dead last for the week.
Unfortunately, that's the end of the competitors in consideration for moving on to the finals.
9) By winning the last show of the week, Andy Haynes could jump up, only, to 7th place overall (so, sadly, no miracle finish for Andy this time.) He could also finish last--depending on where the scores fall.
10) And Kyle Harbert, the top finisher from Preliminary Week One, suffered through an illness all week and never regained his form in the Semi-Finals Week. Kyle could climb his way to 7th place, like Andy Haynes....and he could also stay in the cellar.
As always, this analysis is independent of the official competition output and is based on unofficial scores. Your mileage may vary.
If no one improves upon their current drop score, the Top 5 would be: Marcus, Tony Boswell, Andy Peters, Leif Skyving and Geoff Lott.
If everyone tied for first place, the Top 5 would be: Marcus, Tony Boswell, Key Lewis, Andy Peters and Geoff Lott.
Of course, rarely does it work out that everyone either scores well or poorly...so, expect a lot of movement and maybe even a few shocks when the numbers from Rochester are all added together and finalists are named.
Hopefully, you'll have found the above scoring analysis useful...and nonthreatening.
pg
I will get around to publishing all of those notes when I can--but I can appreciate how frustrating it might have been for those of you trying to follow the competition through our reports.
That said, there have been concerns raised by some about the kind of coverage that HAS been offered here--be it complaints about the thoroughness and editorial nature of the nightly reviews that have been posted, or discomfort with the statistical breakdowns that I personally think are valid and important pieces of information to share with a knowledgeable readership--such as you are and we have.
At some point, I don't think I would have posted anything unless I could stand beside it--but, at the same time, I am sensitive to the concerns being raised. It makes absolutely no sense for SeattleComedy.net to cover this event as and adversary of either the participants or the producers of the competition--and I hope that everyone knows that I have always tried to be as fair and as accurate as I could ever hope to be in generating these reports.
This mea culpa is important, because one of the most popular elements of our coverage of the competition is our scoring analysis going into the last night of the competition--and that is one of the elements that has generated some concern by some. Again, I feel justified in presenting the level of coverage that we have given and would like to continue to give--however, I am also sensitive to the concerns of those who feel that their concerns are as legitimate as my justifications.
So...
In this post, I'm going to try to give a scoring analysis for this Semi-Finals Week of the 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition without posting the actual scoring elements--so, unfortunately, you won't be able to follow my math at home...
Hopefully this will be enough of a compromise to please those with concerns and those who look forward to knowing how dramatic the final night of the week will be in advance...
Wish me luck in trying to make myself clear.
Going into the last night of the week, each of the ten performers has already earned five scores from the five shows that they've already done. Since the final rankings are based on taking the performers' five best scores, we can directly analyze what a performer's minimum score would be (which would mean their current five night score--as if they score below what is currently their drop score, they would then keep their current drop score and drop that new low score...thus, their current score is the MINIMUM score they could possibly achieve) AND we can directly analyze what a performer's maximum score would be (which would mean that they would take first place in the 6th show, thus replacing their current drop score with an 11.00 score.)
In order to determine a performer's highest possible placement AND their lowest possible placement, one simply has to compare a performer's highest possible score against the lowest possible scores of their competitors to get the performer's highest possible placement AND to compare the performer's lowest possible score against the highest possible scores of their competitors to get the lowest possible placement.
In between those two extremes are scores where improving upon one's current drop score is the most important factor. A performer with a low drop score might find it easier to improve their position than a performer with a higher drop score--even if that performer currently has more points after that drop score has been taken out of the picture.
That's the basis for the following analysis. I can only ask you to trust me that my math is accurate here--and, as a reminder, I should point out that this analysis is based on unofficial scores going into the last night of the competition...and nothing, especially the unsanctioned statistical analysis found on this website, is official until final determination by the Official Scorekeeper of the competition.
Going into Semi-Finals Week-Show Six at the Lucky Eagle in Rochester:
1) Marcus is locked into the finals. His minimum score is so high that no one can even bump him out of first place for the week.
2) Tony Boswell is locked into the finals. He could hold onto 2nd place for the week or he could drop as low as 4th place--but no lower, thus, he's in the finals.
NO ONE ELSE IS A LOCK TO MAKE THE FINALS.
That means three spots are up for grabs in the sixth and final show of this semi-finals week.
3) Key Lewis is currently in third place for the week. Key started out slowly, but he's gotten a better score than the last every show this week. Due to a very low drop score, his minimum score for the week is low enough that if everyone gets low scores, he'd be on the outside looking in. That also means he has great room to improve upon his score, if he scores above his low drop score. Key could displace Tony out of 2nd place or he could fall as low as 8th place for the week. Key could absolutely guarantee himself a spot in the finals by scoring a 10.08 in Rochester--and if he did that, then no one could bump him out of the top 5 for the week. Lower than that, and he may need some help to move on.
4) Andy Peters is currently in fourth place for the week. However, his drop score is pretty high, and that means he's actually in a stronger position for making the finals than any of the other performers scrambling for those three open slots. It does, of course, mean that he'd have to knock it out of the park to improve upon his current score. Andy could place as high as 2nd place for the week but he could find himself just missing the finals by placing as low as 6th. In order to absolutely guarantee himself a spot in the finals, Andy would need to score a 10.37--then he'd be completely safe. As it is, a night of low scores across the board would leave him in good standing.
5) Geoff Lott has parlayed his win in Show Five into the fifth place spot going into the final night of the semi-finals. Strangely, if neither Geoff nor Key would improve upon their current drop score, Geoff would go ahead of Key by one-hundredth of a point--which might mean the difference between moving on in the competition and going home. Geoff can score as high as 3rd place, but he could also stumble and finish as low as 8th. For Geoff to absolutely guarantee a spot in the finals, he'd need to pull a 10.80 in Rochester.
6) Currently on the outside and looking in is Leif Skyving. Leif could finish as high as 3rd place or as low as 8th--but there's no score that he could get for himself to automatically make the finals. He'll have to do well and those above and around him--at least one or two, anyway--must falter, a bit. Like Key Lewis, however, Leif's scores have improved every night of this week. It should also be pointed out that Leif's minimum score is higher than both Geoff Lott and Key Lewis--so, he may be hoping for a night of stingy judges.
7) Ruben Barron is currently listed in seventh place. If my calculations are correct, Ruben could end up in 3rd place for the week...or fall all the way down to 8th place, depending on how the scores on the last night go. He both needs to do well and have others not do so well.
8) Allyson Smith is also sticking around and in strong contention for moving on in this competition, but, stumbles in the two recent shows at The Skagit put her in a precarious position. A good score in the last night and stumbles by her peers could sneak her into the finals in either 4th or 5th place. Another major stumble and she could actually end up in dead last for the week.
Unfortunately, that's the end of the competitors in consideration for moving on to the finals.
9) By winning the last show of the week, Andy Haynes could jump up, only, to 7th place overall (so, sadly, no miracle finish for Andy this time.) He could also finish last--depending on where the scores fall.
10) And Kyle Harbert, the top finisher from Preliminary Week One, suffered through an illness all week and never regained his form in the Semi-Finals Week. Kyle could climb his way to 7th place, like Andy Haynes....and he could also stay in the cellar.
As always, this analysis is independent of the official competition output and is based on unofficial scores. Your mileage may vary.
If no one improves upon their current drop score, the Top 5 would be: Marcus, Tony Boswell, Andy Peters, Leif Skyving and Geoff Lott.
If everyone tied for first place, the Top 5 would be: Marcus, Tony Boswell, Key Lewis, Andy Peters and Geoff Lott.
Of course, rarely does it work out that everyone either scores well or poorly...so, expect a lot of movement and maybe even a few shocks when the numbers from Rochester are all added together and finalists are named.
Hopefully, you'll have found the above scoring analysis useful...and nonthreatening.
pg
SICC: Semi-Finals Week--Night Five
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Semi-Finals Week--Night Five
November 16, 2007
Laughs Comedy Spot, Kirkland
(THIS REPORT WILL BE POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Leif Skyving.
Fourth place--Tony Boswell.
Third place--Key Lewis.
Second place--Marcus.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Geoff Lott.
(L-R: Geoff Lott, John McClellan, Leif Skyving, Tony Boswell, Marcus, Key Lewis.)
NEXT SHOW: SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17th, Semi-Finals Week-Show Six...the show that will determine who will move on to the finals and who goes home...takes place at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester at 8pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Semi-Finals Week--Night Five
November 16, 2007
Laughs Comedy Spot, Kirkland
(THIS REPORT WILL BE POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Leif Skyving.
Fourth place--Tony Boswell.
Third place--Key Lewis.
Second place--Marcus.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Geoff Lott.
(L-R: Geoff Lott, John McClellan, Leif Skyving, Tony Boswell, Marcus, Key Lewis.)
NEXT SHOW: SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17th, Semi-Finals Week-Show Six...the show that will determine who will move on to the finals and who goes home...takes place at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester at 8pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Friday, November 16, 2007
SICC: Semi-Finals Week--Night Four
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Semi-Finals Week--Night Four
November 15, 2007 (9:30pm show)
Pacific Showroom @ The Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Bow
(THIS REPORT WILL BE POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Ruben Barron.
Fourth place--Leif Skyving
Third place--Key Lewis.
Second place (tie)--Tony Boswell & Andy Peters.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Marcus.
NEXT SHOW: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 16th, Semi-Finals Week-Show Five takes place at Laughs Comedy Spot in Kirkland. Show time is 8pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Semi-Finals Week--Night Four
November 15, 2007 (9:30pm show)
Pacific Showroom @ The Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Bow
(THIS REPORT WILL BE POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Ruben Barron.
Fourth place--Leif Skyving
Third place--Key Lewis.
Second place (tie)--Tony Boswell & Andy Peters.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Marcus.
(L-R: John McClellan, Ruben Barron, Andy Peters, Key Lewis, Marcus, Leif Skyving, Tony Boswell.)
NEXT SHOW: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 16th, Semi-Finals Week-Show Five takes place at Laughs Comedy Spot in Kirkland. Show time is 8pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
SICC: Semi-Finals Week--Night Three
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Semi-Finals Week--Night Three
November 15, 2007 (6:30pm show)
Pacific Showroom @ The Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Bow
(THIS REPORT WILL BE POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Leif Skyving.
Fourth place (tie)--Key Lewis and Ruben Barron
Third place--Tony Boswell.
Second place--Marcus.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Andy Peters.
(L-R: John McClellan, Ruben Barron, Andy Peters, Key Lewis, Marcus, Leif Skyving, Tony Boswell.)
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Semi-Finals Week--Night Three
November 15, 2007 (6:30pm show)
Pacific Showroom @ The Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Bow
(THIS REPORT WILL BE POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Leif Skyving.
Fourth place (tie)--Key Lewis and Ruben Barron
Third place--Tony Boswell.
Second place--Marcus.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Andy Peters.
(L-R: John McClellan, Ruben Barron, Andy Peters, Key Lewis, Marcus, Leif Skyving, Tony Boswell.)
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Thursday, November 15, 2007
SICC: Semi-Finals Week--Night Two
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Semi-Finals Week--Night Two
November 14, 2007
Liberty Theater, Puyallup
(THIS REPORT WILL BE POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Andy Peters.
Fourth place--Key Lewis.
Third place--Geoff Lott.
Second place--Tony Boswell.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Marcus.
NEXT SHOWS: THURSDAY NOVEMBER 15th, Semi-Finals Week-Show Three takes place at the Skagit Valley Casino in Bow at 6pm. Show Four takes place at the same venue on the same night at 9:30pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Semi-Finals Week--Night Two
November 14, 2007
Liberty Theater, Puyallup
(THIS REPORT WILL BE POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Andy Peters.
Fourth place--Key Lewis.
Third place--Geoff Lott.
Second place--Tony Boswell.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Marcus.
(L-R: Andy Peters, Key Lewis, John McClellan, Marcus, Geoff Lott, Tony Boswell.)
NEXT SHOWS: THURSDAY NOVEMBER 15th, Semi-Finals Week-Show Three takes place at the Skagit Valley Casino in Bow at 6pm. Show Four takes place at the same venue on the same night at 9:30pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
SICC: Semi-Finals Week--Night One
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Semi-Finals Week--Night One
November 13, 2007
Reid Campus Center, Whitman College, Walla Walla
(THIS REPORT WILL BE POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Andy Peters.
Fourth place--Ruben Barron.
Third place--Tony Boswell.
Second place--Allyson Smith.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Marcus.
(L-R: John McClellan, Ruben Barron, Andy Peters, Marcus, Tony Boswell, Allyson Smith.)
Oooooooh, the top five for this first night of the semi-finals ended up being the five competitors who all survived Preliminary Week Two... What does THAT mean???
NEXT SHOW: WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 14th, Semi-Finals Week-Show Two takes place at the Liberty Theater in Puyallup. Showtime is 8pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Semi-Finals Week--Night One
November 13, 2007
Reid Campus Center, Whitman College, Walla Walla
(THIS REPORT WILL BE POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Andy Peters.
Fourth place--Ruben Barron.
Third place--Tony Boswell.
Second place--Allyson Smith.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Marcus.
(L-R: John McClellan, Ruben Barron, Andy Peters, Marcus, Tony Boswell, Allyson Smith.)
Oooooooh, the top five for this first night of the semi-finals ended up being the five competitors who all survived Preliminary Week Two... What does THAT mean???
NEXT SHOW: WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 14th, Semi-Finals Week-Show Two takes place at the Liberty Theater in Puyallup. Showtime is 8pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
FLICKR CONTEST!!!
There are already over 1000 pictures on the Flickr Page for this year's Seattle International Comedy Competition...yet, only one picture has become someone's favorite...and that same picture is the only one with any sort of comment attached to it.
I'd think that some of you might want to prove your comedic mettle by posting a witty comment on some of those photographs. Similarly, there must be a couple of photos that you really like and deserve your making them a "favorite" of yours.
So, here's what we'll do...
At the end of the semi-finals week, SeattleComedy.net will post the 5 Most Favorited Pictures from the Seattle International Comedy Competition Flickr page...AND, we will post the 5 Pictures with the Best Comments...
Pictures from Preliminary Week One, Preliminary Week Two AND the Semi-Finals Week are all eligible.
If I can work something out, there may be actual prizes for the winning photo commenters...but right now, the glory is all the reward you should need.
...and if there's enough interest, we'll do the same thing for the photos from the finals...
So, go...check out the photos on the Flickr page (linked in every nightly scene report below)--favorite the ones you like, comment on the ones that you think would be funny...
It starts now and goes through Saturday night!
pg
I'd think that some of you might want to prove your comedic mettle by posting a witty comment on some of those photographs. Similarly, there must be a couple of photos that you really like and deserve your making them a "favorite" of yours.
So, here's what we'll do...
At the end of the semi-finals week, SeattleComedy.net will post the 5 Most Favorited Pictures from the Seattle International Comedy Competition Flickr page...AND, we will post the 5 Pictures with the Best Comments...
Pictures from Preliminary Week One, Preliminary Week Two AND the Semi-Finals Week are all eligible.
If I can work something out, there may be actual prizes for the winning photo commenters...but right now, the glory is all the reward you should need.
...and if there's enough interest, we'll do the same thing for the photos from the finals...
So, go...check out the photos on the Flickr page (linked in every nightly scene report below)--favorite the ones you like, comment on the ones that you think would be funny...
It starts now and goes through Saturday night!
pg
NOTE ABOUT UPCOMING REPORTS
First of all, I'd like to thank all of the loyal readers of SeattleComedy.net News for sticking in with me this year. I thought I might shut the entire site down due to lack of interest, but I've heard from enough folks that they like being able to get regular updates.
Bookmark THIS: www.seattlecomedy.blogspot.com
In case SeattleComedy.net goes down due to high traffic (which sometimes happens to us during November)--the blog with these updates will still be accessible through that address.
I know there wasn't much written about Preliminary Week Two. I do, however, have all of my notes and I will, when I get the chance, fill in the missing details as best as I can for posterity's sake.
GOING INTO THIS SEMI-FINAL WEEK, I have to let you know that our one "overnight" show is the first night of this week--in Walla Walla. Unless I can borrow someone's online access while in Walla Walla, chances are there will not be a report until after the SECOND night's show, at the Liberty Theater in Puyallup. Sorry...but you'll have to be patient about that...
Also, this week there is a night where TWO shows will happen. I will give a separate report for each show--but, obviously, two reports a night is a lot of typing...I'll try my best to sketch things out for you as I work on finishing everything.
Thanks...and keep reading (and looking at the pictures on the Flickr page!)
pg
Bookmark THIS: www.seattlecomedy.blogspot.com
In case SeattleComedy.net goes down due to high traffic (which sometimes happens to us during November)--the blog with these updates will still be accessible through that address.
I know there wasn't much written about Preliminary Week Two. I do, however, have all of my notes and I will, when I get the chance, fill in the missing details as best as I can for posterity's sake.
GOING INTO THIS SEMI-FINAL WEEK, I have to let you know that our one "overnight" show is the first night of this week--in Walla Walla. Unless I can borrow someone's online access while in Walla Walla, chances are there will not be a report until after the SECOND night's show, at the Liberty Theater in Puyallup. Sorry...but you'll have to be patient about that...
Also, this week there is a night where TWO shows will happen. I will give a separate report for each show--but, obviously, two reports a night is a lot of typing...I'll try my best to sketch things out for you as I work on finishing everything.
Thanks...and keep reading (and looking at the pictures on the Flickr page!)
pg
Meet a SICC28 Semi-Finalist: Tony Boswell
We're just a few hours from a long drive over a possibly snow-covered pass to grandmother's house we'll go--well, other than it's not grandmother's house, it's Whitman College and I don't know if I'd call Walla Wall "through the woods." The point remains, that it's time to get to know yet another one of this year's Seattle International Comedy Competition Semi-Finalists.
There were hardly more than a handful of competitors considered to be legitimate targets for participation in this year's competition on Producer Ron Reid's radar screen when Ron invited me over to his house to discuss some possibilities. While talking about potential competitors and tossing any number of slobbery tennis balls around the yard to his dog, Calypso, Ron's phone rang. It was a call from a performer from Chicago, hoping to be considered to be included in this year's competition. Without any discussion or any hesitation, Ron said "Yes." That's because Ron remembered how strong he was the PREVIOUS time he'd been a competitor and he knew that he'd bring a strong, smart, professional performance style to the show. He did just that, as he started and ended Preliminary Week Two with first place finishes and filled in the week with enough high scores to place him third, overall, for the week. He is TONY BOSWELL.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"
w/Tony Boswell
--background--
How old are you?
45.
What is your hometown?
Chicago, Illinois.
Did you start doing comedy there?
Yes.
Where are you living now?
I currently live in Fort Mill, SC--off the grid. I didn't intend to be off the grid but, once you get to South Carolina, you have no choice.
Did you move there for comedy?
If I had moved from Chicago to Fort Mill, SC that would be comical, wouldn't it?
How long have you been doing comedy?
20 years, 4 months, 18 days.
Is comedy your full time job?
I'm not so sure I'm being funny right now, but I don't have another job if that's what you mean.
How did you get into comedy?
After graduating from the Players Workshop of Second City in 1986 I performed with my improv group, "Department of Works" for a couple of years. My first stand up set was at the Roxy in Chicago in June of 1987.
--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
I remember babysitting for a neighbor who had a George Carlin 45 (for younger readers feel free to Google what a 45 is but think, really big CD with very low storage capacity). One side was Hippy Dippy Weatherman and the other side was Wonderful WINO Radio. I played it over and over again and memorized the whole thing.
What made you decide to try it yourself?
After returning to college at age 24, I started hanging out with actors and watching improv classes and it looked like fun. I just thought it would be a fun thing to do one summer. I started doing open mics every night and being late for my day job. I eventually got fired but had lined up a couple of paying gigs so I just thought I'd do those and get another job later and that was that.
Are there performers who inspire you today?
I am always excited to see new people and comics trying new things. I am also always slightly pissed off and annoyed that I didn't think of it first.
Do you have any major interests outside of comedy?
Reading and raising my son.
And, do those interests inform your comedy?
Reading does, of course. And I have a good deal of material about my son and he also has written a couple of great jokes for me and he is only 6. Legally, I don't have to pay him for 12 more years.
Is stand-up comedy your ultimate career goal?
I am always open to opportunity, but I would want to always continue to do stand up.
Describe what is happening if everything falls into place and you attain the level of success you want in comedy.
Anywhere that it reads "Larry the Cable Guy"--replace it with "Tony Boswell".
--this competition--
How did your preliminary week go?
I had a great time. I couldn’t have picked a better group of people to spend the week with. Team Travelodge was great.
What do you know now that you didn't know before the competition started?
What have I learned? I learned what a melodica is, that Canadians go to University, that even though it’s called a bed and breakfast you can eat all day, that there are actually 8 dots on the other side of the card, that David Bowie has a large penis, that sharks don’t like the taste of us, that rape ensues, that a bow and arrow looks like a large cheese slicer, that gas makes your car go vroom-buy it, why Mexican bank robbers hold their guns sideways, what a wubell is, how you end up hanging drywall, what a starter brother is, that it’s a long drive from Birmingham, and where Pepperidge Farm gets their walnuts.
And, knowing what you know now, would you still have entered the competition? Definitely.
What do you think will be the key to your moving on to the finals?
Mind games, sabotage and weather conditions.
How has this competition impacted you or your career?
I have met some great people and, as I understand it, there is a sofa in LA with my name on it.
And the worst moment?
Seeing Randy (Liedtke)'s set in the theater get off wrong due to a bad sound level.
--the final question--
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
Because my sponsor and I decided that I should be far from home in a high stress environment where I am judged by strangers on a daily basis.
There were hardly more than a handful of competitors considered to be legitimate targets for participation in this year's competition on Producer Ron Reid's radar screen when Ron invited me over to his house to discuss some possibilities. While talking about potential competitors and tossing any number of slobbery tennis balls around the yard to his dog, Calypso, Ron's phone rang. It was a call from a performer from Chicago, hoping to be considered to be included in this year's competition. Without any discussion or any hesitation, Ron said "Yes." That's because Ron remembered how strong he was the PREVIOUS time he'd been a competitor and he knew that he'd bring a strong, smart, professional performance style to the show. He did just that, as he started and ended Preliminary Week Two with first place finishes and filled in the week with enough high scores to place him third, overall, for the week. He is TONY BOSWELL.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"w/Tony Boswell
--background--
How old are you?
45.
What is your hometown?
Chicago, Illinois.
Did you start doing comedy there?
Yes.
Where are you living now?
I currently live in Fort Mill, SC--off the grid. I didn't intend to be off the grid but, once you get to South Carolina, you have no choice.
Did you move there for comedy?
If I had moved from Chicago to Fort Mill, SC that would be comical, wouldn't it?
How long have you been doing comedy?
20 years, 4 months, 18 days.
I'm not so sure I'm being funny right now, but I don't have another job if that's what you mean.
What did you do before you went full time with comedy?
My last "real" job was in retail management and I have been a bartender, door to door salesman, and a lifeguard.
My last "real" job was in retail management and I have been a bartender, door to door salesman, and a lifeguard.
How did you get into comedy?
After graduating from the Players Workshop of Second City in 1986 I performed with my improv group, "Department of Works" for a couple of years. My first stand up set was at the Roxy in Chicago in June of 1987.
--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
I remember babysitting for a neighbor who had a George Carlin 45 (for younger readers feel free to Google what a 45 is but think, really big CD with very low storage capacity). One side was Hippy Dippy Weatherman and the other side was Wonderful WINO Radio. I played it over and over again and memorized the whole thing.
What made you decide to try it yourself?
After returning to college at age 24, I started hanging out with actors and watching improv classes and it looked like fun. I just thought it would be a fun thing to do one summer. I started doing open mics every night and being late for my day job. I eventually got fired but had lined up a couple of paying gigs so I just thought I'd do those and get another job later and that was that.
Who inspired you to become the kind of comedian you are?
I always liked a lot of different comics, Steve Martin, George Carlin, Dennis Miller. I tried not to be like anyone but just write funny jokes. I still don't know what kind of comedian I am.
I always liked a lot of different comics, Steve Martin, George Carlin, Dennis Miller. I tried not to be like anyone but just write funny jokes. I still don't know what kind of comedian I am.
Are there performers who inspire you today?
I am always excited to see new people and comics trying new things. I am also always slightly pissed off and annoyed that I didn't think of it first.
Do you have any major interests outside of comedy?
Reading and raising my son.
And, do those interests inform your comedy?
Reading does, of course. And I have a good deal of material about my son and he also has written a couple of great jokes for me and he is only 6. Legally, I don't have to pay him for 12 more years.
Is stand-up comedy your ultimate career goal?
I am always open to opportunity, but I would want to always continue to do stand up.
Describe what is happening if everything falls into place and you attain the level of success you want in comedy.
--this competition--
How did your preliminary week go?
I had a great time. I couldn’t have picked a better group of people to spend the week with. Team Travelodge was great.
What do you know now that you didn't know before the competition started?
What have I learned? I learned what a melodica is, that Canadians go to University, that even though it’s called a bed and breakfast you can eat all day, that there are actually 8 dots on the other side of the card, that David Bowie has a large penis, that sharks don’t like the taste of us, that rape ensues, that a bow and arrow looks like a large cheese slicer, that gas makes your car go vroom-buy it, why Mexican bank robbers hold their guns sideways, what a wubell is, how you end up hanging drywall, what a starter brother is, that it’s a long drive from Birmingham, and where Pepperidge Farm gets their walnuts.
And, knowing what you know now, would you still have entered the competition? Definitely.
What do you think will be the key to your moving on to the finals?
Mind games, sabotage and weather conditions.
How has this competition impacted you or your career?
I have met some great people and, as I understand it, there is a sofa in LA with my name on it.
Who impressed you in this year's competition?
Everyone did great but I was impressed by the great writing of the younger competitors.
What was the best moment from this year's competition so far?
Turning the bowling alley, maybe the worst show of the week, into one of the best with everyone hanging out, watching people dancing and singing. It was the bonding night.
Everyone did great but I was impressed by the great writing of the younger competitors.
What was the best moment from this year's competition so far?
Turning the bowling alley, maybe the worst show of the week, into one of the best with everyone hanging out, watching people dancing and singing. It was the bonding night.
And the worst moment?
Seeing Randy (Liedtke)'s set in the theater get off wrong due to a bad sound level.
--the final question--
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
Because my sponsor and I decided that I should be far from home in a high stress environment where I am judged by strangers on a daily basis.
Meet a SICC Semi-Finalist: Andy Peters
Time to get to know another one of this year's Seattle International Comedy Competition Semi-Finalists.
Two years ago, he was just another local hopeful getting a chance to dip his toes in the Seattle International Comedy Competition--but, he proved both resilient and crowd pleasing as he rode a wave all the way into the finals of that year. He returns having proven himself as an in-demand performer in this market and having taken the Rocky Mountain Laugh Off title in 2006. His high-energy, hyper-kinetic and attentionally-deficited performance style is memorable and irresistible. He's taken the first step to making it back to the finals--he's qualified for the semi-finals by locking in 2nd place in Preliminary Week Two. He is ANDY PETERS.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"
w/Andy Peters
--background--
How old are you?
25
What is your hometown?
Monroe, MI
Did you start doing comedy there?
No.
Where are you living now?
Seattle
Did you move to Seattle specifically to do comedy?
It wasn't totally a decision based in comedy. It was a general performance decision.
Kait (then fiance - now wife) and I both met while studying acting in Michigan. We wanted to move to an interesting art community. She had an uncle who lived in Seattle for a while, and had some theatre connections here. We visited the place, and just loved it. We loved the theatre scene and the comedy scene. Being that we felt unready to move to New York or LA at the time--we felt that Seattle was the perfect place for us, so we went for it.
So, at some level, you did move to Seattle for comedy. What were you looking for, as far as finding a new home for your comedy?
I wanted to be in a non-competitive scene. A place where the comics help each other find work and develop an act.
Tell us about your first stand-up performance? Where was it? When was it? How did it go?
My first stand up performance was in 2000 at Central Michigan University. (You have heard this story a million times, Pete.) I was a freshman in the theatre department at the time. I was also in a band, Stave and the Horseblankets. I lived with my bandmates. My buddy, Mark, came up to me one day and held the school newspaper open in front of me. He pointed to a notice for an audition of some kind. He said, "This is all you." The paper explained that they were holding a search for the "funniest person on campus". The winner of the search would open for Colin Quinn at the Rose Arena (campus sports arena.)
I think I mumbled "could be fun" in response.
The more I thought about it that day, the more into it I was. I started writing jokes. They were really silly topics. I wrote about my family, college life, and girls.
I was so nervous the day of the audition. I remember pacing the hallway and just staring at the three jokes I wrote. (Luckily we only had to do 3 minutes. That was all I had.)
Just 7 other people showed up to the audition. Long story shorter--they liked me, and told me
that I won.
I performed the same three minutes later that night in front of a packed sports arena. I got to meet Collin Quinn. It was a great night.
--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
My first memories were of Johnny Carson. My parents used to watch him every night. I remember one night I couldn't sleep, so I snuck downstairs and peaked around the corner, as to not get into trouble for being out of bed. I was blown away by his opening monologue. I was too young to understand the jokes, but I immediately understood the concept of making people laugh, and I could tell that this guy was a master.
And, are there specific comedians who inspire you now?
I have always been amazed by Louis CK. I love Patton Oswalt's most recent album. I am always entertained when I watch Dana Gould perform. I also really liked Paul F. Tompkins' last special. I have a secret crush on Maria Bamford (don't tell my wife.)
Beyond comedy, what interests you?
Music is a huge interest of mine. I find playing the drums to be the most effective way to relieve stress. I also dabble in writing. I am currently working on a short story and a one man show.
How do those interests inform your comedy?
I find that my writing voice and my comedy voice are one in the same. I am not sure yet if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but I find that I still write in the same manner that I write jokes. I have also come up with joke ideas while brainstorming ideas for other writing projects. The two worlds are always clashing.
Is stand-up comedy your ultimate career goal?
I know that my career goal is comedy related. I want to always be performing, but I am also very interested in the writing side of things.
So, everything you've wanted to happen in your career has happened. In that moment at the peak of your career, you are...?
The host of a late night comedy show. If the strike is still going on then, I will just write it myself and produce it out of my basement, but it will happen. I want to have a career that demands that I continuously challenge myself and stay fresh. A good talk show host must be always changing with the times. I never want to be stuck in a comedy rut.
--this competition--
How did your preliminary week go?
I have done a handful of these competitions now and I can say, with confidence, that this is the funnest prelim week that I have ever had. The people were great. There was not a jerk in the bunch. We got along so well and there was little competitive tension throughout the week.
What do you know now that you didn't know before the competition started?
That we were going to perform in such amazing venues.
And, knowing what you know now, would you still have entered the competition?
Yes.
What do you think will be the key to your moving on to the finals?
Keeping my confidence level up. That is what killed me the first time I did this thing, in '05. I was so intimidated by the level of talent in the field that I blew my own performances. That will not happen this time. I am more comfortable with myself as a performer.
Does this competition impact your comedy or your comedy career?
The connections that you make in this contest are priceless. I am confident that it will lead to down the road opportunities.
And the worst moment?
When I found out that I had to go first on industry night. Selfish, I know, but biting the bullet always sucks, and I had to do it on the night that I was looking forward to the most.
--the final question--
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
You will be entertained. I promise.
Two years ago, he was just another local hopeful getting a chance to dip his toes in the Seattle International Comedy Competition--but, he proved both resilient and crowd pleasing as he rode a wave all the way into the finals of that year. He returns having proven himself as an in-demand performer in this market and having taken the Rocky Mountain Laugh Off title in 2006. His high-energy, hyper-kinetic and attentionally-deficited performance style is memorable and irresistible. He's taken the first step to making it back to the finals--he's qualified for the semi-finals by locking in 2nd place in Preliminary Week Two. He is ANDY PETERS.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"w/Andy Peters
--background--
How old are you?
25
What is your hometown?
Monroe, MI
Did you start doing comedy there?
No.
Where are you living now?
Seattle
Did you move to Seattle specifically to do comedy?
It wasn't totally a decision based in comedy. It was a general performance decision.
Kait (then fiance - now wife) and I both met while studying acting in Michigan. We wanted to move to an interesting art community. She had an uncle who lived in Seattle for a while, and had some theatre connections here. We visited the place, and just loved it. We loved the theatre scene and the comedy scene. Being that we felt unready to move to New York or LA at the time--we felt that Seattle was the perfect place for us, so we went for it.
So, at some level, you did move to Seattle for comedy. What were you looking for, as far as finding a new home for your comedy?
I wanted to be in a non-competitive scene. A place where the comics help each other find work and develop an act.
How long have you been doing comedy?
Since 2000.
Are you a full time comic?
Yes
What did you do before you went full time with your comedy?
I made sandwiches for a while. I also hosted focus groups for a marketing research firm.
Since 2000.
Are you a full time comic?
Yes
What did you do before you went full time with your comedy?
I made sandwiches for a while. I also hosted focus groups for a marketing research firm.
Tell us about your first stand-up performance? Where was it? When was it? How did it go?
My first stand up performance was in 2000 at Central Michigan University. (You have heard this story a million times, Pete.) I was a freshman in the theatre department at the time. I was also in a band, Stave and the Horseblankets. I lived with my bandmates. My buddy, Mark, came up to me one day and held the school newspaper open in front of me. He pointed to a notice for an audition of some kind. He said, "This is all you." The paper explained that they were holding a search for the "funniest person on campus". The winner of the search would open for Colin Quinn at the Rose Arena (campus sports arena.)
I think I mumbled "could be fun" in response.
The more I thought about it that day, the more into it I was. I started writing jokes. They were really silly topics. I wrote about my family, college life, and girls.
I was so nervous the day of the audition. I remember pacing the hallway and just staring at the three jokes I wrote. (Luckily we only had to do 3 minutes. That was all I had.)
Just 7 other people showed up to the audition. Long story shorter--they liked me, and told me
that I won.
I performed the same three minutes later that night in front of a packed sports arena. I got to meet Collin Quinn. It was a great night.
--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
My first memories were of Johnny Carson. My parents used to watch him every night. I remember one night I couldn't sleep, so I snuck downstairs and peaked around the corner, as to not get into trouble for being out of bed. I was blown away by his opening monologue. I was too young to understand the jokes, but I immediately understood the concept of making people laugh, and I could tell that this guy was a master.
Who inspired you to become the kind of comedian you are?
I had a college theatre teacher named Jill Taft Kaufman. She found out my sophomore year that I was into stand-up. She was a huge stand-up fan. She took an interest in my interest. She would talk to me after class about solo performance and different physical performance techniques. She taught me that there was more to comedy than just standing and reciting clever one liners. She has never seen me perform, but she constantly inspires me to continue with my goals.
I had a college theatre teacher named Jill Taft Kaufman. She found out my sophomore year that I was into stand-up. She was a huge stand-up fan. She took an interest in my interest. She would talk to me after class about solo performance and different physical performance techniques. She taught me that there was more to comedy than just standing and reciting clever one liners. She has never seen me perform, but she constantly inspires me to continue with my goals.
And, are there specific comedians who inspire you now?
I have always been amazed by Louis CK. I love Patton Oswalt's most recent album. I am always entertained when I watch Dana Gould perform. I also really liked Paul F. Tompkins' last special. I have a secret crush on Maria Bamford (don't tell my wife.)
Beyond comedy, what interests you?
Music is a huge interest of mine. I find playing the drums to be the most effective way to relieve stress. I also dabble in writing. I am currently working on a short story and a one man show.
How do those interests inform your comedy?
I find that my writing voice and my comedy voice are one in the same. I am not sure yet if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but I find that I still write in the same manner that I write jokes. I have also come up with joke ideas while brainstorming ideas for other writing projects. The two worlds are always clashing.
Is stand-up comedy your ultimate career goal?
I know that my career goal is comedy related. I want to always be performing, but I am also very interested in the writing side of things.
So, everything you've wanted to happen in your career has happened. In that moment at the peak of your career, you are...?
--this competition--
How did your preliminary week go?
I have done a handful of these competitions now and I can say, with confidence, that this is the funnest prelim week that I have ever had. The people were great. There was not a jerk in the bunch. We got along so well and there was little competitive tension throughout the week.
What do you know now that you didn't know before the competition started?
That we were going to perform in such amazing venues.
And, knowing what you know now, would you still have entered the competition?
Yes.
What do you think will be the key to your moving on to the finals?
Keeping my confidence level up. That is what killed me the first time I did this thing, in '05. I was so intimidated by the level of talent in the field that I blew my own performances. That will not happen this time. I am more comfortable with myself as a performer.
Does this competition impact your comedy or your comedy career?
The connections that you make in this contest are priceless. I am confident that it will lead to down the road opportunities.
Who impressed you in this year's competition?
I was very impressed with Randy Liedtke. For a guy that has been performing for such a little time, he has a great stage presence. I was very impressed with the writing abilities of Brian Dowell. I also hope to have the level of stage confidence that Allyson Smith and Tony Boswell illustrated this week. They are both gifted and seasoned performers.
What's are some of your favorite moments from this year's competition so far?
Hanging out at the Paradise Bowl and Lounge after the show. We all made complete jackasses out of ourselves in front of the locals. We owned the bowling alley and the Karaoke jam.
I was very impressed with Randy Liedtke. For a guy that has been performing for such a little time, he has a great stage presence. I was very impressed with the writing abilities of Brian Dowell. I also hope to have the level of stage confidence that Allyson Smith and Tony Boswell illustrated this week. They are both gifted and seasoned performers.
What's are some of your favorite moments from this year's competition so far?
Hanging out at the Paradise Bowl and Lounge after the show. We all made complete jackasses out of ourselves in front of the locals. We owned the bowling alley and the Karaoke jam.
And the worst moment?
When I found out that I had to go first on industry night. Selfish, I know, but biting the bullet always sucks, and I had to do it on the night that I was looking forward to the most.
--the final question--
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
You will be entertained. I promise.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Meet a SICC28 Semi-Finalist: Marcus
Now that we know who has moved on from Preliminary Week Two into the semi-finals, we'd better start giving some of them some love as well...so, once again, it's time to get to know another one of this year's Seattle International Comedy Competition Semi-Finalists.
The reports from Seattle-based comedians returning home from the last two Rocky Mountain Laff Offs was crystal clear--there was a performer in Utah who was as strong as hell. He was calling himself "Man of 1000 Voices" and audiences in that competition loved him. He nearly won in his first year in the competition (the eventual winner THAT year was Andy Peters) and he DID win the competition THIS year. Still, he seemed to be a regional phenomena--until he grabbed the chance to enter the SICC. Since then, he's only headlined a weekend at Giggles, he placed in the top 5 every night of Preliminary Week Two, he took first place at the New Everett Theater AND he ended the week locked into the top position for the week. And like Madonna, Liberace and Seal, he doesn't even need a last name. His name is simply...Marcus.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"
w/Marcus
--background--
How old are you?
30
What is your hometown?
Salt Lake City, Utah
Did you start doing comedy there?
Yes.
When did you start doing comedy?
A couple of years now.
Is comedy your full time job?
Yes.
What did you do before you started doing comedy full time?
I have always been into performing. In 2000, I went to a school in Texas for the WWF and did professional wrestling for about 2 years. After that, I fronted a band for about 3 years, released a couple local albums, it was cool. The band got me connections in radio which got me really focused on voicework. After meeting quite a few comics while doing radio, it was kind of just a natural progression onto the stage.
Tell us about your first comedy performance?
A fellow comic introduced me to the owner of our local comedy club, Wiseguy's, in early 2006 and he offered me 5 minutes. After that, I have been on a comedy stage ever since.
--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
I have always loved comedy. My dad gave me his old vinyl Cosby albums when I was about 8. I remember as a kid, I used to sneak my radio into my bed and listen to the Dr. Demento show in my bed. Eddie Murphy's "Delirious" changed my life.
What made you decide to try it yourself?
I have always kind of done what I do, voices and what not, but I never really thought anyone would want to see me do it as a job. It was just something I did, you know. After doing it for the first time in front of an audience, I was kind of pissed that I didn't get around to doing it earlier. I can't imagine doing anything else now. Hopefully, I can make a go of this, competitions, clubs, birthday parties, whatever it takes to perform!
And, who inspires you today?
I am really impressed by the guys I have worked with in the past year, the young guys like me, who are hungry and ready for the world to pay attention. I think that these are the guys who inspire me, the guys who are the new voices and are just waiting in the wings to change comedy.
Beyond comedy, what else interests you?
I love music and movies. I have like 18,000 songs on my laptop, all different kinds. Musicians and song writers are amazing to me. I am also a huge movie buff. Love watching movies. Cheesy horror to tear-jerking foriegn, bring 'em on!
And, do those interests inform your comedy?
Sure they do.
How so?
Like most comics, I like talking about what interests me, so that's why most of my show is about pop culture; movies, music, actors, singers, etc.
Is stand-up comedy your ultimate career goal?
I love doing stand-up, love it, I will always enjoy that feeling of performing live. I would love for stand-up to always be in my life.
I would also like to establish myself in the voice-over industry. I think that guys that are famous for creating iconic voices, guys like Mel Blanc, are amazing. I would love to do that.
At the peak of your career, if everything goes the way you want, what are you doing?
Hopefully making enough money to get by doing what I love. Fingers crossed!
--this competition--
How was your preliminary week experience?
What an amazing week! Every single comic, every single show, was incredible! To be able to be among these guys was a privilege and made me want to work harder and try to be better.
Also, I have made some great new friends, it's awesome.
What do you know now that you didn't know before the competition started?
That people in Washington think I'm funny. I always worry that I am just funny at home.
And, knowing what you know now, would you still have entered the competition? Hell yeah! I am so glad that I joined, this has been incredible.
What do you think will be the key to your moving on to the finals?
Who knows? I am thrilled to move on to the Semi's, let alone the finals. I think that every comic in the semi's is even money. They are all amazing talented comics, it's really anybody's game.
How do you think this competition will impact your comedy and your comedy career?
I am hoping that it helps me get my name out there. I am still fairly new to the comedy game and doing well in this competition might help people, fans, club owners, industry people, pay attention.
And the worst moment?
Having to say goodbye to 11 of the week one comics. It will be weird not being with them every night. Looking forward to meeting the Top 5 from last week, but it will be hard to say goodbye to some new friends.
--the final question--
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
Where else are you going to catch such an incredible line-up of amazing comics? You are going to be able to see 10 very different, very unique, very talented comics give their all on stage every single night! Plus, if you come out now then when we all get TV development deals next year, you can be one of the people who get to say, "HEY! I saw that guy in a small club in Puyallup!"
The reports from Seattle-based comedians returning home from the last two Rocky Mountain Laff Offs was crystal clear--there was a performer in Utah who was as strong as hell. He was calling himself "Man of 1000 Voices" and audiences in that competition loved him. He nearly won in his first year in the competition (the eventual winner THAT year was Andy Peters) and he DID win the competition THIS year. Still, he seemed to be a regional phenomena--until he grabbed the chance to enter the SICC. Since then, he's only headlined a weekend at Giggles, he placed in the top 5 every night of Preliminary Week Two, he took first place at the New Everett Theater AND he ended the week locked into the top position for the week. And like Madonna, Liberace and Seal, he doesn't even need a last name. His name is simply...Marcus.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"w/Marcus
--background--
How old are you?
30
What is your hometown?
Salt Lake City, Utah
Did you start doing comedy there?
Yes.
When did you start doing comedy?
A couple of years now.
Yes.
I have always been into performing. In 2000, I went to a school in Texas for the WWF and did professional wrestling for about 2 years. After that, I fronted a band for about 3 years, released a couple local albums, it was cool. The band got me connections in radio which got me really focused on voicework. After meeting quite a few comics while doing radio, it was kind of just a natural progression onto the stage.
Tell us about your first comedy performance?
A fellow comic introduced me to the owner of our local comedy club, Wiseguy's, in early 2006 and he offered me 5 minutes. After that, I have been on a comedy stage ever since.
--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
I have always loved comedy. My dad gave me his old vinyl Cosby albums when I was about 8. I remember as a kid, I used to sneak my radio into my bed and listen to the Dr. Demento show in my bed. Eddie Murphy's "Delirious" changed my life.
What made you decide to try it yourself?
I have always kind of done what I do, voices and what not, but I never really thought anyone would want to see me do it as a job. It was just something I did, you know. After doing it for the first time in front of an audience, I was kind of pissed that I didn't get around to doing it earlier. I can't imagine doing anything else now. Hopefully, I can make a go of this, competitions, clubs, birthday parties, whatever it takes to perform!
Who inspired you to become the kind of comedian you are?
Whew, there are so many comedians that I have watched and respect... Rich Little as far as voices go, he's the king. Murphy was so fierce, his on stage confidence was big for me. Cosby's ability to make you relate to everything he said whether it had happened to you or not, genius. Weird Al Yankovic, childhood favorite, grown-up guilty pleasure, loved his sense of parody.
Whew, there are so many comedians that I have watched and respect... Rich Little as far as voices go, he's the king. Murphy was so fierce, his on stage confidence was big for me. Cosby's ability to make you relate to everything he said whether it had happened to you or not, genius. Weird Al Yankovic, childhood favorite, grown-up guilty pleasure, loved his sense of parody.
And, who inspires you today?
I am really impressed by the guys I have worked with in the past year, the young guys like me, who are hungry and ready for the world to pay attention. I think that these are the guys who inspire me, the guys who are the new voices and are just waiting in the wings to change comedy.
Beyond comedy, what else interests you?
I love music and movies. I have like 18,000 songs on my laptop, all different kinds. Musicians and song writers are amazing to me. I am also a huge movie buff. Love watching movies. Cheesy horror to tear-jerking foriegn, bring 'em on!
And, do those interests inform your comedy?
Sure they do.
How so?
Like most comics, I like talking about what interests me, so that's why most of my show is about pop culture; movies, music, actors, singers, etc.
Is stand-up comedy your ultimate career goal?
I love doing stand-up, love it, I will always enjoy that feeling of performing live. I would love for stand-up to always be in my life.
I would also like to establish myself in the voice-over industry. I think that guys that are famous for creating iconic voices, guys like Mel Blanc, are amazing. I would love to do that.
At the peak of your career, if everything goes the way you want, what are you doing?
--this competition--
How was your preliminary week experience?
What an amazing week! Every single comic, every single show, was incredible! To be able to be among these guys was a privilege and made me want to work harder and try to be better.
Also, I have made some great new friends, it's awesome.
What do you know now that you didn't know before the competition started?
That people in Washington think I'm funny. I always worry that I am just funny at home.
And, knowing what you know now, would you still have entered the competition? Hell yeah! I am so glad that I joined, this has been incredible.
What do you think will be the key to your moving on to the finals?
Who knows? I am thrilled to move on to the Semi's, let alone the finals. I think that every comic in the semi's is even money. They are all amazing talented comics, it's really anybody's game.
How do you think this competition will impact your comedy and your comedy career?
I am hoping that it helps me get my name out there. I am still fairly new to the comedy game and doing well in this competition might help people, fans, club owners, industry people, pay attention.
Who has impressed you in this year's competition?
Wow, who didn't impress me? (Andy) Peters is hilarious, makes me work harder. Randy (Liedtke) is one of the naturally funniest people I have ever met. (Tony) Boswell is a killer, great writer. (Brian) Dowell, funny as hell. (Kevin) Richards is incredible. Derek (Sheen) is a fearless madman. Renfroe, DT, Martha, Allyson, McClure, Greenberg, amazing. I have such respect for every single performer, they all deserve to move on to the semis.
What's are some of your favorite moments from this year's competition so far?
Taking first in The Everett Theatre. Amazing venue, amazing crowd, amazing night!
Wow, who didn't impress me? (Andy) Peters is hilarious, makes me work harder. Randy (Liedtke) is one of the naturally funniest people I have ever met. (Tony) Boswell is a killer, great writer. (Brian) Dowell, funny as hell. (Kevin) Richards is incredible. Derek (Sheen) is a fearless madman. Renfroe, DT, Martha, Allyson, McClure, Greenberg, amazing. I have such respect for every single performer, they all deserve to move on to the semis.
What's are some of your favorite moments from this year's competition so far?
Taking first in The Everett Theatre. Amazing venue, amazing crowd, amazing night!
And the worst moment?
Having to say goodbye to 11 of the week one comics. It will be weird not being with them every night. Looking forward to meeting the Top 5 from last week, but it will be hard to say goodbye to some new friends.
--the final question--
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
Where else are you going to catch such an incredible line-up of amazing comics? You are going to be able to see 10 very different, very unique, very talented comics give their all on stage every single night! Plus, if you come out now then when we all get TV development deals next year, you can be one of the people who get to say, "HEY! I saw that guy in a small club in Puyallup!"
Meet a SICC28 Semi-Finalist: Andy Haynes
If you look at the posts below, you'll find a lot of empty reports (I know, I know...I'm working on them!) and you'll find a few profiles of some of those who have survived the gauntlet of Preliminary Week One in order to become a semi-finalist. Well, we've got one more Preliminary Week One Semi-Finalist profile to get to...so, once again, it's time to get to know another one of this year's Seattle International Comedy Competition Semi-Finalists.
The Miracle Boy. A classic Riches To Rags To Riches story. He started the week off with a second place finish only to drop to as low as 12th place going into the last night. The fact that he did well in that final show was no surprise--but seeing him earn his way into the semi-finals from 12th place surprised everyone, including the performer himself. Call him the Comeback Kid. Call him the Heartbreaker. Call him a semi-finalist. He is ANDY HAYNES.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"
w/Andy Haynes
Sorry this is late, I've been busy pinching myself.
No worries, Andy.
--background--
How old are you?
25
What is your hometown?
Born and raised in Seattle.
Did you start doing comedy in Seattle?
Started comedy at the Underground while commuting from Bellingham, for open-mics, my senior year.
You moved away from Seattle for awhile. What's the story there?
I graduated and moved to DC for two years. I arrived to a completely different kind of comedy scene, learned a lot, met a ton of great people, but last winter after seeing everything happening with the PRoK, I wanted to come back and be a part of it.
When did you start doing comedy?
The anniversary of the Tsunami is, unfortunately, also my comedy anniversary, so three years in December.
Is comedy your full time job?
Well, I'm unemployed at the moment, so, technically, all I'm doing is comedy, but jokes aren't paying the bills yet.
--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
I remember always liking comedy, it captivated me, but I never thought about it as a possibility for myself. My parents watched it a lot on TV so, when I was by myself, I'd catch Comic Relief or whatever was on late.
I have this one memory of a stand-up going on a Nickelodeon show swearing, I loved it. If I put the numbers together and think hard, it seems like it was Tom Rhodes, but I'm not sure who would say "fuck it, I'm swearing on Nickelodeon whether they like it or not." Ballsy.
What made you decide to try it yourself?
I had been told that I should try it for a long time, but I never took it seriously till 2004 when Bush got elected the second time. I was so angry, and I realized that no matter how many marches and protests I was in, he was gonna be the President. I think it actually just turned funny at that point, "they're really gonna pick this guy, even democratically, all right..." I wanted to do some kind of political performance type thing and a friend and I were considering an acoustic thing, but then I rented that Bill Hicks Live DVD and I knew that was it. I went to my first open-mic a week later, watched, then tried it.
And, who inspires you today?
I think I started liking the political or edgy guys, but really I like any comic that seems to be honestly talking about themselves or what they care about. It was definitely Hicks, Chappelle, Cross, Pryor, at first, but later it changed to really anyone that made me laugh. Right now, I can say the best performances I saw this last year were Patton Oswalt, Louis CK, Bill Burr and Zach Galifianakis, but there's so many more.
What else are you into?
I'm into the world; traveling, politics, culture, etc. Art in general, but movies and music seem to be the most of it. I watch a lot of soccer, mainly Arsenal. There was a while that I thought I was going to be a professional skier. Girls are still interesting, them and swimming in the summer.
And, do those interests inform your comedy?
I think my life informs my comedy, I try to be versatile, pour myself into things, try a lot of new stuff, but really its mainly the bad stuff that becomes jokes, being awkward or accident prone. Whenever I miss the bus, get an overdraft fee, break up, I'm looking for why its funny, or where's the joke.
Is stand-up comedy your ultimate career goal?
Stand-up seems like its the right fit--a lot of pitfalls, but I think it goes well with my lifestyle and personality. I don't know if I'll ever be working the road heavily, but I definitely want to do it as long as I can.
Imagine the peak of your career...
I think my dream career looks a lot like living in someplace like New York, but having a Seattle to escape to. I want to write, in all contexts, and I've wanted to make movies long before I thought about being a joketeller, so those are definitely in the plans.
I really want to perform all over the world, evolve things in general, and mix with a lot of other artists. Then, hopefully some useful stuff, social commentary on all the BS, literature, snotty waspy stuff in general, men's clubs and cigar and brandy rooms with cedar walls.
Oh, and lots of money, I want all that.
--this competition--
You had one of the more dramatic Preliminary Week experiences. Describe it.
It was a parabola of emotions--going into it with no expectations, starting strong, dying the next couple of nights, and then kind of surrendering ultimately to just telling the jokes and having a good time.
What do you know now that you didn't know before the competition started?
I think it made me think a lot about my jokes in the context of word economy and pace, how often is this joke funny, and how long am i filibustering. I also think being around a really diverse group of comics helps you look at your own comedy in a deeper sense.
And, knowing what you know now, would you still have entered the competition? Yes.
What'll be the key to your moving on to the finals?
Committing to my jokes and not trying to gain acceptance from the audience, that and confidence. That shit's more powerful than yellow cake and lying. Also, having fun--it might be the most important thing.
Do you think that being inthis competition will impact your comedy or your comedy career? And, if it does...how?
I still have no idea, hopefully positively.
And the worst moment?
After the third night, I'd gone over (the time penalty limit) and not even done stellar, I was laying in bed just angry at myself, kind of defeated. I was like "should I even do this anymore, am I delusional about my own talent." For a second I was even like, "maybe I should enlist?" I don't know why, but that was kind of the bottom.
--the final question--
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
Well, anyone who comes to the show is going to see a diverse collection of really talented comics, so that's my generic platform, but I think I'm really funny too. Plus, I'm like this Cinderella Man kind of underdog, and who doesn't like to see those kind of odds play out, especially when I tie it to the American Dream and the Bible and stuff like that. But, seriously, I've made it farther than I thought I could already, so, I just want to have fun, making everyone else have fun, then we both win.
The Miracle Boy. A classic Riches To Rags To Riches story. He started the week off with a second place finish only to drop to as low as 12th place going into the last night. The fact that he did well in that final show was no surprise--but seeing him earn his way into the semi-finals from 12th place surprised everyone, including the performer himself. Call him the Comeback Kid. Call him the Heartbreaker. Call him a semi-finalist. He is ANDY HAYNES.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"w/Andy Haynes
Sorry this is late, I've been busy pinching myself.
No worries, Andy.
--background--
How old are you?
25
What is your hometown?
Born and raised in Seattle.
Did you start doing comedy in Seattle?
Started comedy at the Underground while commuting from Bellingham, for open-mics, my senior year.
You moved away from Seattle for awhile. What's the story there?
I graduated and moved to DC for two years. I arrived to a completely different kind of comedy scene, learned a lot, met a ton of great people, but last winter after seeing everything happening with the PRoK, I wanted to come back and be a part of it.
When did you start doing comedy?
The anniversary of the Tsunami is, unfortunately, also my comedy anniversary, so three years in December.
Well, I'm unemployed at the moment, so, technically, all I'm doing is comedy, but jokes aren't paying the bills yet.
And if you had a non-comedy job, what would you be doing?
I've been doing administrative type stuff since I graduated and picking up restaurant type of work to subsidize my poor spending habits. It's amazing how helpful a bachelor's degree has been in landing me jobs which I can just zone out and think about comedy while pretending to do.
I've been doing administrative type stuff since I graduated and picking up restaurant type of work to subsidize my poor spending habits. It's amazing how helpful a bachelor's degree has been in landing me jobs which I can just zone out and think about comedy while pretending to do.
--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
I remember always liking comedy, it captivated me, but I never thought about it as a possibility for myself. My parents watched it a lot on TV so, when I was by myself, I'd catch Comic Relief or whatever was on late.
I have this one memory of a stand-up going on a Nickelodeon show swearing, I loved it. If I put the numbers together and think hard, it seems like it was Tom Rhodes, but I'm not sure who would say "fuck it, I'm swearing on Nickelodeon whether they like it or not." Ballsy.
What made you decide to try it yourself?
I had been told that I should try it for a long time, but I never took it seriously till 2004 when Bush got elected the second time. I was so angry, and I realized that no matter how many marches and protests I was in, he was gonna be the President. I think it actually just turned funny at that point, "they're really gonna pick this guy, even democratically, all right..." I wanted to do some kind of political performance type thing and a friend and I were considering an acoustic thing, but then I rented that Bill Hicks Live DVD and I knew that was it. I went to my first open-mic a week later, watched, then tried it.
Who inspired you to become the kind of comedian you are?
I really got into being funny watching my uncle tell jokes over the dinner table as a kid, and then later I would work at a summer camp during high school and college. Every night we had campfires and a chance to be funny, it was a competition between my friends and I to see who could do the funniest skits, then came bragging rights and sometimes girls. Those are my two clearest influences.
I really got into being funny watching my uncle tell jokes over the dinner table as a kid, and then later I would work at a summer camp during high school and college. Every night we had campfires and a chance to be funny, it was a competition between my friends and I to see who could do the funniest skits, then came bragging rights and sometimes girls. Those are my two clearest influences.
And, who inspires you today?
I think I started liking the political or edgy guys, but really I like any comic that seems to be honestly talking about themselves or what they care about. It was definitely Hicks, Chappelle, Cross, Pryor, at first, but later it changed to really anyone that made me laugh. Right now, I can say the best performances I saw this last year were Patton Oswalt, Louis CK, Bill Burr and Zach Galifianakis, but there's so many more.
What else are you into?
I'm into the world; traveling, politics, culture, etc. Art in general, but movies and music seem to be the most of it. I watch a lot of soccer, mainly Arsenal. There was a while that I thought I was going to be a professional skier. Girls are still interesting, them and swimming in the summer.
And, do those interests inform your comedy?
I think my life informs my comedy, I try to be versatile, pour myself into things, try a lot of new stuff, but really its mainly the bad stuff that becomes jokes, being awkward or accident prone. Whenever I miss the bus, get an overdraft fee, break up, I'm looking for why its funny, or where's the joke.
Is stand-up comedy your ultimate career goal?
Stand-up seems like its the right fit--a lot of pitfalls, but I think it goes well with my lifestyle and personality. I don't know if I'll ever be working the road heavily, but I definitely want to do it as long as I can.
Imagine the peak of your career...
I really want to perform all over the world, evolve things in general, and mix with a lot of other artists. Then, hopefully some useful stuff, social commentary on all the BS, literature, snotty waspy stuff in general, men's clubs and cigar and brandy rooms with cedar walls.
Oh, and lots of money, I want all that.
--this competition--
You had one of the more dramatic Preliminary Week experiences. Describe it.
It was a parabola of emotions--going into it with no expectations, starting strong, dying the next couple of nights, and then kind of surrendering ultimately to just telling the jokes and having a good time.
What do you know now that you didn't know before the competition started?
I think it made me think a lot about my jokes in the context of word economy and pace, how often is this joke funny, and how long am i filibustering. I also think being around a really diverse group of comics helps you look at your own comedy in a deeper sense.
And, knowing what you know now, would you still have entered the competition? Yes.
What'll be the key to your moving on to the finals?
Committing to my jokes and not trying to gain acceptance from the audience, that and confidence. That shit's more powerful than yellow cake and lying. Also, having fun--it might be the most important thing.
Do you think that being inthis competition will impact your comedy or your comedy career? And, if it does...how?
I still have no idea, hopefully positively.
Who impressed you in this year's competition?
I liked everyone, and I gained a lot of respect for my week watching them work the rooms and do their thing. I thought Darren Frost really went out there and did his thing without any ego or worrying about acceptance, but everyone was really supportive and told their jokes the way they wanted to, so I admire that.
What's are some of your favorite moments from this year's competition so far?
I think the last night of my week was possibly the greatest night of my life, so that's easy.
I liked everyone, and I gained a lot of respect for my week watching them work the rooms and do their thing. I thought Darren Frost really went out there and did his thing without any ego or worrying about acceptance, but everyone was really supportive and told their jokes the way they wanted to, so I admire that.
What's are some of your favorite moments from this year's competition so far?
I think the last night of my week was possibly the greatest night of my life, so that's easy.
And the worst moment?
After the third night, I'd gone over (the time penalty limit) and not even done stellar, I was laying in bed just angry at myself, kind of defeated. I was like "should I even do this anymore, am I delusional about my own talent." For a second I was even like, "maybe I should enlist?" I don't know why, but that was kind of the bottom.
--the final question--
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
Well, anyone who comes to the show is going to see a diverse collection of really talented comics, so that's my generic platform, but I think I'm really funny too. Plus, I'm like this Cinderella Man kind of underdog, and who doesn't like to see those kind of odds play out, especially when I tie it to the American Dream and the Bible and stuff like that. But, seriously, I've made it farther than I thought I could already, so, I just want to have fun, making everyone else have fun, then we both win.
Meet a SICC28 Semi-Finalist: Key Lewis
I know, I know...there's a LOT of housekeeping for SeattleComedy.net to try to get done in this one off day between the end of the Preliminary Week Two and the start of the Semi-Finals. Let's go ahead and get to know another one of this year's Seattle International Comedy Competition Semi-Finalists.
The performer who took fourth place in Preliminary Week One projects confidence and an ease in dealing with any crowd. His easy going style and connection to those he's performing for made him a clear audience favorite. He is KEY LEWIS.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"
w/Key Lewis
--background--
How old are you?
34
What is your hometown?
Sacramento, California
Did you start doing comedy there?
Yes.
Where are you living now?
Seattle, WA
No.
Where was your first comedy performance?
Sacramento, California. Laughs Unlimited.
--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
Like many others, old Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx albums.
What made you decide to try it yourself?
It just called me.
Are there comedians working today who inspire you now?
Robert Hawkins, Katt Williams, Sam Bam.
Do you have other interests outside of comedy?
Yes. My family, The Story Itself, teaching, learning and loving.
Is stand-up comedy your ultimate career goal?
Yes.
When you imagine yourself at your stand-up comedy career peak, what are you doing?
Selling out arenas with no cultural boundaries from Clearbrook, VA to South Central, LA.
--this competition--
What did you take away from your work in your preliminary week?
You are your worst critic--"you" meaning "myself." To slow down, quality not quantity.
What do you know now that you didn't know before the competition started?
What Jon Fox looks like. Being funny and acting are really two different things.
And, knowing what you know now, would you still have entered the competition? Without a doubt.
What's the key to your moving on to the finals?
Having fun.
How will this competition impact your comedy or your comedy career?
The exposure and the toughness involved.
And your least favorite?
Taking the bullet at night six and not doing that well in front of the industry.
--the final question--
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
To see someone who is truly dedicated to accomplishing a dream of making people laugh, one joke at a time.
The performer who took fourth place in Preliminary Week One projects confidence and an ease in dealing with any crowd. His easy going style and connection to those he's performing for made him a clear audience favorite. He is KEY LEWIS.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"w/Key Lewis
--background--
How old are you?
34
What is your hometown?
Sacramento, California
Did you start doing comedy there?
Yes.
Where are you living now?
Seattle, WA
How long have you been doing comedy?
Four years.
Is comedy your full time job?Four years.
No.
What is it that you do?
Construction--Light Rail Project.
Construction--Light Rail Project.
Where was your first comedy performance?
Sacramento, California. Laughs Unlimited.
--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
Like many others, old Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx albums.
What made you decide to try it yourself?
It just called me.
Who inspired you to become the kind of comedian you are?
My father, Eddie Murphy, Pryor and Del Van Dyke.
My father, Eddie Murphy, Pryor and Del Van Dyke.
Are there comedians working today who inspire you now?
Robert Hawkins, Katt Williams, Sam Bam.
Do you have other interests outside of comedy?
Yes. My family, The Story Itself, teaching, learning and loving.
Is stand-up comedy your ultimate career goal?
Yes.
When you imagine yourself at your stand-up comedy career peak, what are you doing?
--this competition--
What did you take away from your work in your preliminary week?
You are your worst critic--"you" meaning "myself." To slow down, quality not quantity.
What do you know now that you didn't know before the competition started?
What Jon Fox looks like. Being funny and acting are really two different things.
And, knowing what you know now, would you still have entered the competition? Without a doubt.
What's the key to your moving on to the finals?
Having fun.
How will this competition impact your comedy or your comedy career?
The exposure and the toughness involved.
Who impressed you in this year's competition?
Rodger Lizaola, Sharon Lacey and Mike Wally Walter.
What, so far, is your favorite memory from this year's competition?
The Bellingham show.
Rodger Lizaola, Sharon Lacey and Mike Wally Walter.
What, so far, is your favorite memory from this year's competition?
The Bellingham show.
And your least favorite?
Taking the bullet at night six and not doing that well in front of the industry.
--the final question--
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
To see someone who is truly dedicated to accomplishing a dream of making people laugh, one joke at a time.
SICC: Preliminary Week Two--Night Six
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week Two--Night Six
November 11, 2007
The Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar, Bellingham
(THIS REPORT WILL BE POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT, AND WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK BELOW THAT.)
And...the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Martha Marion.
Fourth place--Marcus.
Third place--Kevin Richards.
Second place--Ruben Barron.
...and, the top performer for the night...
...actually, there's a tie for first place tonight...
First place (tie)--Tony Boswell.
and
First place (tie)--Randy Liedtke.
(L-R: Gabriel Rutledge, Kevin Richards, Martha Marion, Randy Liedtke, Marcus, Tony Boswell, Ruben Barron.)
...and the top five for the week, moving to the semi-finals, are???
First place--Marcus.
Second place--Andy Peters.
Third place--Tony Boswell.
Fourth place--Allyson Smith.
Fifth place--Ruben Barron.
(L-R: Gabriel Rutledge, Allyson Smith, Ruben Barron, Andy Peters, Tony Boswell, Marcus.)
NEXT SHOW: TUESDAY NOVEMBER 13th, Semi-Finals Week-Show One takes place at the Whitman College in Walla Wall. It's our longest drive on this year's tour. Show time, 8pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:
PRELIMINARY WEEK TWO
1) Marcus
Underground: 10.88
Chop Suey: 10.81
Parkland: 10.72
West Seattle: 10.82
Everett: 11.00
Bellingham: 10.43
-----
Total: 64.65
Drop: 10.43
Score: 54.23
2) Andy Peters
Underground: 9.72
Chop Suey: 9.52
Parkland: 11.00
West Seattle: 11.00
Everett: 10.02
Bellingham: 9.29
-----
Total: 60.55
Drop: 9.29
Score: 51.26
3) Tony Boswell
Underground: 11.00
Chop Suey: 9.67
Parkland: 9.29
West Seattle: 9.5
Everett: 9.93
Bellingham: 11.00
-----
Total: 60.38
Drop: 9.29
Score: 51.09
4) Allyson Smith
Underground: 10.74
Chop Suey: 10.52
Parkland: 10.38
West Seattle: 8.87
Everett: 7.45
Bellingham: 9.82
-----
Total: 57.79
Drop: 7.45
Score: 50.34
5) Ruben Barron
Underground: 8.65
Chop Suey: 11.00
Parkland: 10.86
West Seattle: 8.73
Everett: 8.59
Bellingham: 10.82
-----
Total: 58.65
Drop: 8.59
Score: 50.06
===============
6) Kevin Richards
Underground: 9.34
Chop Suey: 9.81
Parkland: 10.33
West Seattle: 9.35
Everett: 9.16
Bellingham: 10.71
-----
Total: 58.71
Drop: 9.16
Score: 49.55
7) Randy Liedtke
Underground: 10.12
Chop Suey: 8.91
Parkland: 8.57
West Seattle: 10.80
Everett: 7.97
Bellingham: 11.00
-----
Total: 57.38
Drop: 7.97
Score: 49.40
8) Martha Marion
Underground: 8.84
Chop Suey: 10.48
Parkland: 8.62
West Seattle: 8.96
Everett: 9.97
Bellingham: 10.36
-----
Total: 57.23
Drop: 8.62
Score: 48.61
9) DT Owens
Underground: 10.69
Chop Suey: 8.79
Parkland: 9.72
West Seattle: 8.66
Everett: 9.00
Bellingham: 10.18
-----
Total: 57.03
Drop: 8.66
Score: 48.37
10) Brian Dowell
Underground: 8.62
Chop Suey: 8.29
Parkland: 9.76
West Seattle: 10.55
Everett: 10.00
Bellingham: 8.14
-----
Total: 55.36
Drop: 8.14
Score: 47.22
11) Nick Hoff
Underground: 9.67
Chop Suey: 10.86
Parkland: 8.95
West Seattle: 8.52
Everett: 8.85
Bellingham: 8.11
-----
Total: 54.96
Drop: 8.11
Score: 46.85
12) Justin McClure
Underground: 9.29
Chop Suey: 9.38
Parkland: 9.33
West Seattle: 8.69
Everett: 8.24
Bellingham: 6.57
-----
Total: 51.51
Drop: 6.57
Score: 44.93
13) Andrew Sleighter
Underground: 9.53
Chop Suey: 8.91
Parkland: 8.33
West Seattle: 8.18
Everett: 8.21
Bellingham: 5.25
-----
Total: 48.40
Drop: 5.25
Score: 43.15
14) Gene Renfroe
Underground: 8.07
Chop Suey: 9.33
Parkland: 9.48
West Seattle: 7.16
Everett: 6.57
Bellingham: 8.96
-----
Total: 49.58
Drop: 6.57
Score: 43.01
15) Jeremy Greenberg
Underground: 7.48
Chop Suey: 8.95
Parkland: 7.67
West Seattle: 7.80
Everett: 8.64
Bellingham: 6.89
-----
Total: 47.43
Drop: 6.89
Score: 40.54
16) Derek Sheen
Underground: 7.22
Chop Suey: 9.00
Parkland: 8.14
West Seattle: 8.39
Everett: 6.81
Bellingham: 4.86
-----
Total: 44.42
Drop: 4.86
Score: 39.56
Sunday, November 11, 2007
SICC: Preliminary Week Two Scoring Analysis
All right, if you've been trying to keep up with Preliminary Week Two by reading along with the nightly reports here on SeattleComedy.net...you've probably got NO idea what's been going on. The typically lengthy missives about what each performer did each night, dragged out for paragraph after endless paragraph, in a relentless bombardment of words and nitpicky descriptions...completely absent from this week.
So, Alysia Wood...stop whining!
Oh, I'll still be posting the reports on each night from this week and finishing the ones from last week...and keeping up with all the shows to come, if only to annoy Mike Wally Walter to no end for my not going back and posting a report from last year's show at the Lucky Eagle...and because a little bit of Alysia Wood whining can't stop me from taking advantage of the fact that no trees have to be killed for me to write as much as I do...but, that's not the point.
The point is the points.
As the sixteen brave competitors in Preliminary Week Two are about to face their own Midoriyama--also known as The Fairhaven in Bellingham--let's go ahead and give those of you following at home a glimpse into the statistics that will determine their fate.
In other words, let's find out how everyone's doing and what their chances are for moving on to the semi-finals as they're going into the last night of Preliminary Week Two. I'll do my best to explain the math as we go...
Last night, we were given results from the first five weeks of this competition with the magic word "Official" written on them. In a week where there have been two "revised" scores after a top 5 has been announced to a crowd, that's a good thing. So, with these official results in hand, let us look WITH EXTREME CONFIDENCE at the numbers and see what's happening:
* As you know, each performer has received a score for each night--the top judged performer of the night is scored as an eleven--ten for the best judged score and one bonus point for the encore point. Every other competitor's score is less than eleven.
* There are six shows in this preliminary week, but only the competitor's top five scores are added together for a final score. The lowest of the six scores is dropped.
* The five performers with the best five final scores will move on to compete in the semi-finals.
Marcus may have only taken the top spot in the fifth show of the week--at the New Everett Theater in Everett--he has made the Top 5 every single night...and all of his scores are 10+. That puts him in the lead for the week--and, his scores are so strong that it doesn't matter what he does on Sunday, or what anyone else does on Sunday for that matter, he will end the week in first place as well.
His current five show total is 54.23 and his lowest score of the week is an astonishingly high 10.72. That means that 54.51 is the lowest score he can get, because if his score for the sixth show is lower than 10.72, then THAT score is the score that would be dropped and the current drop score 10.72 would be used. If he scores more than 10.72, then the 10.72 score is dropped. Marcus' maximum score is determined by subtracting his drop score from his current total score and then adding the maximum score he might get on the sixth show, which would be 11.00. If Marcus wins tomorrow night, he would get 11.00 points...and drop his 10.72...giving him a maximum score of 54.51.
Because Marcus' lowest possible score, compared to the highest score of everyone else, would keep him in first place for the week--Marcus is, mathematically a lock for one of the top 5 spots--Marcus is IN the semi-finals... Even if he spent his time on stage Sunday night by eating a bag full of cheap microwavable bean burritos and letting the explosive diarrhea to follow be his only performance...he's moving on to the semi-finals. (I've checked the rules and there's nothing stopping a performer from an explosive diarrhea set--although, one might suggest that the rule about picking up your props after your set might come into play here.)
Here, then, is all of the math you need to know to know who is capable of doing what...
PRELIMINARY WEEK TWO:
(FORMAT: name / drop score (aka lowest nightly score) / current (aka minimum) weekly score / maximum weekly score)
1) Marcus / 10.72 / 54.23 / 54.51
(Marcus cannot score lower than 1st place nor can anyone pass him. Marcus is, therefore, locked into the semi-finals.)
2) Andy Peters / 9.52 / 51.26 / 52.74
(While Andy's scores and two #1 finishes are impressive, he cannot catch or pass Marcus' consistently high scores. Andy's top possible placement would be to hold onto 2nd place. Andy's lowest possible placement is 3rd place.)
3) Allyson Smith / 7.45 / 47.97 / 51.52
(After three straight Top 5 finishes to start the week, Allyson has stumbled rather badly in the last two shows--so, she has a very low drop score AND she has to keep a rather low score already. Because of those three high scores, Allyson's top possible placement is 2nd place. But, she's vulnerable to slipping with another bad score and others doing well. Mathematically, Allyson's lowest possible placement is 11th.)
4) Tony Boswell / 9.29 / 49.38 / 51.09
(Note the middle number above. Note that Tony's "minimum" score is significantly higher than Allyson's. Mathematically, Tony's got a stronger claim to 3rd place right now--but once you bring the drop score into play, Allyson's position gets stronger. Tony's top possible placement is 3rd place. With a higher drop score, Tony's lowest possible placement is 8th.)
5) Ruben Barron / 8.59 / 47.83 / 50.23
(Ruben is carrying 3 nights of scores in the "8" range--he'd sure like to drop one of them. Ruben's top possible placement is 3rd place. Ruben's lowest possible placement is 11th.)
6) Brian Dowell / 8.29 / 47.22 / 49.93
(Brian's definitely coming on here at the end. Brian's top possible placement is 3rd place. Brian's lowest possible placement is 11th.)
7) Kevin Richards / 9.16 / 48.00 / 49.84
(If you look closely, Kevin's actually got a strong claim for being considered to be in 4th place right now--as his "minimum" score is higher than Brian, Ruben AND Allyson's "minimum" score. However, he doesn't have quite as much top-end space, as all of his scores have been consistently in the 9's--and one in the 10's. Kevin's top possible placement is 3rd place. Kevin's lowest possible placement is 11th.)
8) Randy Liedtke / 7.97 / 46.38 / 49.40
(Randy's had a schizophrenic week--either 10's or 8's, or worse. The end result is that Randy's got some work to do. Still, his top possible placement is 3rd place. Randy's lowest possible placement is 12th.)
9) Nick Hoff / 8.52 / 46.85 / 49.34
(Nick's been frustrated with his scores over the last few nights, but he's still in contention to move on to the semi-finals. Nick's top possible placement is 4th place. Nick's lowest possible placement is 12th.)
10) Martha Marion / 8.62 / 46.87 / 49.25
(Martha's made her second top 5 of the week with a good showing in Everett, but her score from last night's show wasn't as helpful as it could have been. Still, her top possible placement is 4th place. Martha's lowest possible placement is 12th.)
11) DT Owens / 8.66 / 46.85 / 49.19
(DT is still riding the strength of a great showing in the first show of the week. He'd need some serious help to make it to the semi-finals, but Andy Haynes could remind him that miracles can happen. DT's top possible placement is 4th place. DT's lowest possible placement is 12th.)
So, there's hope for making the semi-finals all the way down to the 11th position. Marcus and Andy are in. Nine other competitors are going into the last night of the week battling for three positions. From DT in 11th to Ruben in 5th, the differential is barely over a single point. (Don't ever tell me that those encore points aren't important.
Now, let's go ahead and pour a little out for those whose dreams have died along the way...
12) Justin McClure / 8.24 / 44.93 / 47.70
(Justin's top possible placement is 7th place. Justin's lowest possible placement is 14th.)
13) Andrew Sleighter / 8.18 / 43.15 / 45.98
(Andrew's top possible placement is 12th place. Andrew's lowest possible placement is 16th.)
14) Gene Renfroe / 6.57 / 40.61 / 45.04
(Gene's top possible placement is 12th place. Gene's lowest possible placement is 16th.)
15) Jeremy Greenberg / 7.48 / 40.54 / 44.06
(Jeremy's top possible placement is 13th place. Jeremy's lowest possible placement is 16th.)
16) Derek Sheen / 6.81 / 39.56 / 43.75
(Derek's top possible placement is 13th place. Derek's lowest possible placement is 16th.
Let's go back, for a moment, to those fighting to get into the semi-finals:
* Marcus is locked--he's in the semi-finals.
* Andy Peters is locked--he's in the semi-finals.
* Allyson Smith needs to score an 9.42 or better on Sunday night in order to be locked into the semi-finals. A lower score than that leaves her somewhat vulnerable to not getting into the second round. With her very low drop score, a very bad night would be very bad indeed.
* Tony Boswell needs to score 9.85 or better to be guaranteed of a spot in the semi-finals. However, with such a high drop score, he's in a better position to stay in the Top 5 than either Allyson or Ruben.
* Ruben Barron needs to score 10.70 or better to be guaranteed of a spot in the semi-finals. He has the lowest minimum score of those going into that final show in the Top 5 AND his drop score isn't very strong. He is the most vulnerable to slipping out of contention.
If Brian Dowell takes first place in Bellingham, he would need Allyson to score a 9.41 or less OR Tony to score a 9.84 or less OR Ruben Barron to score a 10.69 or less in order to stake a claim to the Top 5. The easiest way into the semi-finals would have Ruben not scoring beyond his drop score and Brian scoring a 8.91 while no one behind him pushes past them both.
If no one improves upon their drop scores, Tony Boswell would make the semi-finals in 3rd place, Kevin Richards would jump up to 4th place while Allyson Smith hangs on in 5th place. Kevin earns that having had very consistent scores all week. Kevin could also battle his way in, but he'll need to do very well and have a couple of the people ahead of him stumble in order to make it in.
And it gets more and more complicated and difficult for those below Kevin--like Randy, Nick, Martha and DT--(and, note that I said complicated and difficult...but not impossible...again, as Andy Haynes will testify to.) If you feel like crunching THOSE numbers, go right ahead. I won't stop you. I will, however, stop myself.
Just remember--there's mathematical chance and realistically likely scenarios...please don't confuse the two.
Nine performers, three open spots. Blood will be shed and tears will be cried, I'm sure.
You've got one last chance to see what these sixteen talented performers have to offer--at The Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar in Bellingham at 8:30pm Sunday, November 11th.
And Alysia Wood? You know, I love you, Alysia...and I was kidding about what I said about you whining...and, most of all, I'm sorry to make you read so many words...
So, Alysia Wood...stop whining!
Oh, I'll still be posting the reports on each night from this week and finishing the ones from last week...and keeping up with all the shows to come, if only to annoy Mike Wally Walter to no end for my not going back and posting a report from last year's show at the Lucky Eagle...and because a little bit of Alysia Wood whining can't stop me from taking advantage of the fact that no trees have to be killed for me to write as much as I do...but, that's not the point.
The point is the points.
As the sixteen brave competitors in Preliminary Week Two are about to face their own Midoriyama--also known as The Fairhaven in Bellingham--let's go ahead and give those of you following at home a glimpse into the statistics that will determine their fate.
In other words, let's find out how everyone's doing and what their chances are for moving on to the semi-finals as they're going into the last night of Preliminary Week Two. I'll do my best to explain the math as we go...
Last night, we were given results from the first five weeks of this competition with the magic word "Official" written on them. In a week where there have been two "revised" scores after a top 5 has been announced to a crowd, that's a good thing. So, with these official results in hand, let us look WITH EXTREME CONFIDENCE at the numbers and see what's happening:
* As you know, each performer has received a score for each night--the top judged performer of the night is scored as an eleven--ten for the best judged score and one bonus point for the encore point. Every other competitor's score is less than eleven.
* There are six shows in this preliminary week, but only the competitor's top five scores are added together for a final score. The lowest of the six scores is dropped.
* The five performers with the best five final scores will move on to compete in the semi-finals.
Marcus may have only taken the top spot in the fifth show of the week--at the New Everett Theater in Everett--he has made the Top 5 every single night...and all of his scores are 10+. That puts him in the lead for the week--and, his scores are so strong that it doesn't matter what he does on Sunday, or what anyone else does on Sunday for that matter, he will end the week in first place as well.
His current five show total is 54.23 and his lowest score of the week is an astonishingly high 10.72. That means that 54.51 is the lowest score he can get, because if his score for the sixth show is lower than 10.72, then THAT score is the score that would be dropped and the current drop score 10.72 would be used. If he scores more than 10.72, then the 10.72 score is dropped. Marcus' maximum score is determined by subtracting his drop score from his current total score and then adding the maximum score he might get on the sixth show, which would be 11.00. If Marcus wins tomorrow night, he would get 11.00 points...and drop his 10.72...giving him a maximum score of 54.51.
Because Marcus' lowest possible score, compared to the highest score of everyone else, would keep him in first place for the week--Marcus is, mathematically a lock for one of the top 5 spots--Marcus is IN the semi-finals... Even if he spent his time on stage Sunday night by eating a bag full of cheap microwavable bean burritos and letting the explosive diarrhea to follow be his only performance...he's moving on to the semi-finals. (I've checked the rules and there's nothing stopping a performer from an explosive diarrhea set--although, one might suggest that the rule about picking up your props after your set might come into play here.)
Here, then, is all of the math you need to know to know who is capable of doing what...
PRELIMINARY WEEK TWO:
(FORMAT: name / drop score (aka lowest nightly score) / current (aka minimum) weekly score / maximum weekly score)
1) Marcus / 10.72 / 54.23 / 54.51
(Marcus cannot score lower than 1st place nor can anyone pass him. Marcus is, therefore, locked into the semi-finals.)
2) Andy Peters / 9.52 / 51.26 / 52.74
(While Andy's scores and two #1 finishes are impressive, he cannot catch or pass Marcus' consistently high scores. Andy's top possible placement would be to hold onto 2nd place. Andy's lowest possible placement is 3rd place.)
3) Allyson Smith / 7.45 / 47.97 / 51.52
(After three straight Top 5 finishes to start the week, Allyson has stumbled rather badly in the last two shows--so, she has a very low drop score AND she has to keep a rather low score already. Because of those three high scores, Allyson's top possible placement is 2nd place. But, she's vulnerable to slipping with another bad score and others doing well. Mathematically, Allyson's lowest possible placement is 11th.)
4) Tony Boswell / 9.29 / 49.38 / 51.09
(Note the middle number above. Note that Tony's "minimum" score is significantly higher than Allyson's. Mathematically, Tony's got a stronger claim to 3rd place right now--but once you bring the drop score into play, Allyson's position gets stronger. Tony's top possible placement is 3rd place. With a higher drop score, Tony's lowest possible placement is 8th.)
5) Ruben Barron / 8.59 / 47.83 / 50.23
(Ruben is carrying 3 nights of scores in the "8" range--he'd sure like to drop one of them. Ruben's top possible placement is 3rd place. Ruben's lowest possible placement is 11th.)
6) Brian Dowell / 8.29 / 47.22 / 49.93
(Brian's definitely coming on here at the end. Brian's top possible placement is 3rd place. Brian's lowest possible placement is 11th.)
7) Kevin Richards / 9.16 / 48.00 / 49.84
(If you look closely, Kevin's actually got a strong claim for being considered to be in 4th place right now--as his "minimum" score is higher than Brian, Ruben AND Allyson's "minimum" score. However, he doesn't have quite as much top-end space, as all of his scores have been consistently in the 9's--and one in the 10's. Kevin's top possible placement is 3rd place. Kevin's lowest possible placement is 11th.)
8) Randy Liedtke / 7.97 / 46.38 / 49.40
(Randy's had a schizophrenic week--either 10's or 8's, or worse. The end result is that Randy's got some work to do. Still, his top possible placement is 3rd place. Randy's lowest possible placement is 12th.)
9) Nick Hoff / 8.52 / 46.85 / 49.34
(Nick's been frustrated with his scores over the last few nights, but he's still in contention to move on to the semi-finals. Nick's top possible placement is 4th place. Nick's lowest possible placement is 12th.)
10) Martha Marion / 8.62 / 46.87 / 49.25
(Martha's made her second top 5 of the week with a good showing in Everett, but her score from last night's show wasn't as helpful as it could have been. Still, her top possible placement is 4th place. Martha's lowest possible placement is 12th.)
11) DT Owens / 8.66 / 46.85 / 49.19
(DT is still riding the strength of a great showing in the first show of the week. He'd need some serious help to make it to the semi-finals, but Andy Haynes could remind him that miracles can happen. DT's top possible placement is 4th place. DT's lowest possible placement is 12th.)
So, there's hope for making the semi-finals all the way down to the 11th position. Marcus and Andy are in. Nine other competitors are going into the last night of the week battling for three positions. From DT in 11th to Ruben in 5th, the differential is barely over a single point. (Don't ever tell me that those encore points aren't important.
Now, let's go ahead and pour a little out for those whose dreams have died along the way...
12) Justin McClure / 8.24 / 44.93 / 47.70
(Justin's top possible placement is 7th place. Justin's lowest possible placement is 14th.)
13) Andrew Sleighter / 8.18 / 43.15 / 45.98
(Andrew's top possible placement is 12th place. Andrew's lowest possible placement is 16th.)
14) Gene Renfroe / 6.57 / 40.61 / 45.04
(Gene's top possible placement is 12th place. Gene's lowest possible placement is 16th.)
15) Jeremy Greenberg / 7.48 / 40.54 / 44.06
(Jeremy's top possible placement is 13th place. Jeremy's lowest possible placement is 16th.)
16) Derek Sheen / 6.81 / 39.56 / 43.75
(Derek's top possible placement is 13th place. Derek's lowest possible placement is 16th.
Let's go back, for a moment, to those fighting to get into the semi-finals:
* Marcus is locked--he's in the semi-finals.
* Andy Peters is locked--he's in the semi-finals.
* Allyson Smith needs to score an 9.42 or better on Sunday night in order to be locked into the semi-finals. A lower score than that leaves her somewhat vulnerable to not getting into the second round. With her very low drop score, a very bad night would be very bad indeed.
* Tony Boswell needs to score 9.85 or better to be guaranteed of a spot in the semi-finals. However, with such a high drop score, he's in a better position to stay in the Top 5 than either Allyson or Ruben.
* Ruben Barron needs to score 10.70 or better to be guaranteed of a spot in the semi-finals. He has the lowest minimum score of those going into that final show in the Top 5 AND his drop score isn't very strong. He is the most vulnerable to slipping out of contention.
If Brian Dowell takes first place in Bellingham, he would need Allyson to score a 9.41 or less OR Tony to score a 9.84 or less OR Ruben Barron to score a 10.69 or less in order to stake a claim to the Top 5. The easiest way into the semi-finals would have Ruben not scoring beyond his drop score and Brian scoring a 8.91 while no one behind him pushes past them both.
If no one improves upon their drop scores, Tony Boswell would make the semi-finals in 3rd place, Kevin Richards would jump up to 4th place while Allyson Smith hangs on in 5th place. Kevin earns that having had very consistent scores all week. Kevin could also battle his way in, but he'll need to do very well and have a couple of the people ahead of him stumble in order to make it in.
And it gets more and more complicated and difficult for those below Kevin--like Randy, Nick, Martha and DT--(and, note that I said complicated and difficult...but not impossible...again, as Andy Haynes will testify to.) If you feel like crunching THOSE numbers, go right ahead. I won't stop you. I will, however, stop myself.
Just remember--there's mathematical chance and realistically likely scenarios...please don't confuse the two.
Nine performers, three open spots. Blood will be shed and tears will be cried, I'm sure.
You've got one last chance to see what these sixteen talented performers have to offer--at The Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar in Bellingham at 8:30pm Sunday, November 11th.
And Alysia Wood? You know, I love you, Alysia...and I was kidding about what I said about you whining...and, most of all, I'm sorry to make you read so many words...
SICC: Preliminary Week Two--Night Five
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week Two--Night Five
November 10, 2007
New Everett Theater, Everett
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Tony Boswell.
Fourth place--Martha Marion.
Third place--Brian Dowell.
Second place--Andy Peters.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Marcus.
(L-R: Gabriel Rutledge, Marcus, Martha Marion, Brian Dowell, Andy Peters, Tony Boswell.)
NEXT SHOW: SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11th, Preliminary Week Two-Show Six takes place at the The Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar in Bellingham. Showtime is 8:30pm...unless it's at 9pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Preliminary Week Two--Night Five
November 10, 2007
New Everett Theater, Everett
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Tony Boswell.
Fourth place--Martha Marion.
Third place--Brian Dowell.
Second place--Andy Peters.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Marcus.
(L-R: Gabriel Rutledge, Marcus, Martha Marion, Brian Dowell, Andy Peters, Tony Boswell.)NEXT SHOW: SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11th, Preliminary Week Two-Show Six takes place at the The Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar in Bellingham. Showtime is 8:30pm...unless it's at 9pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Meet a SICC28 Semi-Finalist: Geoff Lott
With Preliminary Week Two coming into the home stretch and the semi-finals on the horizon, it's time to get to know another one of this year's Seattle International Comedy Competition Semi-Finalists.
Hoping that the third time's the charm, our next semi-finalist has begun to live up to his early promise and has gained valuable experience along the way. With a voice that is both confident and uniquely personal, he's unlike almost any other performer in this competition. He is smart, he is unashamed of who he is and what he wants to say and, most of all, he isn't needy. Whether you agree with him or not, whether you find him funny or not, he's now strong enough not to panic or pander. He finished Preliminary Week One in third place...already, he's gone further in this competition than his two previous attempts. He is GEOFF LOTT.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"
w/Geoff Lott
--background--
How old are you?Hoping that the third time's the charm, our next semi-finalist has begun to live up to his early promise and has gained valuable experience along the way. With a voice that is both confident and uniquely personal, he's unlike almost any other performer in this competition. He is smart, he is unashamed of who he is and what he wants to say and, most of all, he isn't needy. Whether you agree with him or not, whether you find him funny or not, he's now strong enough not to panic or pander. He finished Preliminary Week One in third place...already, he's gone further in this competition than his two previous attempts. He is GEOFF LOTT.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"
w/Geoff Lott--background--
33
What is your hometown?
Maple Valley, WA
Did you start doing comedy there?
Not officially.
Where are you living now?
Kirkland, WA
Did you move there for comedy?
No.
When did you start doing comedy?
In clubs, since 2001, but (I've) dabbled since 1998.
Is comedy your full time job?
Nope.
Tell us about your first comedy performance?
I think it was around 1998 at Galway Arms, an Irish Pub in the U-District. I did 6 minutes ahead of a friend's acoustic band, got heckled by a drunk, and forgot my material, instead bashing him for 4 minutes, but it sounded like I was having a conversation with him. My jokes stunk but my comebacks were stellar. I did maybe 5 more sets after that until 2001.
--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
Bill Cosby, Jonathan Winters, Steve Martin. I was about 3 or so when I started listening to those records, and never really stopped. Started watching everything that was on TV. I listened to everything I could, the stories kept me riveted. I was a fat little kid who's "friends" stole his new bike when I was 5.
What made you decide to try it yourself?
I saw a live show at the Comedy Underground - Joe Vespaziani was headlining - and I had never seen somebody be that smart, conversational, and crushingly funny. It inspired me to go try it, because it was like seeing what I wanted from comedy, and I wanted to do that. I needed the validation I never got from women in my early teen years.
No.
When did you start doing comedy?
In clubs, since 2001, but (I've) dabbled since 1998.
Nope.
What is it that you do?
Project Manager and Business Analyst
Project Manager and Business Analyst
Tell us about your first comedy performance?
I think it was around 1998 at Galway Arms, an Irish Pub in the U-District. I did 6 minutes ahead of a friend's acoustic band, got heckled by a drunk, and forgot my material, instead bashing him for 4 minutes, but it sounded like I was having a conversation with him. My jokes stunk but my comebacks were stellar. I did maybe 5 more sets after that until 2001.
--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
Bill Cosby, Jonathan Winters, Steve Martin. I was about 3 or so when I started listening to those records, and never really stopped. Started watching everything that was on TV. I listened to everything I could, the stories kept me riveted. I was a fat little kid who's "friends" stole his new bike when I was 5.
What made you decide to try it yourself?
I saw a live show at the Comedy Underground - Joe Vespaziani was headlining - and I had never seen somebody be that smart, conversational, and crushingly funny. It inspired me to go try it, because it was like seeing what I wanted from comedy, and I wanted to do that. I needed the validation I never got from women in my early teen years.
Who inspired you to become the kind of comedian you are?
Comic-wise, those like Giraldo, Attell, Stanhope, and Silverman. Locally, Duane Goad, Joe Vespaziani, Lamont Ferguson, Brad Upton have been influential. Of course, my family. Mom & dad have always been jokers, mom's a little twisted and dad's very subtle, like Bill Murray meets Steve Martin. My sister's funnier than I am. My wife wants me to push myself, and she's taught me about persistence and focus. I crave attention from strangers.
Comic-wise, those like Giraldo, Attell, Stanhope, and Silverman. Locally, Duane Goad, Joe Vespaziani, Lamont Ferguson, Brad Upton have been influential. Of course, my family. Mom & dad have always been jokers, mom's a little twisted and dad's very subtle, like Bill Murray meets Steve Martin. My sister's funnier than I am. My wife wants me to push myself, and she's taught me about persistence and focus. I crave attention from strangers.
And, who inspires you today?
Too many to name, but guys like Lewis Black and Marc Maron, David Cross, Paul F. (Tompkins), Duane Goad, Joe Vespaziani, Stanhope, Sarah Silverman... it could go on forever. Anybody who is fearless and unique on-stage is inspiring. I'm not comfortable in my own skin.
Beyond comedy, what interests you?
Writing for TV and Movies, politics (interpersonal, mostly), conspiracy theory, cooking, wine, bodyweight exercises, financial planning, the end of Reality TV. What I want is irrelevant to what the crowd demands of me.
And, do those interests inform your comedy?
Life influences my comedy.
How so?
If something strikes me as ironic or angers me, even if it's minutiae, it will end up in my act. I need to have people pay attention to me or my inner child cries.
Is stand-up comedy your ultimate career goal?
No, but stand-up is part of it. I'd like to write some TV and movies and a book or 3. I will end up making a career out of writing and performing and entertaining people. I can't make relationships work so I drink too much to fill the void.
At the peak of your career, if everything goes the way you want, what are you doing?
--this competition--
How did your preliminary week go?
It went about how I thought it would, in the end. I accepted that not every room would LOOOOVE me, and if I just went out and did the best I could, I'd be fine. I was really happy about the group I got to perform with, too. No in-fighting, no attention-whores, just fun people to perform with.
What do you know now that you didn't know before the competition started? Before my first competition, I didn't know of the Scoring-induced Panic Attacks. But now I know about the need to constantly change things moment-to-moment and doubt everything you think you should do on-stage, at least to get the energy going internally.
And, knowing what you know now, would you still have entered the competition? Knowing that my wife would be complaining about how little I’ve been at home the past 2 weeks after she pushed me into doing it this year, I give that a hot, steamy YES.
What do you think will be the key to your moving on to the finals?
The Gorgeous, Smart, Hip judges, of course. And a few semifinalists' unresolved emotional issues.
Does this competition impact your comedy or your comedy career?
I'm already getting a lot of gigs from it, invites to other clubs, corporate gigs, and the respect I deserve from the open mic'ers.
Who impressed you in this year's competition?
Lizzy Pilcher, Andy Haynes, Kyle Harbert, and Leif Skyving. I'd heard of Leif but never saw him. Great comic, great guy. Kyle just went for it and said "This is me, love it or... oh, you love it!" Andy Haynes has come a long way in the past year. Lizzy is really starting to make serious strides as a performer. Peter Greyy’s diligence is always impressive. I don’t know how he does it every night.
What's are some of your favorite moments from this year's competition so far?
I got to see my best friend Russ and his wife Katie the night of the Longview show. That’s always a good time. Seeing my buddy Dave in Bellingham after 10 years. And Darren Frost’s full-blown Darren Frost set in Bellingham. It was gorgeous in a Grace Jones kind of way.
Lizzy Pilcher, Andy Haynes, Kyle Harbert, and Leif Skyving. I'd heard of Leif but never saw him. Great comic, great guy. Kyle just went for it and said "This is me, love it or... oh, you love it!" Andy Haynes has come a long way in the past year. Lizzy is really starting to make serious strides as a performer. Peter Greyy’s diligence is always impressive. I don’t know how he does it every night.
What's are some of your favorite moments from this year's competition so far?
I got to see my best friend Russ and his wife Katie the night of the Longview show. That’s always a good time. Seeing my buddy Dave in Bellingham after 10 years. And Darren Frost’s full-blown Darren Frost set in Bellingham. It was gorgeous in a Grace Jones kind of way.
And the worst moment?
Probably the Bellingham night, and that wasn't that bad. Personally, I should have handled it from the stage without all of the spitting and throwing of things.
--the final question--
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
Because 9 other fantastic comics will be there, also. I'll be about 10% of the show, by my calculations, and will do the same thing I've always done. But waaaaaaaay better There's such a diverse group of comics in it this year, everyone will go home happy.
Update on Lamont Ferguson
The announced host of Preliminary Week One of the 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition was 2005 Champion Lamont Ferguson, but Lamont came down with a mysterious illness and was not able to participate.
Lamont is back home in San Diego now, recovering and he sent the following message to explain what exactly happened.
Lamont is back home in San Diego now, recovering and he sent the following message to explain what exactly happened.
As I was on my way up to throw down the funny, and class up the place--which would have included wearing a tux on opening night. On Tuesday, as I was going through Oregon, I had an odd dizzy feeling. Ignoring it, I continued to drive for a little until the dizzying was accompanied by nausea and then a severe case of vertigo.
I managed to pull off the road and park in a neighborhood (which I'm still not sure where.) The spinning and nausea led to a very scary, uncomfortable 2.5 hours being trapped in my car, while all sorts of unpleasant things were occurring to my body. It was only stopped by a sudden burst of adrenalin brought on by being startled by one of the neighbors coming out of their home.
I managed to drive into Springfield (stopping every 100 meters to be violently ill.) Found a motel, checked in, and then stayed until I was marginally strong enough to make the trip back home.
The ailment--"A perfect storm"--The flu, high blood pressure and a viral illness called labyrinthtitis--the latter from which I am still trying to recover--a delightful dizziness that is only relieved in the supine position. Should be another couple of weeks before it's completely gone.
So there you have it. In short, I got really sick. Thanks to all for the kind words and concerns. I am well and on the way back to full crankiness, and perhaps even crankier than before! Can that be possible?
Best of luck to all competitors.
Lamont Ferguson
And, I'm sure everyone involved with the competition wish Lamont a speedy recovery as well.
SICC: Preliminary Week One--Night Four
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week Two--Night Four
November 9, 2007
Admiral Theater, West Seattle
UPDATED TOP 5 ON 11/11/07
And, the revised top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Tony Boswell.
Fourth place--Brian Dowell.
Third place--Randy Liedtke.
Second place--Marcus.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Andy Peters.
(L-R: Brian Dowell, Tony Boswell, Randy Liedtke, Andy Peters, Marcus, Gabriel Rutledge)
NEXT SHOW: SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10th, Preliminary Week Two-Show Five takes place at the New Everett Theater in Everett. Showtime is 8pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Preliminary Week Two--Night Four
November 9, 2007
Admiral Theater, West Seattle
UPDATED TOP 5 ON 11/11/07
And, the revised top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Tony Boswell.
Fourth place--Brian Dowell.
Third place--Randy Liedtke.
Second place--Marcus.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Andy Peters.
(L-R: Brian Dowell, Tony Boswell, Randy Liedtke, Andy Peters, Marcus, Gabriel Rutledge)NEXT SHOW: SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10th, Preliminary Week Two-Show Five takes place at the New Everett Theater in Everett. Showtime is 8pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Friday, November 09, 2007
Looking for more images from SICC28?
While I'm doing my best to cover the competition in my own meager way on the SeattleComedy.net News Flickr page that is linked at the bottom of every night's report--you may be more impressed by the work of that adorable chronicler of all things related to Seattle comedy, headshot taker to the future stars and quite a promising comedian in her own right...Heather Christianson.
Heather has posted some photos from the last night of Preliminary Week One and the first night of Preliminary Week Two on her own Flickr page...and she was at Chop Suey for Preliminary Week Two-Show Two taking pictures as well.
Here's the link: Heather Christianson's SICC photos
Heather has posted some photos from the last night of Preliminary Week One and the first night of Preliminary Week Two on her own Flickr page...and she was at Chop Suey for Preliminary Week Two-Show Two taking pictures as well.
Here's the link: Heather Christianson's SICC photos
Meet a SICC28 Semi-Finalist: Leif Skyving
Time to get to know another one of this year's Seattle International Comedy Competition Semi-Finalists.
With consistent top five finishes and a mean blues harmonica wail, our next semi-finalist pieced together the scores to lock him into second place for Preliminary Week One. You might have seen him perform as Curt Sudden, but, officially, he's LEIF SKYVING.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"
w/Leif Skyving
--background--
How old are you?
52
What's your hometown?
Born in Stockholm Sweden. Came to L.A. at age 11. Caldwell Idaho for the past 14 years.
Did you start doing comedy in your hometown?
I started in L.A. First time up was at the Comedy Store, after that, I built my virgin act at the L.A. Cabaret on Ventura Boulevard.
Did you move to where you live now for comedy?
NO! Caldwell, Idaho is NOT the place to move if you are making a career move in comedy. I met my wife there 14 years ago at a Tribble gig. I was living in Vegas at the time, she was two months pregnant when we met. Yeah, you heard me.
And, she promised to live with me wherever I wanted after the baby was born. I moved up to be with her, then decided I liked Caldwell. She has a great family there and it's a great place to raise kids. Also, it reminds me a lot more of my childhood in Sweden than L.A. does.
Follow up question, if you moved for comedy--what were you looking for in moving where you did?
I just told you I DIDN'T move for comedy. Aren't you listening? I moved because I met and fell in love with my wife!
How long have you been doing comedy?
52 years.
Seriously, I've made a living at it for 17 years now.
With consistent top five finishes and a mean blues harmonica wail, our next semi-finalist pieced together the scores to lock him into second place for Preliminary Week One. You might have seen him perform as Curt Sudden, but, officially, he's LEIF SKYVING.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"w/Leif Skyving
--background--
How old are you?
52
What's your hometown?
Born in Stockholm Sweden. Came to L.A. at age 11. Caldwell Idaho for the past 14 years.
Did you start doing comedy in your hometown?
I started in L.A. First time up was at the Comedy Store, after that, I built my virgin act at the L.A. Cabaret on Ventura Boulevard.
Did you move to where you live now for comedy?
NO! Caldwell, Idaho is NOT the place to move if you are making a career move in comedy. I met my wife there 14 years ago at a Tribble gig. I was living in Vegas at the time, she was two months pregnant when we met. Yeah, you heard me.
And, she promised to live with me wherever I wanted after the baby was born. I moved up to be with her, then decided I liked Caldwell. She has a great family there and it's a great place to raise kids. Also, it reminds me a lot more of my childhood in Sweden than L.A. does.
Follow up question, if you moved for comedy--what were you looking for in moving where you did?
I just told you I DIDN'T move for comedy. Aren't you listening? I moved because I met and fell in love with my wife!
How long have you been doing comedy?
52 years.
Seriously, I've made a living at it for 17 years now.
Are you a full time comic?
Like I said, I'VE MADE A LIVING AT IT FOR 17 YEARS NOW! Are you high?
What did you do before?
The last work I did before comedy was in the taxi business in L.A. Before that, lots of odd jobs, warehouse work, delivery service driver, short order cook, retail sales, even a short stint in the merchant marines.
What was your first comedy performance like?
THE COMEDY STORE, Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood California. It was a real shocker. I wrote my 5 minutes of material the night before. I thought that was how it was done and that I would kill. I had never been on stage before and had no idea.
Somehow, I ended up going on in prime time in front of a full house. Ten minutes before I went up, I suddenly became so nervous, I couldn't remember anything I'd written. At least, not in the order I had written it, and when I hit the stage, the blinding lights threw me into another dimension. One that I was not comfortable in.
I stumbled toward the microphone and proceeded to spit out bits and pieces of what I could remember. There was not a sound from the crowd until late in my set when the comics in the back of the room started heckling me. I had heard the expression "flop sweat" but didn't really know exactly what it meant until that moment.
It was about six months before I got back on stage and tried it again.
--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
First and foremost, my friend Mark's mom's Bill Cosby albums.
After that, it was watching whoever Johnny Carson, Steve Allen or Dick Cavett would have on their shows.
What made you decide to try it yourself?
I was learning to become a radio DJ in L.A. and one of the guys in the workshop told me that he did stand up on open mic night at the Comedy Store. I had no idea that people could do that.
I'd always loved listening to others do stand up and knew I had a knack for making people laugh, so actually doing it myself sounded really exciting.
Did any performer directly inspire you to become the kind of comedian you are?
No one specifically.
Are there any current performers who inspire you?
I'm inspired by any comic that is brave, original and funny.
Do you have any other major interests?
Titties.
Do those interests inform your comedy?
Uh, yeah...sort of...
Is stand-up your ultimate career goal?
Stand up is my primary career goal. I suppose film making and/or scriptwriting would be fun if the opportunity arose.
BTW, I do have a really funny and original script if anyone is interested.
At the peak of your career, if everything goes the way you want, what are you doing?
Ehr...my wife might read this, so I'd rather not say.
--this competition--
Any overall thoughts about your experience in Preliminary Week One?
I had a lot of fun seeing and hanging out with a bunch of comics that I just met and that I normally don't get to see.
What do you know now that you didn't know before the competition began?
That it was possible to go from 12th place to 5th in one night.
Knowing what you know now, would you still have signed on for all of this?
Absolutely.
I love the camaraderie and the competition aspect. It's really a challenge to hone your act to a tight, short set and do it under pressure.
What do you think the key to your moving on to the finals will be?
Making it into the Top 5.
How will having competed in this competition impact your comedy or your career?
Meeting people. "Networking." Making friends.
Learning how to do that really tight 5 minutes.
Over the course of the week, did anyone impress you?
Andy Haynes, having a killer set the last night of the prelims to move from 12th to 5th place.
Kyle Harbert going balls out and winning three out of six.
And, Mike "Wally" Walter, keeping the energy and positive spirit going strong night after night.
Best memory of the competition so far?
Darren Frost snapping in Bellingham.
Worst memory of the competition so far?
Darren Frost snapping in Bellingham.
--the final question--
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
Because, if you liked Curt Sudden doing 5 minutes, you'll like him twice as much doing 10!
SICC: Preliminary Week Two--Night Three
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week Two--Night Three
November 8, 2007
Paradise Village Bowl & Lounge, Parkland
Competitor Review-----
Full Reviews To Come, in the meantime, here are some quick takes to tide you over...
MARTHA MARION--(quick take to come)
GENE RENFROE--(quick take to come)
MARCUS--(quick take to come)
ALLYSON SMITH--(quick take to come)
DEREK SHEEN--(quick take to come)
KEVIN RICHARDS--(quick take to come)
ANDREW SLEIGHTER--Second night in a row Andrew has followed Kevin. Tonight proved more difficult. Somehow, Andrew is coming across as really bitter and mean in his jokes tonight...to the point where people aren't laughing at that much at him. These jokes are still as strong as anyone's, and he's delivering them well, they're just not connecting with this audience at this time. Gabriel gave him a mercy point.
TONY BOSWELL--Tony, in talking about how bitter and cynical he is, admitted that he hated half of the people in the room. "That means, I hate eleven people." Sadly, that was mathematically accurate. His smart and cynical approach wasn't working quite as well as it had at the Comedy Underground, but he was getting solid laughs throughout and they really loved his chunk on pot. Where, astonishingly, he lost them...is on his closing "Holiday Inn argument" run. It seems inconceivable that this bet wouldn't work--but I think the audience was more sensitive than anyone imagined regarding men talking about women...and, if Andrew Sleighter came across as mean, so did Tony. Gabriel gave him the encore point, despite Tony's closing bit falling flat.
JUSTIN MCCLURE--Justin, tempting fate like no other performer this week, opens with material about racism and about Mexican bankrobbers. The Mexican bankrobbers bit worked well at Chop Suey last night, but tonight it did well until it died at the end. He got 'em back with a Jerry Springer alarm clock and then went back to talking about racism with the Grand Wizard Inn material. He found much more fertile ground by talking about what age people give up on fashion--and he rode that all the way to what looked like a huge encore point cheer until he said that he thought that the everyone in the room looked like the type to wear the kind of clothes he was shitting on. Without that likability or the momentum he just squandered, Justin tried to close by going dirty and that didn't get them back. Justin ended up with a mercy point instead of a truly earned encore point.
JEREMY GREENBERG--In between performers, a guy in the front row started yelling about Wal-Mart for no reason. Gabriel worked hard to calm him down. Jeremy opened by bringing it back up again and engaging the guy. Interesting tactic, that. His opening bit about kids and pets dying early froze the crowd...again. He won them back on his "dog on meth" material. They're treaing him ok and they're paying some attention to him, but he's not getting that many out-loud laughs. Wouldn't be bad as a regular show set, but deadly in a competition like this... That said, they laughed as his closer, about how the US should buy Mexico as a fixer-upper and make a home improvement tv show about it saved Gabriel from a real test of how merciful he'd be in handing out encore points. Gabriel gave Jeremy the point.
ANDY PETERS--Andy started his set by stealing the onion ring that the middle table was saving for Gabriel. Andy had the audience at his hyperactive energy level for the first two minutes, but the crowd seemed incapable of keeping that up...and they started to slow up and quiet down. Luckily, Andy caught that wave and slowed himself down to match their ability to meet his energy level and still got his laughs. Good call to jump ahead a little bit in his closing chunk to get to the good stuff quicker. Totally earned a real encore point tonight.
BRIAN DOWELL--Brian is not overly concerned about coming across as likable. He's like one of those National Weather Service planes that flights right towards the eye of the hurricane, because that's where the fun is... He even took on the guy that's been talking all the way through the show to humorous result. Did some jokes regarding homophobia towards the end--jokes that would not have worked in Seattle, proper, but did just fine in Parkland. Earned encore point.
RANDY LIEDTKE--Self-described "2nd big scary guy in a row" won over some of the crowd, but it's a bad time in a long show in front of a worn out audience to do slow-paced, clever jokes. Crowd was sensitive to his material about "tards." Still sex sells and topless Randy earned his encore point.
DT OWENS--Got an applause break on his "child pornographer or Republican" bit. Maybe that inspired him to do his political stuff--but this club, so close to Fort Lewis, didn't want to hear jokes about what's going on in Iraq. He won them back over by switching back to discussing racial stereotypes. Earned encore point.
NICK HOFF--Nick seemed to be on the same rails that have done him well in the first two nights and it was working just fine, despite the audience's flagging attention levels...but Nick got distracted by the middle aged couple making out in the front row. These are the same people that have been talking back to the comics for no good reason through-out the entire show. He got laughs in pointing them out, but he didn't feel confident in going back to his act. At one time, Nick asked "Anyone know any good jokes?" He wasn't doing nearly as bad as I think he thought he was. Earned his encore point.
RUBEN BARRON--"I heard you, throughout the whole show laughing at all of those Mexican jokes...thinking that there weren't any of us here. Trust me, we're EVERYWHERE!!!" I didn't completely understand the very last line of his set about eating some meat after the show, but other than that, everything he did tonight was everything this crowd wanted from a comic. He messed with someone in the audience, he involved them in all of his jokes and his tricks, and he was compelling throughout. Nice set, Ruben. Earned huge encore point cheer.
(THIS REPORT IS BEING POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Kevin Richards.
Fourth place--Allyson Smith.
Third place--Marcus.
Second place--Ruben Barron.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Andy Peters.
(L-R: Kevin Richards, Andy Peters, Allyson Smith, Ruben Barron, Marcus, Gabriel Rutledge )
NEXT SHOW: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 9th, Preliminary Week Two-Show Four takes place at the Admiral Theater in West Seattle. Yes, the Admiral MOVIE Theater which has been renovated to begin offering live theater shows, including our comedy show. Tickets are still available and we'd love to see you there to see this great show--show time, 8:30pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Preliminary Week Two--Night Three
November 8, 2007
Paradise Village Bowl & Lounge, Parkland
Competitor Review-----
Full Reviews To Come, in the meantime, here are some quick takes to tide you over...
MARTHA MARION--(quick take to come)
GENE RENFROE--(quick take to come)
MARCUS--(quick take to come)
ALLYSON SMITH--(quick take to come)
DEREK SHEEN--(quick take to come)
KEVIN RICHARDS--(quick take to come)
ANDREW SLEIGHTER--Second night in a row Andrew has followed Kevin. Tonight proved more difficult. Somehow, Andrew is coming across as really bitter and mean in his jokes tonight...to the point where people aren't laughing at that much at him. These jokes are still as strong as anyone's, and he's delivering them well, they're just not connecting with this audience at this time. Gabriel gave him a mercy point.
TONY BOSWELL--Tony, in talking about how bitter and cynical he is, admitted that he hated half of the people in the room. "That means, I hate eleven people." Sadly, that was mathematically accurate. His smart and cynical approach wasn't working quite as well as it had at the Comedy Underground, but he was getting solid laughs throughout and they really loved his chunk on pot. Where, astonishingly, he lost them...is on his closing "Holiday Inn argument" run. It seems inconceivable that this bet wouldn't work--but I think the audience was more sensitive than anyone imagined regarding men talking about women...and, if Andrew Sleighter came across as mean, so did Tony. Gabriel gave him the encore point, despite Tony's closing bit falling flat.
JUSTIN MCCLURE--Justin, tempting fate like no other performer this week, opens with material about racism and about Mexican bankrobbers. The Mexican bankrobbers bit worked well at Chop Suey last night, but tonight it did well until it died at the end. He got 'em back with a Jerry Springer alarm clock and then went back to talking about racism with the Grand Wizard Inn material. He found much more fertile ground by talking about what age people give up on fashion--and he rode that all the way to what looked like a huge encore point cheer until he said that he thought that the everyone in the room looked like the type to wear the kind of clothes he was shitting on. Without that likability or the momentum he just squandered, Justin tried to close by going dirty and that didn't get them back. Justin ended up with a mercy point instead of a truly earned encore point.
JEREMY GREENBERG--In between performers, a guy in the front row started yelling about Wal-Mart for no reason. Gabriel worked hard to calm him down. Jeremy opened by bringing it back up again and engaging the guy. Interesting tactic, that. His opening bit about kids and pets dying early froze the crowd...again. He won them back on his "dog on meth" material. They're treaing him ok and they're paying some attention to him, but he's not getting that many out-loud laughs. Wouldn't be bad as a regular show set, but deadly in a competition like this... That said, they laughed as his closer, about how the US should buy Mexico as a fixer-upper and make a home improvement tv show about it saved Gabriel from a real test of how merciful he'd be in handing out encore points. Gabriel gave Jeremy the point.
ANDY PETERS--Andy started his set by stealing the onion ring that the middle table was saving for Gabriel. Andy had the audience at his hyperactive energy level for the first two minutes, but the crowd seemed incapable of keeping that up...and they started to slow up and quiet down. Luckily, Andy caught that wave and slowed himself down to match their ability to meet his energy level and still got his laughs. Good call to jump ahead a little bit in his closing chunk to get to the good stuff quicker. Totally earned a real encore point tonight.
BRIAN DOWELL--Brian is not overly concerned about coming across as likable. He's like one of those National Weather Service planes that flights right towards the eye of the hurricane, because that's where the fun is... He even took on the guy that's been talking all the way through the show to humorous result. Did some jokes regarding homophobia towards the end--jokes that would not have worked in Seattle, proper, but did just fine in Parkland. Earned encore point.
RANDY LIEDTKE--Self-described "2nd big scary guy in a row" won over some of the crowd, but it's a bad time in a long show in front of a worn out audience to do slow-paced, clever jokes. Crowd was sensitive to his material about "tards." Still sex sells and topless Randy earned his encore point.
DT OWENS--Got an applause break on his "child pornographer or Republican" bit. Maybe that inspired him to do his political stuff--but this club, so close to Fort Lewis, didn't want to hear jokes about what's going on in Iraq. He won them back over by switching back to discussing racial stereotypes. Earned encore point.
NICK HOFF--Nick seemed to be on the same rails that have done him well in the first two nights and it was working just fine, despite the audience's flagging attention levels...but Nick got distracted by the middle aged couple making out in the front row. These are the same people that have been talking back to the comics for no good reason through-out the entire show. He got laughs in pointing them out, but he didn't feel confident in going back to his act. At one time, Nick asked "Anyone know any good jokes?" He wasn't doing nearly as bad as I think he thought he was. Earned his encore point.
RUBEN BARRON--"I heard you, throughout the whole show laughing at all of those Mexican jokes...thinking that there weren't any of us here. Trust me, we're EVERYWHERE!!!" I didn't completely understand the very last line of his set about eating some meat after the show, but other than that, everything he did tonight was everything this crowd wanted from a comic. He messed with someone in the audience, he involved them in all of his jokes and his tricks, and he was compelling throughout. Nice set, Ruben. Earned huge encore point cheer.
(THIS REPORT IS BEING POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And, the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Kevin Richards.
Fourth place--Allyson Smith.
Third place--Marcus.
Second place--Ruben Barron.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Andy Peters.
(L-R: Kevin Richards, Andy Peters, Allyson Smith, Ruben Barron, Marcus, Gabriel Rutledge )NEXT SHOW: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 9th, Preliminary Week Two-Show Four takes place at the Admiral Theater in West Seattle. Yes, the Admiral MOVIE Theater which has been renovated to begin offering live theater shows, including our comedy show. Tickets are still available and we'd love to see you there to see this great show--show time, 8:30pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Meet a SICC28 Semi-Finalist: KYLE HARBERT
While we're deep in the middle of Preliminary Week Two, let's take just a moment to get to know one of this year's Seattle International Comedy Competition Semi-Finalists.
Let's start with the man who took first place in three straight nights of Preliminary Week One and ended the week in the top position. Let's start with KYLE HARBERT.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"
w/Kyle Harbert
--background--
How old are you?
26
Let's start with the man who took first place in three straight nights of Preliminary Week One and ended the week in the top position. Let's start with KYLE HARBERT.
SeattleComedy.net's "Interview by E-Mail"
w/Kyle Harbert
--background--
How old are you?
26
What is your hometown?
Myrtle Point, Oregon
Did you start doing comedy there?
Nope. I started doing comedy in Corvallis, Oregon during college.
Where are you living now?
Portland, OregonHow long have you been doing comedy?
Steadily for 3 years.
Are you a full time comic?
No.
Then, what DO you do?
What was your first comedy performance?
The Library Lounge (a bar) in Corvallis Oregon…that has since been demolished. The adjoining Jason Inn where Donna Richards put the comics up was on the short for the shittiest place comics stayed for a gig.--inspirations--
What are your first memories of stand-up comedy?
My dad’s Bill Cosby records.
What made you decide to try it yourself?
Hah! The first comedy show I ever saw live…which incidentally was none other than James Inman. “What!? You can talk shit about the government and go crazy? I’m in!”
Who inspired you to become the kind of comedian you are?
Nobody really. I’m a dickhead naturally.
Are there current performers who excite and/or inspire you...and who are they?
I don’t watch TV so all the comedy I see is live or downloaded. Stanhope’s always a fave. I saw a guy named Dean Evans a while back who is totally unknown but fucking awesome. I think if I made a living as a comedian I’d end up sounding a lot like Dean.
Do you have other major interests?
I read a lot of news. I’ve been paying very close attention to international finance lately.
Do those interests inform your comedy?
Not really. Its all to complicated to talk about.
Is stand-up comedy your ultimate career goal?
My comedy pisses people off, so its going to a hard road making a living at it…especially since you won’t be able to buy gas (at any price) soon. I’d like to retire to it.
At the peak of your career, you'll be...?
--this competition--
Overall, what did you think about your experience in your preliminary week?
As the ‘red shirt freshman’ of the bunch I’m pretty stoked to be in the semi’s. I was a total unknown to Ron Reid and Jon Fox, and got into the contest by auditioning for Ron at the Underground open mic the weekend of Bumbershoot.
I was also an unknown to most of the Seattle community before my friend Richard Bain scored me spot with the Laff Hole gang in October. Going into the competition, my goal was just to make it to the semi’s…I figured the finals was really unlikely. Now that I’ve done so well it looks like I may be able to make the finals after all...nevertheless Peter, I'd still have your "flash in the pan" quips on hot-stand-by. :)
What do you know now that you didn't know before the competition started?
Antique collectors in Edmonds like politicized butt-fucking jokes a lot more than you might imagine.
Knowing what you know now, would you still have entered the competition?
Fuck yeah, it’s been awesome.
What do you think will be the key to your moving on to the finals?
Beating 5 of the competitors. Looking at the week 2 people it will be really tough. Wally talked up Tony a lot, Andy Peters is my pick to win and judging by his MySpace, Marcus is damn good at voices. I'm looking forward to some insane theater shows.
How might having participated in this competition impact your comedy and/or your comedy career?
If I'm lucky I might get to skip the Tribble-run rung on the comedy ladder. Country folk don’t dig me so much…I’d like to work in the city.
What other competitors impressed you with their efforts in the competition?
Geoff Lott and Rodger Lizaola. I’m pissed Rodger didn’t make the semi’s. I wanted to hear more of his stuff.
Best memory of this year's competition so far?
Getting the first #1 place at Gordons on the Green. After that I knew I could hack it.
And the worst moment?
--the final question--
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
Why should someone come see you perform your comedy in the semi-finals of this competition?
I’m going to rip on as much stuff as I can in 10 minutes.
SICC: Preliminary Week Two--Night Two
Whoa, oh, oh...
It's Magic!
You know.
Never believe it's not so.
--"Magic" by Pilot
The People's Republic of Komedy have changed the shape and nature of how stand-up comedy is viewed in Seattle...and how the rest of the world views the comedy that's coming out of Seattle.
There may be some who feel either left off that particular boat or capsized it its wake--and there are those who may have cause to feel that the voyages of their own seaworthy vessel are worthy of at least as much attention--but there's no denying what the PRoK have accomplished in the short amount of time they've been producing shows and influencing the direction of crop after crop of exciting new comedy talents.
They've taken raw materials, and with their hard work and artistic vision, they've sculpted a scene, nurtured an audience and they've opened eyes to the promise of Seattle comedy in the minds of the local media and comedy fans across the country.
And on this November night, the 28th Annual Seattle Comedy Competition was coming to the home of Laff*Hole, the PRoK's flagship show--Chop Suey on Capitol Hill in Seattle. Normally, Chop Suey is home to an extremely well booked calendar of indie-rock and dj'd shows--but once a week, on Wednesdays, Chop Suey becomes home to all things alt-comedy in Seattle.
Laff*Hole at Chop Suey, Wednesdays at 10pm.
And here, the competition was...at Chop Suey...on Wednesday...
With a showtime of 9pm.
To quote a million hacky comics, evidently someone didn't get the memo...because at 9pm...there wasn't much of a crowd to see the sixteen hopefuls in Preliminary Week Two...
Perhaps this truly WOULD be a night of alt-comedy--as in "an alternative to comedy"--by simply having our competitors saying jokes in an empty room?
Or, then again, maybe we could just wait a half hour or so...
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week Two--Night Two
November 7, 2007
Chop Suey, Seattle
Competitor Review-----
Full Reviews To Come, in the meantime, here are some quick takes to tide you over...
RANDY LIEDTKE--Being fairly new to stand-up and having a slow paced, dead pan style makes it harder for him than most to succeed in the bullet spot. He's so different. "Laugh at me, I'm funny." Earned encore point.
TONY BOSWELL--His material on pot did well. His Holiday Inn closer drew laughs all the way up until close. Still, somehow he barely got enough cheers for an encore point. It could be a long night.
BRIAN DOWELL--Brave of him to do a set about hating music and musicians in a club known for music and musicians. Made it work by showing shared knowledge of music and turning it on himself . Earned encore point.
RUBEN BARRON--He's trying to pump up a rather disinterested crowd by doing some magic that is funny in being somewhat unimpressive. Yet, by the end of the "balls" bit, he's won the crowd over. Earned encore point.
ANDY PETERS--"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!" Is Andy too much for this audience at this time? No--as they're even laughing at him laughing at himself. "Masturbate about Sue" got an applause break. Earned a big encore cheer and the point. Should be tough to beat based on what this rather thin crowd is proving to be like.
KEVIN RICHARDS--After Andy's insane energy, everyone seemed to start talking just as Kevin took the stage. However, by the time he got to the "used bow & arrow" part of his "second hand store" opening joke, he'd gotten their attention with little more than a good joke. He reformed the audience to get him on his energy level--nice work. Earned encore point.
ANDREW SLEIGHTER--Strong and compelling work at the beginning--for no technical reason on his part, he lost momentum with the audience. It was like they just checked out on their own. "I can't possibly be as unfunny as your novelty panties." Earned encore point--but it was such an odd audience reaction.
DT OWENS--Couldn't connect with this audience the same way that he did the previous show. His smart bomb joke got some boos. Got 'em back for his "Crazy 'Bout a Ford Truck" closer only to lose them on the "watermelon" topper. Tried to save it by going to another joke and went over his time and that's a penalty. There were still a couple of boos when Gabriel gave him a merciful encore point.
JEREMY GREENBERG--When he moved from general topics to more personal concerns, he got the audience's full attention. Got unnecessary "oohs" on "tooth fairy is hooker training" joke--and Jeremy tends to work best with audiences who don't mind having their buttons pushed far harder than that. He came close to not getting his encore point...but did, in fact, get it.
GENE RENFROE--Got his own unecessary "oohs" for his "starter brother" joke, but won them back with the "Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince" self-describer. Smart to close on his "car smelling like pot" bit. Earned encore point.
ALLYSON SMITH--Her brownie badges bit rocked. Her diary bit rocked. Her bit about the creepy guy taking high school photos rocked. Great set--would have done great during a normal Laff*Hole, too. Earned herself a big encore point cheer and the point that goes with it.
DEREK SHEEN--This crowd, growing larger and more Laff*Hole-y with every performer, LOVED his opening bit involving letters written to him by special needs kids that saw him do his open mic set. It was everything that Seattle loves about alt-comedy. Then, just as quickly, they shut down on his extended bit about the term "idiot-savant." Then, he got them all back for a sensitive swerve bit about condomless sex. This schizophrenic set got a huge applause break and an encore point.
NICK HOFF--STILL young looking. Eat THAT, Hoff! Got good laughs throughout, and even worked his way through some needless sensitivity moments midway through. Earned encore point.
JUSTIN MCCLURE--Justin goes so fast that he sometimes gets tripped over some tricky combinations of words. His delivery style totally reminds me of when Mitch Hedberg's last tour, when Mitch seemed like he was tweaking instead of being blunted... Risked a lot by doing Mexican Bankrobber bit...and he powered through this audience's sensitivity and sold the bit all the way until the end, and the power of that bit was undeniable. Was about to go dirty at the end, audience didn't like it. Veered away from it, didn't quite recover. Gabriel gave him a mercy point.
MARTHA MARION--Martha went one joke too far--as she had a great closer in her sexually inappropriate grandma...but then the inappropriately racist grandma topper didn't completely work with this oddly sensitive crowd. Still, her scattery energy would do well on normal Laff*Hole shows here (as they'd love the 70's retro pubic hair stuff) and she earned her encore point.
MARCUS--Opening with a joke about loving Pearl Jam in a Seattle rock venue could have been like wearing a t-shirt of your favorite band to a concert by that same band...something that seemed right but turned out to be considered uncool...but, this crowd wasn't as interested in being cool, the way I thought they'd be. Other than more sensitivity to a stray comment like calling "Umbrella" a "gay ass song"--this crowd truly warmed up to Marcus with his intense knowledge of the Bowie/Connelly/Oz classic "Labyrinth" movie. Big encore point cheer.
(THIS REPORT IS BEING POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
While the scores were totaled up, the Chop Suey faithful were surprised with a special treat--a drop-in stall set performance by Invite Them Up co-founder Eugene Mirman. Eugene's been a strong influence on the new breed of comedians who are helping Seattle's comedy scene make a name for itself and it was good to see him work the Chop Suey stage. You'd think that there'd be some "comedy fatigue" setting in for the audience after such a long competition show, but Eugene not only kept and held their flagging attention...but he delivered a strong, confident set that was a definite highlight of the night.
Give Eugene his encore point. Despite getting into a bizarre conversation with an audience member that turned into a detailed depiction of cats raping people, no one could argue that he earned an encore point tonight.
With Eugene having put smiles on everyone's face, it was time for Gabriel came back to the stage to bring the top 5 competitors back to the stage. Would those smiles stay on everyone's faces? Well...you'd think that it would for at least five of them...but that wasn't true, tonight.
The top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Martha Marion.
Fourth place--Allyson Smith.
Third place--Marcus.
Second place--Nick Hoff.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Ruben Barron.
(L-R: Gabriel Rutledge, Nick Hoff, Martha Marion, Allyson Smith, Marcus. Not pictured: Ruben Barron)
Unfortunately--and perhaps this had something to do with the mathematical nightmare he was caught in the night before at Comedy Underground, but hopefully it was just because he had to pick someone up at the airport--Ruben Barron was not available to earn his props when he was announced as the nightly winner. It was weird--it was like "poof" and he'd disappeared. (Except that I saw him calmly walking across away from the club and through the Bank of America parking lot during the intermission, so it wasn't "poof" or anything like that.)
I'd never have guessed that a traditionally developed act like Ruben's would do so well in the home of Seattle's alt-comedy scene, which is also a trendy, hipster, indie rock bar in the heart of Seattle's gay community. But, his act has been battle tested to work with everyone...and he did close strong tonight. While I didn't have Ruben winning tonight, that wasn't the biggest surprise of the night.
Biggest surprise of the night, for me, was in Andy Peters not making the top five. I thought he'd nailed it--I even had him as a potential #1 finisher for the night. After two straight nights IN SEATTLE of not making the top five, he'd have to earn his way into a return to the semi-finals on the road, where anything can happen.
NEXT SHOW: THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8th, Preliminary Week Two-Show Three takes place at Paradise Village Bowl & Lounge in Tacoma--show time, 8pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
It's Magic!
You know.
Never believe it's not so.
--"Magic" by Pilot
The People's Republic of Komedy have changed the shape and nature of how stand-up comedy is viewed in Seattle...and how the rest of the world views the comedy that's coming out of Seattle.
There may be some who feel either left off that particular boat or capsized it its wake--and there are those who may have cause to feel that the voyages of their own seaworthy vessel are worthy of at least as much attention--but there's no denying what the PRoK have accomplished in the short amount of time they've been producing shows and influencing the direction of crop after crop of exciting new comedy talents.
They've taken raw materials, and with their hard work and artistic vision, they've sculpted a scene, nurtured an audience and they've opened eyes to the promise of Seattle comedy in the minds of the local media and comedy fans across the country.
And on this November night, the 28th Annual Seattle Comedy Competition was coming to the home of Laff*Hole, the PRoK's flagship show--Chop Suey on Capitol Hill in Seattle. Normally, Chop Suey is home to an extremely well booked calendar of indie-rock and dj'd shows--but once a week, on Wednesdays, Chop Suey becomes home to all things alt-comedy in Seattle.Laff*Hole at Chop Suey, Wednesdays at 10pm.
And here, the competition was...at Chop Suey...on Wednesday...
With a showtime of 9pm.
To quote a million hacky comics, evidently someone didn't get the memo...because at 9pm...there wasn't much of a crowd to see the sixteen hopefuls in Preliminary Week Two...
Perhaps this truly WOULD be a night of alt-comedy--as in "an alternative to comedy"--by simply having our competitors saying jokes in an empty room?
Or, then again, maybe we could just wait a half hour or so...
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week Two--Night Two
November 7, 2007
Chop Suey, Seattle
Competitor Review-----
Full Reviews To Come, in the meantime, here are some quick takes to tide you over...
RANDY LIEDTKE--Being fairly new to stand-up and having a slow paced, dead pan style makes it harder for him than most to succeed in the bullet spot. He's so different. "Laugh at me, I'm funny." Earned encore point.
TONY BOSWELL--His material on pot did well. His Holiday Inn closer drew laughs all the way up until close. Still, somehow he barely got enough cheers for an encore point. It could be a long night.
BRIAN DOWELL--Brave of him to do a set about hating music and musicians in a club known for music and musicians. Made it work by showing shared knowledge of music and turning it on himself . Earned encore point.
RUBEN BARRON--He's trying to pump up a rather disinterested crowd by doing some magic that is funny in being somewhat unimpressive. Yet, by the end of the "balls" bit, he's won the crowd over. Earned encore point.
ANDY PETERS--"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!" Is Andy too much for this audience at this time? No--as they're even laughing at him laughing at himself. "Masturbate about Sue" got an applause break. Earned a big encore cheer and the point. Should be tough to beat based on what this rather thin crowd is proving to be like.
KEVIN RICHARDS--After Andy's insane energy, everyone seemed to start talking just as Kevin took the stage. However, by the time he got to the "used bow & arrow" part of his "second hand store" opening joke, he'd gotten their attention with little more than a good joke. He reformed the audience to get him on his energy level--nice work. Earned encore point.
ANDREW SLEIGHTER--Strong and compelling work at the beginning--for no technical reason on his part, he lost momentum with the audience. It was like they just checked out on their own. "I can't possibly be as unfunny as your novelty panties." Earned encore point--but it was such an odd audience reaction.
DT OWENS--Couldn't connect with this audience the same way that he did the previous show. His smart bomb joke got some boos. Got 'em back for his "Crazy 'Bout a Ford Truck" closer only to lose them on the "watermelon" topper. Tried to save it by going to another joke and went over his time and that's a penalty. There were still a couple of boos when Gabriel gave him a merciful encore point.
JEREMY GREENBERG--When he moved from general topics to more personal concerns, he got the audience's full attention. Got unnecessary "oohs" on "tooth fairy is hooker training" joke--and Jeremy tends to work best with audiences who don't mind having their buttons pushed far harder than that. He came close to not getting his encore point...but did, in fact, get it.
GENE RENFROE--Got his own unecessary "oohs" for his "starter brother" joke, but won them back with the "Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince" self-describer. Smart to close on his "car smelling like pot" bit. Earned encore point.
ALLYSON SMITH--Her brownie badges bit rocked. Her diary bit rocked. Her bit about the creepy guy taking high school photos rocked. Great set--would have done great during a normal Laff*Hole, too. Earned herself a big encore point cheer and the point that goes with it.
DEREK SHEEN--This crowd, growing larger and more Laff*Hole-y with every performer, LOVED his opening bit involving letters written to him by special needs kids that saw him do his open mic set. It was everything that Seattle loves about alt-comedy. Then, just as quickly, they shut down on his extended bit about the term "idiot-savant." Then, he got them all back for a sensitive swerve bit about condomless sex. This schizophrenic set got a huge applause break and an encore point.
NICK HOFF--STILL young looking. Eat THAT, Hoff! Got good laughs throughout, and even worked his way through some needless sensitivity moments midway through. Earned encore point.
JUSTIN MCCLURE--Justin goes so fast that he sometimes gets tripped over some tricky combinations of words. His delivery style totally reminds me of when Mitch Hedberg's last tour, when Mitch seemed like he was tweaking instead of being blunted... Risked a lot by doing Mexican Bankrobber bit...and he powered through this audience's sensitivity and sold the bit all the way until the end, and the power of that bit was undeniable. Was about to go dirty at the end, audience didn't like it. Veered away from it, didn't quite recover. Gabriel gave him a mercy point.
MARTHA MARION--Martha went one joke too far--as she had a great closer in her sexually inappropriate grandma...but then the inappropriately racist grandma topper didn't completely work with this oddly sensitive crowd. Still, her scattery energy would do well on normal Laff*Hole shows here (as they'd love the 70's retro pubic hair stuff) and she earned her encore point.
MARCUS--Opening with a joke about loving Pearl Jam in a Seattle rock venue could have been like wearing a t-shirt of your favorite band to a concert by that same band...something that seemed right but turned out to be considered uncool...but, this crowd wasn't as interested in being cool, the way I thought they'd be. Other than more sensitivity to a stray comment like calling "Umbrella" a "gay ass song"--this crowd truly warmed up to Marcus with his intense knowledge of the Bowie/Connelly/Oz classic "Labyrinth" movie. Big encore point cheer.
(THIS REPORT IS BEING POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
While the scores were totaled up, the Chop Suey faithful were surprised with a special treat--a drop-in stall set performance by Invite Them Up co-founder Eugene Mirman. Eugene's been a strong influence on the new breed of comedians who are helping Seattle's comedy scene make a name for itself and it was good to see him work the Chop Suey stage. You'd think that there'd be some "comedy fatigue" setting in for the audience after such a long competition show, but Eugene not only kept and held their flagging attention...but he delivered a strong, confident set that was a definite highlight of the night.
Give Eugene his encore point. Despite getting into a bizarre conversation with an audience member that turned into a detailed depiction of cats raping people, no one could argue that he earned an encore point tonight.
With Eugene having put smiles on everyone's face, it was time for Gabriel came back to the stage to bring the top 5 competitors back to the stage. Would those smiles stay on everyone's faces? Well...you'd think that it would for at least five of them...but that wasn't true, tonight.
The top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Martha Marion.
Fourth place--Allyson Smith.
Third place--Marcus.
Second place--Nick Hoff.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Ruben Barron.
(L-R: Gabriel Rutledge, Nick Hoff, Martha Marion, Allyson Smith, Marcus. Not pictured: Ruben Barron)
Unfortunately--and perhaps this had something to do with the mathematical nightmare he was caught in the night before at Comedy Underground, but hopefully it was just because he had to pick someone up at the airport--Ruben Barron was not available to earn his props when he was announced as the nightly winner. It was weird--it was like "poof" and he'd disappeared. (Except that I saw him calmly walking across away from the club and through the Bank of America parking lot during the intermission, so it wasn't "poof" or anything like that.)
I'd never have guessed that a traditionally developed act like Ruben's would do so well in the home of Seattle's alt-comedy scene, which is also a trendy, hipster, indie rock bar in the heart of Seattle's gay community. But, his act has been battle tested to work with everyone...and he did close strong tonight. While I didn't have Ruben winning tonight, that wasn't the biggest surprise of the night.
Biggest surprise of the night, for me, was in Andy Peters not making the top five. I thought he'd nailed it--I even had him as a potential #1 finisher for the night. After two straight nights IN SEATTLE of not making the top five, he'd have to earn his way into a return to the semi-finals on the road, where anything can happen.
NEXT SHOW: THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8th, Preliminary Week Two-Show Three takes place at Paradise Village Bowl & Lounge in Tacoma--show time, 8pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
If you pay Eugene Mirman one dollar, he will come to your town and play your show.
That's the lesson that I'm taking away from this, anyway...
(Eugene Mirman, 11/7/07 at Chop Suey, Seattle--special guest of the Seattle International Comedy Competition and People's Republic of Komedy)
(Eugene Mirman, 11/7/07 at Chop Suey, Seattle--special guest of the Seattle International Comedy Competition and People's Republic of Komedy)
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
SICC: Preliminary Week Two--Night One
Day after day
I get angry and I will say
That the day is in my sight
When I take a bow
And say goodnight...
--"Add It Up" by Violent Femmes
Sixteen--yes, sixteen--new competitors put themselves into the meat grinder that chews up promising comedians and turns them into sausage.
And, without meaning to...we dulled the blades on them so that it was as painful as possible.
Our bad.
Details to come as work on this report continues.
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week Two--Night One
November 6, 2007
Comedy Underground, Seattle
The start of Preliminary Week Two is always odd, emotionally, for everyone involved. For the competitors, this is their first chance to actually meet the people they'll not only be spending the next six nights with but also be joined in having perfect strangers who will try but fail to objectively judge and compare their very subjective artistic efforts. There's an odd musky scent of hope mixed with panic that permeates the air.
Well, this week starts at the venerable Comedy Underground, so maybe that's not what that smell was...but nevertheless, there's definitely a swirling mess of anticipation and tension for the competitors.
Meanwhile, the production crew has already gone through all of those emotions with the first week...so, I've got to be honest, we tend to look upon the bright-eyed faces of these new calves for the slaughter who are wondering where this traincar ride might end for them with a certain level of benign bemusement.
Tonight, a decent but not overly impressively sized audience for a Tuesday night will set a tone for the week--as people suss out their competition and try to project their place in this brave new world.
Our host for this week is 2004 Seattle International Comedy Competition Champion, Gabriel Rutledge. Gabriel hosted a semi-finals week previous, where he proved that he is a strong host for this competition--he can be funny at the top of the show, so he gives the bullet spot a good, warm room...and he can keep the energy level up throughout the show.
He DOES have a reputation as being a big softy when it comes to dishing out encore points--so, Executive Producer Jon Fox did impress upon him the need to respect the audience's role in the process.
Competitor Review-----
Full Reviews To Come, in the meantime, here are some quick takes to tide you over...
ANDY PETERS--Went up first. He's hyperactive and loud. Earned encore point.
MARTHA MARION--She's fun, sassy and hip. Earned encore point.
TONY BOSWELL--He's smooth, cynical and sly. Earned encore point.
DT OWENS--He's solid and compelling. Earned encore point.
JUSTIN MCCLURE--He was scattered like a shotgun but enough jokes hit the target. Earned encore point.
GENE RENFROE--He's comfortable, experienced and had the may have either confused or offended the crowd when he switched to being dirty at the end. No encore point.
RANDY LIEDTKE--He's dry, awkward and furry. Earned encore point.
NICK HOFF--He's young looking, very expressive and works his material well. Earned encore point.
ALLYSON SMITH--She's smart, confident and strong in how she presents and enhances her material. Earned encore point.
RUBEN BARRON--He did magic and involved the crowd but nearly ran out of time and didn't close as strong as he needed to. No encore point.
BRIAN DOWELL--He's tall, drawling and willing to find the funny in some serious topics.
DEREK SHEEN--He's loud, twisted, and edgy...but he put the audience into a blast furnace they weren't prepared for. No encore point.
MARCUS--He's just as loud as Derek but HIS pop culture references and attitudes found a more common home. He's also heavily tattooed. Earned encore point.
ANDREW SLEIGHTER--He's smooth, smart and funny. He followed two comics who yell and got his laughs. Earned encore point.
KEVIN RICHARDS--He's clever, natural and likable. Earned encore point.
JEREMY GREENBERG--He went up last and suffered due to audience fatigue. No encore point.
(THIS REPORT IS BEING POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
A top five was announced at the end of tonight's show, as always. It surprised some people when Ruben Barron was announced as tonight's fifth place performer--not because people didn't enjoy Ruben's work, but because it didn't make mathematical sense. Ruben was one of four people who did not earn an encore point--it seemed impossible that he beat out other strong performers who had.
After the top five was announced, there was some rumbling and grumbling about the scores and the rankings...and when Gabriel, the host, brought the whole situation to my attention--it became obvious there was a problem. The performer in sixth place had a higher total score than Ruben, who was listed in fifth. All of the computations were done by computer--so, we hadn't doubted the results when we sent them up to be announced...but, unless we want Yul Brenner to chase us to the edges of WestWorld and beyond, we'd better keep a human eye on the machines.
Sure enough, there was a problem...and there was a change in the top 5. Unfortunately, the crowd had gone...as had the moment. Hopefully everyone understands that mistakes sometimes happen...and that nothing was done on purpose to make it awkward for everyone involved.
So, after all of the revised math...
The top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Randy Liedtke.
Fourth place--DT Owens.
Third place--Allyson Smith.
Second place--Marcus.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Tony Boswell.
By the way, many props to Ruben Barron for accepting an unfortunate situation and handling what must have been an infuriating scenario in a very professional manner.
NEXT SHOW: WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 7th, Preliminary Week Two-Show Two takes place at Chop Suey on Capitol Hill in Seattle (the home of People's Republic of Komedy's weekly Laff*Hole show)--show time, 9pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
I get angry and I will say
That the day is in my sight
When I take a bow
And say goodnight...
--"Add It Up" by Violent Femmes
Sixteen--yes, sixteen--new competitors put themselves into the meat grinder that chews up promising comedians and turns them into sausage.
And, without meaning to...we dulled the blades on them so that it was as painful as possible.
Our bad.
Details to come as work on this report continues.
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week Two--Night One
November 6, 2007
Comedy Underground, Seattle
The start of Preliminary Week Two is always odd, emotionally, for everyone involved. For the competitors, this is their first chance to actually meet the people they'll not only be spending the next six nights with but also be joined in having perfect strangers who will try but fail to objectively judge and compare their very subjective artistic efforts. There's an odd musky scent of hope mixed with panic that permeates the air.
Well, this week starts at the venerable Comedy Underground, so maybe that's not what that smell was...but nevertheless, there's definitely a swirling mess of anticipation and tension for the competitors.
Meanwhile, the production crew has already gone through all of those emotions with the first week...so, I've got to be honest, we tend to look upon the bright-eyed faces of these new calves for the slaughter who are wondering where this traincar ride might end for them with a certain level of benign bemusement.
Tonight, a decent but not overly impressively sized audience for a Tuesday night will set a tone for the week--as people suss out their competition and try to project their place in this brave new world.
Our host for this week is 2004 Seattle International Comedy Competition Champion, Gabriel Rutledge. Gabriel hosted a semi-finals week previous, where he proved that he is a strong host for this competition--he can be funny at the top of the show, so he gives the bullet spot a good, warm room...and he can keep the energy level up throughout the show.
He DOES have a reputation as being a big softy when it comes to dishing out encore points--so, Executive Producer Jon Fox did impress upon him the need to respect the audience's role in the process.
Competitor Review-----
Full Reviews To Come, in the meantime, here are some quick takes to tide you over...
ANDY PETERS--Went up first. He's hyperactive and loud. Earned encore point.
MARTHA MARION--She's fun, sassy and hip. Earned encore point.
TONY BOSWELL--He's smooth, cynical and sly. Earned encore point.
DT OWENS--He's solid and compelling. Earned encore point.
JUSTIN MCCLURE--He was scattered like a shotgun but enough jokes hit the target. Earned encore point.
GENE RENFROE--He's comfortable, experienced and had the may have either confused or offended the crowd when he switched to being dirty at the end. No encore point.
RANDY LIEDTKE--He's dry, awkward and furry. Earned encore point.
NICK HOFF--He's young looking, very expressive and works his material well. Earned encore point.
ALLYSON SMITH--She's smart, confident and strong in how she presents and enhances her material. Earned encore point.
RUBEN BARRON--He did magic and involved the crowd but nearly ran out of time and didn't close as strong as he needed to. No encore point.
BRIAN DOWELL--He's tall, drawling and willing to find the funny in some serious topics.
DEREK SHEEN--He's loud, twisted, and edgy...but he put the audience into a blast furnace they weren't prepared for. No encore point.
MARCUS--He's just as loud as Derek but HIS pop culture references and attitudes found a more common home. He's also heavily tattooed. Earned encore point.
ANDREW SLEIGHTER--He's smooth, smart and funny. He followed two comics who yell and got his laughs. Earned encore point.
KEVIN RICHARDS--He's clever, natural and likable. Earned encore point.
JEREMY GREENBERG--He went up last and suffered due to audience fatigue. No encore point.
(THIS REPORT IS BEING POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
A top five was announced at the end of tonight's show, as always. It surprised some people when Ruben Barron was announced as tonight's fifth place performer--not because people didn't enjoy Ruben's work, but because it didn't make mathematical sense. Ruben was one of four people who did not earn an encore point--it seemed impossible that he beat out other strong performers who had.
After the top five was announced, there was some rumbling and grumbling about the scores and the rankings...and when Gabriel, the host, brought the whole situation to my attention--it became obvious there was a problem. The performer in sixth place had a higher total score than Ruben, who was listed in fifth. All of the computations were done by computer--so, we hadn't doubted the results when we sent them up to be announced...but, unless we want Yul Brenner to chase us to the edges of WestWorld and beyond, we'd better keep a human eye on the machines.
Sure enough, there was a problem...and there was a change in the top 5. Unfortunately, the crowd had gone...as had the moment. Hopefully everyone understands that mistakes sometimes happen...and that nothing was done on purpose to make it awkward for everyone involved.
So, after all of the revised math...
The top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Randy Liedtke.
Fourth place--DT Owens.
Third place--Allyson Smith.
Second place--Marcus.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Tony Boswell.
(L-R: Allyson Smith, Gabriel Rutledge, Randy Liedtke, Marcus, Tony Boswell Not pictured: DT Owens)
By the way, many props to Ruben Barron for accepting an unfortunate situation and handling what must have been an infuriating scenario in a very professional manner.
NEXT SHOW: WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 7th, Preliminary Week Two-Show Two takes place at Chop Suey on Capitol Hill in Seattle (the home of People's Republic of Komedy's weekly Laff*Hole show)--show time, 9pm.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
SICC: Preliminary Week One--Night Six
What happened at the Comedy Underground might best be described borrowing a phrase from Sebastian Junger: "The Perfect Storm." It shouldn't have happened, but it did...and, as a result, somebody is unexpectedly very happy...and a few other people are dealing with some disappointment.
Welcome to the inherent drama of sport.
"Do you believe in miracles??? YES!!!"
--Al Michaels, 1980 Winter Olympics
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week One--Night Six
November 5, 2007
Comedy Underground, Seattle
After the soul crushing night in Bellingham, the warm and comforting arms of our home club welcomed us back to Seattle. Hello, Comedy Underground...it's been too long, we're glad to be back.
With twelve competitors still fighting for three available slots to move on into the semi-finals, this was going to be a very exciting show. Having this be "industry night"--where the judges are representing the very people who can help bring any talented performer to "the next level"--means there couldn't possibly be more incentive for every performer tonight to give it their best effort tonight.
They'd be putting this effort out for a good sized-crowd for a Monday night at Seattle's longest running comedy club...and, as such, this should not only be a good-sized crowd but they should be a good crowd--or, as Heneghen said, "Everyone's happy to be back in Seattle. All of the smart jokes are gonna work tonight."
Yes, our host would once again be the legendary Heneghen...slipping into his home club like a favorite pair of jeans. There are only so many places on the face of the earth where you can say, "I've been to jail...and I was the prettiest motherfucker in the place..." and get the kind of love that Heneghen got tonight at the Comedy Underground.
OK, enough stalling...let's talk about how everyone did...and see who moved on to the semi-finals...
Competitor Review-----
Entering the night in 3rd place but not locked into the semi-finals, KEY LEWIS knew that he would need to either pull off a strong performance while biting the bullet as the first performer of the night, or he'd have to sweat out the entire night to see if those battling to take his place away from him could manage to do so.
While Heneghen did his job and got the crowd warmed up, the crowd seemed to clamp down again when the competition sets began--so, Key's opening few jokes landed on the crowd to a rather weak response. Key is a compelling performer, but sometimes that's not enough to overcome the problems of going up first (witness Geoff Lott, who had a strong set in the bullet spot at the Edmonds Center for the Arts--which was his lowest placement so far in the week.)
"(Being half-black and half-white) is messed up. I used to steal shit and bring it back"--got a good laugh.
This crowd was very discerning...and they seemed to run very hot & cold with Key as he pursued his material, especially on his comments about looking Mexican. He'd get a laugh with one punchline, lose them on the next, get them back on the one after that...and so on. It meant Key wasn't getting the momentum he'd managed in other venues.
Still, the "Don't clap, it's not mine" stock line got a good laugh...and Key easily earned himself his encore point...so, it might have been as much as could be expected out of the bullet for Key. The question quickly becomes--would it be enough to keep him moving forward in the competition? We wouldn't know for a couple of hours... (Do not envy Key that particular torture.)
One of the raps on LUKAS SEELY was that he had gained a reputation as being a very strong performer--at his home club, Giggles Comedy Club in the U-District--but not able to do as well in other venues. I'm happy to say that Lukas has proven this reputation is unearned--as he made the top 5 twice--neither time, obviously, at Giggles. His chances of moving on in the competition now rested on his ability to tackle the Comedy Underground audiences--who haven't been as warm to Lukas (leading to that unearned reputation, I believe.) It was a lot of pressure for a performer going up this early in the night...
Now, how a performer responds to pressure is important to considering how they'll fare throughout their career and I have to say that I was impressed with Lukas this entire week in not letting any cracks show. Whatever the circumstances, Lukas took every stage and gave a strong performance. I should also say that his material is much stronger than it was a couple of years ago--and it was good to get to see Lukas work, as I don't often have the chance to do so anymore.
Tonight, he showed his ability to calmly take the laughs that he was getting from this audience. Lukas wasn't trying to force the issue. He wasn't setting the expectation level so high that it became obvious that the laughs weren't meeting them. It seemed to be the right energy level for the room at this point in the night. He comes across as casual, confident in his ability to deliver a professional job.
This audience (on this night, in this venue, in this position of the show) is giving Lukas some good laughs but, he's not hitting home runs...and, unfortunately, the cruelty of math suggests that he needs some home runs.
As the set goes on, Lukas looks and sounds very natural--which is sometimes at odds with how he comes to the stage. He often takes the stage appearing awkward and goofy. Perhaps there's some disconnect here--Is he goofy or is he natural? Sometimes both.
After selling the "Salmon Technique" act-out, Lukas announced to the crowd--which didn't come close to matching the love for that same bit in the three previous venues that he's done the bit, "That's my best joke--do you know how hard it is to jump up and down?"
That might have been the only evidence of Lukas' frustration with the tepidly pleasant audience response tonight.
He ended up closing on a bit where he couldn't help himself from mimicking the voice of an Indian taxi cab driver--a joke that the audience gave Lukas his first really big applause break for...which lead to Lukas getting a strong encore cheer. As deserved. As to his scores, we'll have to see if the judges enjoyed his casual style...because that could be the key to his chances of moving on.
This is the third attempt for GEOFF LOTT to tackle the beast that is the Seattle International Comedy Competition--the first time, he came very close to making the semi-finals but he ended up self-torpedoing his chances to move past the preliminary week. (The second attempt was during a transition time for Geoff in his comedy and the less said about it the better.) Tonight, after some recalculation of the revised official scores from what had been reported at the time of the previous night's show in Bellingham, Geoff entered the last night of competition holding onto 5th place for the week. Everyone was gunning for him and his slot in the semi-finals tonight...and it could be a cause for concern--a worry about another moment of self-destruction for such a talented performer.
Except that this is THIS year...not four years ago (and certainly not two years ago.) This is Geoff in bloom. (He's the one who likes all the pretty songs.) Geoff simply commanded the stage as he has done every night this week. He simply produced a strong, personal night of sharing his opinions and enjoying the audience's reaction to what's shared with them. No sense of pressure, no serious missteps. And, as it had five times already this week, it worked very well.
Tonight, specifically, his response to what odd mixture he's taken from his parent's medicine cabinet, "Call it The Hefner," got a good laugh tonight.
In looking for elements to review critically in any Geoff Lott set, there's a rather insane question that needs to be asked. Is he "too smooth"? I don't know even what that means--but there's always the risk that Geoff can cross over from being confident, professional, smart and well-spoken...and becoming smarmy, or worse, arrogant. I think those are demons he fights--and so far in this competition, he's definitely been winning those fights. (Demon fights? It's like he's playing Doom...with his ego. Even thinking of that analogy makes me motion sick.)
No worries about being too slick tonight, though. I just felt the need to say something to balance all of the slurping I'm doing.
Geoff didn't have a perfect set tonight. He actually missed a couple of vital words in his DUI bit that might have hurt people's understanding of the joke...but his attitude got his point across. S
And, as it seemed like he was cruising to another strong set, he got to a certain point and lost a little momentum. That had to have put a chill in his heart.
He chose to end a bit that involves tweaking with the audience's willingness to absorb some comments about causal racism--exactly the topic that Seattle clubs get most squirrelly about. It was a risk. Sure, the strength of "I'm white, people think I want to work--I don't. Not at all..." got him a great laugh. And, I love the irony of "the hate has to stop" tag that followed it.
But, right at the end, going into the Canadian swerve...that's a joke that seemed to cross the line for many in the crowd...and had he gone on for even five seconds more, he might not have ended up with the good graces of that crowd. But Geoff didn't flinch...and he had the smarts to close when he still had them--and boy, did he have some of them...as he got a very loud encore cheer.
Nice work, Geoff.
One of the nicest surprises of this year's competition has been seeing the evolution of SCOTT MORAN from being thought of as just another alt-comic wannabe who relied on odd stunts, thin mildly ironic material and a dependence on the absolute love of a complementary audience...into being a performer who could be counted on to entertain any audience in any venue. I was really looking forward to seeing him do as well as he'd been doing in the previous nights in front of some industry people who could see what we were seeing.
And then, Scott had somewhat of a self destructive set on this important night.
Yeah. That happens, sometimes, doesn't it?
Scott opened by announcing to the audience, "OK. Here's my shittiest joke." On a meta-comedy level, that's funny...but from that absolutely buries you as a performer in any traditional perspective of a comedy performance. It was a ballsy gambit...and certainly something that I've come to expect and appreciate from Scott, as he's always had a need to play with the form and confound expectations, even from his earliest days as an open-mic'r--but, even if I saw the genius in the fog, I wasn't certain how he'd score with it.
"Score me one point for audience rapport" he called out after having merely acknowledge the fact that someone in the audience responded to him. This became a pattern as Scott kept referencing the judges and the scoring process throughout his set. Almost a willful attack on his even being part of what's been going on--after a week of fully participating in it.
Scott lost place after his first joke and looked at notes. I'm going to repeat that. He lost his place after his first joke and looked at his notes. Oh, and he drew attention to this...by telling everyone that he lost his place and pointed out that he was looking at his notes. He did this more than once during his set--although, he did make good fun of having done so...and he worked it into his crowd work and stage patter in between his bits...
"What's my next joke? Yeah. Oh, by the way judges, I meant to do that."
The more he did it, the more it worked with the audience.
It did, however, make him look somewhat sloppy and unprofessional...
...in front of the industry.
Just saying.
I couldn't tell if this was a strategic move or if this was, really, the first "break" of the week. (Some might consider what Darren, or Jaqi, did in Bellingham to be a break...but what they did was perfectly in line with what they'd have done there anyway.)
It continued through the entire set--when he made a minor stumble on a word in his last example of new slogans for Supercuts, he called attention to it.
During another pause in his set, Scott asked, "Peter, how much time do I have left?"
(Hey! He mentioned me on stage! If I had a judges sheet, I'd give him an extra point! Seriously, though, that's the most insane "local reference" pimp move ever! If he knew everyone's name in the audience and said it, he'd HAVE to win!)
One thing that might have been happening that I couldn't understand from where I was sitting was that Scott kept reacting to a guy in the crowd that most of the audience couldn't hear, saying at one point, "I've done this exact same set every night of the week and THAT guy was at all my shows."
When his time was finally winding down, Scott announced, "Well...time to power through my closer, here..." and then paused as if to deny the whole possibility of a closer.
Ironically, his closer did work...and everyone was laughing...and, in the end, isn't that exactly what Scott was supposed to do?
He got the encore point...and I hope some of the judges enjoyed how he played with the format. It'd be nice to see Scott get some reward for his strong efforts this week.
What a rollercoaster ride this competition has been for JAQI FURBACK. The places first in the first show, gets a strong score in the second show, struggles in two theater shows and merely survives the whirling blades of disruptive death wielded by the Bellingham audience. Could she bring the whole ride into the station with a strong performance back in Seattle--in a club where her dark but charming style should find a more hospitable welcome?
It quickly seemed like a return to her top contender form was not to be, tonight. She just wasn't getting a lot of reaction to her stuff...and a dark cloud began to form in the room. People started to sense the fact that other people weren't laughing...and when your act, like Jaqi's, is pointing out your own foibles and insecurities...it leads to a intersection between depression and empathy--neither path leads to laughter.
What I'm sensing from the audience is a distinct whiff of Eau de I-don't-want-to-listen-to-this-whiny-girl-complain-about-her-being-fat-or-being-drunk-or-being- slutty" cologne--missing, of course, the fact that Jaqi's material is smart, clever and it tweaks with whining without ever falling into being whiny.
They DID laugh at her 90% on a test, her pinned by a ceramic pig and her hug the shit out of her mom jokes...but, honestly, not much else. She got absolutely nothing on her personal trainer material.
Some of the audience members have begun tuning Jaqi out...which brings out something new to realize--that she's actually getting some laughs--but only from some of the women in the audience. Her dark insecurities are proving relatable...but they're not translating to everyone.
And I'm sorry, but her "Random fits of bulimia brought on by alcoholism" bit got some love, but it deserved more laughs than it got. In fact, her entire set deserved more laughs than it got.
Jaqi stuck to her guns throughout the rollercoaster ride...up and down, she didn't back down or compromise. She kept to her pacing, she kept (with the exception of some of the TRULY dark stuff she unleashed on Bellingham--but, as she explained, they pissed her off...so, they deserved that...) her chosen material. I hope she keeps the feeling of having placed first, by FAR, on that first night with this approach...and doesn't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Her comedic voice is right there--it just needs tweaking to make certain that what happened to her tonight--where she never was able to welcome the audience into feeling comfortable laughing WITH HER at herself and, instead, got their sympathy instead of their laughs--doesn't happen as often as the good shows do.
I should add here that after show, Jaqi told me how someone in the left upper seating area, in the pause between her saying "Hey everybody? How's it going? Good?" and the punchline of "I don't care" that follows the pause, said (loud enough for her to hear but not loud enough that I could here where I was sitting) "Not funny." Jaqi said that this idiot basically announced the fact that she "wasn't funny" to a significant part of the audience right as she was starting to prove that she was... To her, it must have felt like a body blow. Either that threw her off or it poisoned that side of the room--either way, in her mind, it impacted her chances.
I feel for her--but I also know no one thing should be able to torpedo an entire act...and maybe the opening should be tweaked to make it dominantly funny over any contrary thought and anyone foolish enough who may want to claim otherwise.
Jaqi got enough cheers for encore point, but the set felt very weak and unappreciated...and it appears that the rollercoaster ride will end disappointingly soon, considering how high the hill it released from after the first night's victory, here in the Preliminary Week.
Following an awkward set like Jaqi had might be difficult for some performers, but not for the Swedish Killing Machine: LEIF SKYVING. Not much to describe here--as Kurt Sudden did what Kurt Sudden does.
By the way, smart move in not confusing the audience by identifying Kurt Sudden as being different than Leif Skyving, as Leif did twice. Only being up on stage for five to seven minutes, there's no point in defining the character that you're going to stay in for the entire time you're on stage as something other than simply you.
Either way, with his barrage of crisp and powerful jokes, Leif picked up the energy from a dead room and kept that energy building and building through his act.
For a change, the audience DIDN'T clap reflexively for the first breath of air that Leif took while warming up his harmonica blues. Evidently, when it comes to harmonicas, Seattle audiences aren't quite the sheep that others are... These goodly people waited until the ACTUAL break in the joke-less blues wailing to clap. Seattle audiences are not sheep, they are merely sheeplike...in that regard.
In the blues, I have to point out that the "Yeah, women..." line kills me every time.
As expected from a progressive audience like Seattle's, Leif got cheers for his Bush/Kerry/oil joke.
And, once again, he pulled out a good, if however stunt-y, "Scottish Blues" closer and Leif earned himself a rather big and well deserved encore cheer.
Some of you who know me (or have read my never-ending rants on a variety of other message boards) know that one of my big pet peeves in comedy are the needless rhetorical questions in a comedy set--especially to start a set. It invites too many idiots, like the one who threw Jaqi off her game, to insert themselves into the driver's seat as the show travels on the one way expressway where the entertainment is supposed to be flowing--which is from the stage to the audience. You give an audience the chance to drive wherever they want with their answers to a question that you really don't need to know an answer to, you're making a mistake that you might not recover from.
ADAM NORWEST opened with a rhetorical question, about if anyone happened to see him on the cover of a non-existent "Firemen's calendar", and sure enough, that allowed the audience to start getting chatty.
And, for Adam's style to work...you have to pay attention to him. He's going to be quick with some clever word twist jokes...and if you're not paying attention, you're not going to get anything out of his performance--which will lead you to be more chatty--it's a vicious cycle AND a vicious circle (pick your vocabulary poison.)
So, with a chatty audience...and a very Seattle audience, that has already proved to be some what sensitive towards the issues that Seattle audiences are always sensitive towards, it wasn't surprising when Adam's NASCAR/racism joke got both laughs...followed by then "oohs."
Once again, as happened too often this week, Adam's getting laughs--but they're small laughs. Small laughs just don't get you the momentum a performer needs to truly carry his performance into becoming an enjoyable "whole." It's like seeing someone read you jokes from a joke book--at some point, you start to think that it doesn't mean anything...and it doesn't work quite as well.
Tonight, even the STDs bit--which ALWAYS kills--didn't go over as big as it almost always does...and his masturbating in school zones joke got more "oohs" than laughs.
Some performers might have just accepted their fate and finished their set, getting what they coudl get. Adam, however, is used to generating laughs in difficult crowds--with his improv/murder mystery background...
When his Naomi/rhyming bit went down in flames, Adam reverted to goosing it with some additional crowd work. He found someone he could pick on in the front row...and, when that got some laughs, he would go back to it...like a prospector going back to pan in a previously successful spot in the river. Adam let his performer's instincts take over...and he kept goosing laughs by continuing to hump the air, towards the general direction of his front row friend. He humped the stool, he came back and humped the air again.
This worked, to some extent...and he probably saved his set by doing it. Adam got his encore point and hopefully this week will have helped him learn what he'll want to work on for the next step in his development as a comic. He held his own...now, it's time to refine things and improve.
One understands where a young up and comer like Adam Norwest might want to subject himself to the process of this competition. It not only could open doors but it could help you refine your performance style...and, it's good to know how you might stack up against your peers.
Why would MIKE WALLY WALTER drag himself around the state with a bunch of kids who all wish they might end up with half the career that Mike Wally has?
Is it for respect? Is it to see if he's still got "it"? Is it to reclaim some former glory? Or, is he just a working comic and being in competitions like this is simply what working comics do, from time to time?
Going into this final show, Mike Wally was lead to believe by the announced unofficial scores that he was on the outside of the Top 5 looking in...but he thought he'd scored far better in Bellingham than was listed. It turns out that Mike Wally's intuition was right, as Official Scorekeeper Wally Glenn found a computational error with the previous night's results...and the revised scores indicated not only that Mike Wally Walter had made the previous night's Top 5...but that he was actually in the Top 5 for the week...going in to tonight's show.
However, the crowd that filled up most of the Comedy Underground sure seemed rather young--and this was not Mike Wally getting a golden opportunity with the Edmonds crowd or the Longview crowd. This was a traditional comic striving to remain relevant in a world where the form of comedy is being tweaked and re-evaluated with every new and inspiring performer that captures the public eye.
I think, if relevance was the goal, Mike Wally remains so... Now, the question is...could he be competitive--and could he hold back all of the upstarts who want to snag his Top 5 position away from him?
Mike started with a pimp for the troops and went into his Michael Jackson jokes--which died again. This lead off a rather slow start for the fingersnap quickness that Mike likes to work with... He didn't really grab the audience and start dragging them along with him until he got to the 635 pound woman as DUI test joke. That one got 'em--but, for the most part, he was skimming the surface with this audience.
Sheer professionalism can't be denied--and make no mistake, Mike got his encore point...and he may have scored high enough to defend his position in the semi-finals, depending on how others do--but he didn't connect with this crowd on this night--as exemplified by how he got an "oooh" at his signing a biker chick's boob bit. That, and his topless review one-liner, just didn't get as much as it did in other places.
That makes me wonder--is it Mike Wally...or Jaqi...or anyone else who got "oohs" instead of laughs...or is the Underground really getting audiences that are THAT sensitive?
If so...it's probably a good thing that DARREN FROST wasn't there to suffer one more night of audiences not letting him be who he is...a profanely funny man. Instead, Darren was not there--he had prior commitments...so, he wouldn't be getting a score that might lift him into the semi-finals.
Darren had actually thought of a clever way to try to compete in tonight's show, despite being over a thousand miles away. He printed out a photo of himself and was going to have someone hold a phone up to the microphone so he could actually "phone it in." This plan, clever as it may have been, was nixed by the Executive Producer of the competition, Jon Fox--who was in attendance and enjoying the show tonight.
So, no Darren tonight. Of course, Heneghen was giving the encore point to everyone...had it been allowed, I wouldn't imagine that Darren wouldn't have gotten it, too...
So, with no Darren Frost, we quickly move on to getting to see GREG REID do his thing on the stage. Greg, who won last night under difficult circumstances in Bellingham, left the club thinking that he would be holding on to 5th place for the week and a slot in the semi-finals only to find out, due to the revised numbers mentioned above, that he was actually on the outside looking in...and he needed to score well tonight to assure himself a chance to move forward.
Now, typically, Seattle audiences--especially those that are mostly white--tend to adore performers of color (or gender or orientation...pretty much anything that isn't exactly them...) That would seem to favor Greg--but, remember, Greg claims that he's "Not THAT black. You know, not blackity-black black. Not Jay-Z or Eminem black."
That may be...but Seattle was already liking you, Greg...and that joke got 'em going.
One thing I haven't mentioned to this point--in a bit about there being a lot of drug commercials during televised sporting events, Greg kept using "Lakers game" as his example--until tonight, when he changed it to "Clippers game." This may be accurate for him, as a California comedian...but would it have hurt him to localize this reference? He localized OTHER references (like putting "Levitra" on a corner in the Central District)--just not THIS one. Did he think that the Sonics had already moved to Oklahoma City?
(He could have spun a good local awareness joke about that very issue--by saying something like "I would have said 'during a sonics game'--but I wasn't sure anyone actually still WATCHING Sonics games any more..." Sigh. Should have thought of that sooner, I suppose.)
To be sure, this crowd LOVED his bit about drug-based names...but the same left corner that was giving Jaqi and some others problems started talking again during Greg's set.
Rather than slamming them, as many comics have been trained to do, Greg decided to engage them constructively. Since they responded to his "drug names" joke, Greg sent a shout out to them--and called them his "Druggie Corner." This worked perfectly with his friendly, easy going style--and it would have been confounding had he dealt with them in an aggressive or negative manner. So, really interesting strategy--and it gave him a solid ad lib, where he said "Let's get together after the show...maybe we can talk about...injections...or something."
It was surreal and funny and perfectly timed...and unexpected, as Greg really hadn't shown off any adlib skills--sticking pretty closely to his prepared set each night. What a time to play THAT card--during INDUSTRY judging night, of all nights... He did it and he was successful with it. Nice work, Greg.
Then, in the middle of that...as a lead in to the Justin Timberlake parody that he knew would kill, he brought in the idea that hip hop dj's record scratching sounds like the N-word, as in comparing "wicki-wicki" to "nigga-nigga"--and that brought all of his momentum to a curiously Seattle "can't handle laughs about the certain topics related to race"-style crashing halt. What was surprising is that this rule rarely applied to performers of color--but evidently Greg was right in saying that he's not exactly blackity-black black.
Greg didn't get too distracted by this one joke not working--he got 'em back, as expected, on the Justin Timberlake parody...and then closed strong as he had done every night, with his James Blunt parody closer.
With very big encore cheering, it's looking pretty good for Greg...and not so good for Mike Wally.
The random order of performance sure dealt SHARON LACEY a difficult hand. She had to start the competition following Darren Frost...twice. And then on three of the remaining four nights, she had to follow Greg Reid's crowd pleasing performances. Obviously, comedians will have to follow many different styles of performers...but there might have been other combinations that might have worked out better for Sharon and her comedic style.
Whether or not order of performance impacted her performance, Sharon did suffer throughout the competition in getting small laughs per joke--just as Adam sometimes found himself getting. The jokes that Sharon tells just haven't been connecting fully with these audiences--either the jokes aren't strong enough to generate more than small laughs, or interesting enough to be compelling. Even her jokes that rely on shock value aren't getting the kind of crowd unifying responses that can help propel a set towards its destination...
She did get laughs...and, unfortunately, groans...for her "I could tell by the stitches" joke. And she got very good laughs for her "now, give your teacher a lap dance" topper--although, the joke it topped didn't get nearly as good laughs.
Sharon is actually very good at act-outs...but her skill at these act-outs actually sometimes points out the disconnect between her intelligence and her performance skills...and her sometimes crude material. In the context of her set tonight, her act-out on Build-A-Bears seemed a bit fussy, a bit precious. It shouldn't...and I hope that Sharon concentrates on elevating her material so that it matches her act-out performance level.
She'll improve when her act is more honest. She'll improve when she's more herself on stage and her material will improve when she bases it on her own emotions.
One thing that's been bugging me all week. Is there a disconnect, and if so, is it on my end--between what the public knows about Build-a-Bear shops in malls...and Sharon's joke that suggests that these are consider to be high-end/expensive items? I never got the sense that Build-a-Bears were highly valued...more of a fun, hands on, customizable item. If being expensive and high end IS the right take on Build-a-Bears, then I as an audience member, needed to be given the information for me to agree with her take on it...rather than for her to simply assume that I had the same awareness that she has on it so she can go on with her joke.
I've got to say that the girls in the audience sure like her "Build-A-Boyfriend is better/Boys in bars are like shopping at Goodwill" stuff. And she earned an encore point.
I know it wasn't as fun as doing well in San Francisco, but hopefully this experience will continue Sharon on her way in being a strong comic. I get the feeling she wants that...and she seems motivated to get what she wants.
Next up, ANDY HAYNES. Kind of a rough week for Andy. He, like Jaqi Furback, started really strong--Andy took second place for the night, after going up last, at Laughs in Kirkland...only to struggle later--as Andy ended up taking second to last the very next night in Tukwila when he bit the bullet. He's never truly recovered, scoring wise--although he's had decent sets. He's seen his friend, and somewhat similarly styled performer, Scott Moran place in the Top 5 twice while he's been languishing in the middle of the pack.
Tonight might just be about pride, as he goes into this night in 12th place...but, mathematically he still had a chance. He'd need to win tonight...and then nearly everyone else would have to score near or lower their drop scores just for the chance.
Starts off good for Andy, as his opening joke, about how the phrase "shit's gonna hit the fan" might have been coined--a joke that Andy dropped at some point during the week as it wasn't getting all that much--killed.
Andy was killing right out of the gate...and he was on his way. He wasn't getting small laughs, either--he was getting that kind of avalanche momentum that allows laughs from previous jokes to build the laughs for the next joke you're telling.
His excellently written bit about how comparing homophobia with a more legitimate fear of zombies...and how fear of zombies might seem more foolish if people reacted the same way those who are homophobic react to gays...absolutely slaughtered the room. It was sooooo good to hear this crowd react to material that deserved the love it was getting.
His "things you'll never hear" bit--especially the "Pottery Barn" part of it--killed (although, I worried that he might be dipping into the yelling thing too often).
When Andy extended his bit about a gun that shot out babies instead of bullets and used it to call back a previous joke about there being nothing guaranteeing people health care in the Bill of Rights...it killed--proving that people were paying attention.
"Fuck Teeth!"--killed.
Technically solid throughout tonight's set, Andy held for an excellent pause as he relates how his dental hygienist asked him if he does meth. That pause multiplied the laughs he got from his response by a factor of 3, if not more.
With the crowd totally behind everything he's been giving them, Andy didn't stop his set short at the first set-ending level laugh he got--he continued his meth chunk all the way into a bit about mouth rape and gay prostitution--tying it back into his "meth user dental appointment" bit...because he had their trust, he had their energy...he had their laughs...
And Andy closed on an applause break with six seconds before a time penalty...and he received the biggest and most earnest encore point cheer we'd heard this entire night, so far.
Too bad he's in 12th place.
Taking the reins on this rumbling avalanche of comedic momentum, RODGER LIZAOLA found himself in perfect position to have an excellent set that might just send HIM up into the top 5 and into the semi-finals that he missed out on by mere percentage points the last time he competed in this competition.
On this night, Rodger was in good spirits and clear of mind--and from the instant he took the stage, he generated a lot of love in the room. He took the momentum that Andy had built and made it his own very fast.
Rodger pretty much stuck to the same set he did every night of the competition...and on this night, nearly everything worked well...and it was, for the most part, pretty much exactly the set he wanted to do...the set he needed it to do...
The only question became--will it be enough?
If anything, the encore applause break for Rodger was even louder than the one for Andy. I wouldn't be all that surprised if one of them moved on--and since Rodger was a little closer to the goal (Rodger goes into this night in 9th place, Andy in 12th)--I might give him the edge... It might even be possible for BOTH of them to move on...and wouldn't THAT be an amazing finish to the week!
Even closer to contention than either Andy or Rodger, was LIZZY PILCHER. After a disappointing opening night's set, Lizzy had quietly reeled off a string of top quality scores putting her into a similar position as she was in two years ago when she went into the final night of her preliminary week with a chance to move on.
That time, some catastrophically timed audience interruptions torpedoed her chances on that night...but that was elsewhere, that was two years ago and THIS was the Underground and tonight--and she'd get every opportunity to do her best tonight.
She's been so good lately, transitioning into her material in a very natural way...that I was a bit surprised by how dark her comment about how "You never know what'll happen to you in Pioneer Square. You could get stabbed or raped leaving the Comedy Underground." While true...it didn't easily lead her into her material...or into anything else, much less something else that was funny.
She took the anti-Bush pop from her opening joke and added some good energy to goose her "baby under a pile of clothes" bit into good, solid laughs.
Lizzy has a very strong, placid deadpan face--that allows the audience to put their own reactions into what she's saying, rather than simply agreeing with her on her take on things. It's an interesting strategic decision...one that puts a lot of trust in the intelligence of her audience to take her lead--but, when it works, it pays off with a bonus, because the audience feels like they solved a puzzle on their own...and people like that feeling, especially when it comes with really good laughs. Lizzy's material and her ability to hold a look certainly does that...
That said, some open mic-y tendencies crept in to Lizzy's set tonight--for example, at one point, she complained about the mic stand when nobody either noticed that she was having an issue with it nor cared about what was a momentary distraction for her.
When she got to the joke she'd been using as her closer, I got the sense that she wanted to leave a bigger impression. She had plenty of time...so, she pulled out one more joke--a joke about how her dad gave her a Bible as a present from him when he was in jail and the dedication in the book that told her to get to know her heavenly father.
"Great. Now I've got TWO dad's that won't be there for me."
She struck a pose and milked the audience's laughter for a long applause break...
...and then...she admitted that she's so tired that she actually forgot to leave the stage after she did her closing joke.
Read that last line again.
Seriously, she stayed on stage as the applause died...and then her eyes widened and she said "I'm so tired, I've just forgotten to leave the stage."
Such an endearingly silly and yet unimaginably unfathomable mistake--it earned Lizzy another long applause break for her encore point cheer as she left the stage with that...but it wasn't exactly the kind of dismount that performers dream about in closing up a closely fought comedy competition in front of industry judges, I'm sure.
Certainly, it was a good set through and through, though...and it might be enough to push her forward... I'm already realizing that the math is going to be INSANE, with how well these last few sets have gone.
Now, while everyone is scrambling, the person in the cat bird's seat--the person currently in first place for the week...and the person who can't be dislodged from that first place position for the week, no matter what anyone does tonight...has nothing on his mind than impressing the comedy industry judges.
That person is KYLE HARBERT. And he's been fighting some sickness over the last couple of days...so, one hopes that he can deliver a solid performance here tonight.
On one hand, with the week already in hand, I thought Kyle might stray from his competition-5...but when he opened with "Let's get depressed" and went on to talk about student loans, I realized that he was sticking with the girl he brought to the dance. Nothing wrong with that strategy--especially with industry in the house.
Unless it doesn't make anyone laugh.
Kyle's doing his best stuff...and he's giving it his all, they're just not going for it. At all. This crowd is no selling him and his act like they were Hulking-up in the face of some knife-edged but suddenly ineffective Ric Flair chops. Seriously, Kyle's getting nothing, or, at best, weak small laughs--something I've never witnessed from a set from Kyle in five straight solid sets.
What's going on here? Is it him? Is it the club? Kyle's got an excellent joke that hammers on President Bush--something that is typically catnip for Underground audiences...and yet, tonight, Kyle gets half--if that--of what it normally did. His bit slamming on Paris Hilton, another prime target, typically, for Underground audiences--and again, tonight for Kyle...it gets nothing.
Earlier in the night, Kyle cornered me and discussed what is meant by "tv clean." Typically, in contests' past, there's been a night designated as officially "tv clean"--and that was, typically, on industry night. However, that wasn't officially designated tonight--although, at some point in time, Kyle was advised by Competition Producer Ron Reid that doing tv clean on industry night might be a good idea.
Unfortunately, Kyle claims to not watch television. (The concept is incomprehensible to me...a pop culture whore by my own celebrated admission.) Understanding what is meant by an amorphous definition as "tv clean" is based on context and the understanding of nuance--what is ok in one instance is not in another...and that's hard to convey in 30 seconds of an answer to "what should I do?" when the REAL answer is "do what you do best to make the tv people like you and let THEM bleep you or vet your material in advance..." No point in doing tv clean when you're not on tv--especially if you don't really understand, much less embrace, the concept.
So why was Kyle here now trying to force himself to edit his act on the fly to try to make it some bowdlerized version of a "tv clean" set that he had no particular commitment to? No one else tried to be tv clean--not obviously, anyway. Worse--Kyle's simply not all that good at it (most likely because he's not committed to doing it.) He'll choose a weaker word than what he'd been proving to be very successful over every other night of the competition...without understanding what makes something unbroadcast-able, content wise.
He's just shooting himself in the foot with no possible benefit...and it hurt to watch.
I think he psyched himself right out of his head and off his game. Not that it totally matters, as he's moving on to the semi-finals, no matter what he did tonight...but, here was a chance to impress industry people...and he's making the least of the opportunity.
Now, let's get real. He wasn't absolutely bombing--it wasn't crickets and silence. But, for every joke...it seemed like a losing game of tug of war, like the "Waiting in line for a Pauly Shore movie" movie joke worked, but then, his equally as solid Ted Nugent joke did get ABSOLUTELY nothing, so much so that Kyle pointed out, "That joke killed in Longview--screw you guys."
I got the sense that Kyle thought that this audience didn't know who Ted Nugent was... I think they did. They just weren't connected with it as other audiences had been. And, if they didn't know who Ted was...it was up to Kyle to give them the information they'd need to find it funny anyway.
Things that never happened to Kyle before in this week are happening. The people in the left elevated seating area started talking during his set, and he reacts very negatively to them in order to slam them shut--but the sad truth is, those idiots are talking during his set because he's not compelling enough to this audience to keep their attention...or get many of their laughs.
What an odd night for Kyle. Get well and come back and kill in the semis and make the memory of this night go away. Encore point, obviously...but he certainly didn't do well enough to earn his fourth first place finish of the night...which opens the door for someone else.
Could that person be STEPHEN O'KEEFE? It'd be nice. Stephen has been consistently scoring decently everywhere he's gone...but he's never been able to crack the top five.
Tonight, Stephen tried out a new joke about speaking like someone who is telling someone that there is a bear behind him. It's a good visual and a funny joke--but it needs a bit of polish to get the elements right. Finding a way to make the concept clear and still being able to shorten the set-up would be a good start...and I'd even go bigger with acting out trying to say "there's a bear...a bear...A BEAR" and then acting out the bear...would make this joke truly sing.
The bottom line for Stephen is that all of his jokes--with the exception of the "lying to kids" joke, which hadn't been working all week...but tonight, at least, the first two parts worked very well (the "you can achieve anything you want" part comes across as too cynical for the person that Stephen projects. It seems like someone else's joke--not in a Carlos Mencia way, but in a "that joke doesn't sound right coming from you" way.)
The people who were chatty during Kyle's struggle set actually shut up for Stephen (which, again, is somewhat ironic, because of all of the performers that a little stray table talk wouldn't throw off his game...Stephen's the guy)... I think they shut up, both, because Stephen needs more attention due to his speech, but also because stephen is a compelling performer.
Stephen only fails to get the bigger scores that might propel him to the next level, I think, because he gets good, solid laughs at a slower pace than others. He doesn't have that building of momentum aspect of the top performers--where a run often seals a big closing bit. Stephen is slow and steady and funny. I don't know if he can really get more laughs squeezed in. If he goes faster, he loses clarity--he really needs to speak as distinctly as he can, as that's all ways going to be a concern. And, if he can't go faster...he needs his material to be so incredibly strong that he generates far bigger laughs per punchline. His material is good, but it just seems that he doesn't yet have the material or technique or...that whatever-it-is...to get the really big laughs.
If I knew how he might get it, I'd have told him...because I was honestly impressed with his work this week and wouldn't have minded seeing him do even better.
And it's a very good sign that while Stephen wants more...he wants the big laughs and he wants the big scores...he simply goes on stage and gets what he can...and what he can get is damn good.
He ended the week with good encore-worthy applause and, hopefully, an awareness that he completely held his own in a very competitive week of comedy. Nice work, Stephen.
So, that was it. That was the last night of the first week of this year's competition. Sixteen brave performers. Five are moving on. We added up the judges scores--and I'll be honest, the representative from Comedy Central was crystal clear and honest with her assessments. Unlike many judges, she actually used all the numbers available to her between 1-10. Those she liked, she scored well. Those she wasn't as much of a fan of suffered the slings and arrows of her numerical assessment. The other judges scored as they saw it... All of the scores were tabulated...all of the other shows scores were added in...
And that's when Al Michaels' famous US Olympic Ice Hockey team call started echoing in our heads...
But first, let's clue you in on who had done what for the night...and then for the week...
Are you sitting down? Are you holding on to something? OK...
And...the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Leif Skyving.
Fourth place--Lizzy Pilcher.
Third place--Rodger Lizaola.
Second place--Geoff Lott.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Andy Haynes.
Going into this night, it was mathematically possible for Andy Haynes to make the semi-finals--but, no one really thought he could do it. Andy was in 12th place, for heaven's sake...and this has been a very consistently strong week of competitors. Pretty much, the only way that Andy could make up the ground between 12th place and 5th place was going to be if he won the night...AND if nearly everyone else scored below their previous drop scores.
And that's exactly what happened.
This being "industry night," the scores were very clear as to who were impressive in a "could see them on Live at Gotham any day now" versus a "hey, they were pretty good" sort of way that some of judges we find at some of the other venues we go to can be expected to offer... That meant, those that earned top scores got 'em...and Andy, more than anyone else on this night, got his.
It also meant that those who might not have completely knocked it out of the park--even though they may have had perfectly good sets--found themselves with a lower than typical score from the cruel reality of industry perspective.
And that opened the door for a miracle.
...a miracle that the cynics and skeptics who make up the production crew for this competition couldn't believe it.
Here is the photographic evidence, taken by Pavel Simsa, of the very moment when Official Scorekeeper Wally Glenn realized that the Andy Haynes miracle had happened.
...and another photo when Wally informed me of what was happening...
...and another photo of when Competition Producer Ron Reid came over to make certain that we hadn't completely lost our minds...or that we hadn't made some sort of horrible computational mistake.
We hadn't.
A true, blue spectacle--a miracle had come true.
(And a nice bit of photojournalism there, Pavel...)
Congratulations to Andy Haynes--he's moving on to the semi-finals...along with Key Lewis, Geoff Lott, Leif Skyving and this week's top performer, Kyle Harbert. We'll see them in Walla Walla in a week.
In the meantime, we've got 16 (it just turned into 16 with the announcement of Ruben Barron to the previously announced 15 performers in week two) more competitors ready to battle it out over their own six night tour...to cull 5 more from the heard to join them. It all starts all over again Tuesday night at the Comedy Underground.
But, before we leave Preliminary Week One--a shout out to those brave eleven performers who are not moving on. To Rodger Lizaola, who once again came up less than a point short of making the semi-finals--this year, he was .12 behind Andy's final score (--and what will give Rodger nightmares for two years to come is wondering if the night he took a .5 point time penalty is the reason he's not a semi-finalist.) To Lizzy Pilcher, who was consistently strong all week and, like Rodger, was a mere fraction of a point away from the top 5. To Greg Reid and Mike Wally Walter, who each had their reasons and the scores behind their reasons for thinking they were in the driver's seat for making the semi-finals...and each had solid sets tonight--only to get caught up in tonight's perfect storm and both fell just short. To Darren Frost, who after a contentious second night's show, was picking up momentum only to be called away from the competition at the worst strategic time. To Stephen O'Keefe, this week's most consistent performer...who was always in the mix but never made a nightly top 5. To Lukas Seely and Scott Moran, who each hit the top5 twice during the week and were stronger than perhaps their scores on other nights might suggest. To Jaqi Furback, who started the week with a strong performance and an unexpected top finish for the night, and managed to maintain her composure and her confidence in her performances when repeating that result proved elusive. To Adam Norwest, who may have been the least experienced of the competitors this week, but who offered up a week of strong performances and exits the week having earned valuable experience that might have taken him years to acquire otherwise. To Sharon Lacey, who faced the disappointment of not building on her recent success in the San Francisco Comedy Competition with a smile...and nary a complaint or anything less than her best effort.
What a great first week...all thanks to you.
NEXT SHOW: TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6th, Preliminary Week Two-Show One takes place at the Comedy Underground in Pioneer Square, right here in Seattle. Show time, 8:30pm. Look for a report from THAT show posted late tonight and into tomorrow.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:
PRELIMINARY WEEK ONE
1) Kyle Harbert
Kirkland: 10.67
Tukwila: 11.00
Edmonds: 11.00
Longview: 11.00
Bellingham: 10.31
Underground: 8.43
-----
Total: 62.41
Drop: 8.43
Score: 53.98
2) Leif Skyving
Kirkland: 10.64
Tukwila: 10.57
Edmonds: 10.30
Longview: 9.90
Bellingham: 10.93
Underground: 8.71
-----
Total: 61.05
Drop: 8.71
Score: 52.34
3) Geoff Lott
Kirkland: 10.42
Tukwila: 10.50
Edmonds: 9.11
Longview: 10.02
Bellingham: 10.17
Underground: 10.47
-----
Total: 60.69
Drop: 9.11
Score: 51.58
4) Key Lewis
Kirkland: 9.87
Tukwila: 11.00
Edmonds: 10.59
Longview: 9.50
Bellingham: 10.29
Underground: 8.09
-----
Total: 59.33
Drop: 8.09
Score: 51.24
5) Andy Haynes
Kirkland: 10.83
Tukwila: 7.28
Edmonds: 9.50
Longview: 9.05
Bellingham: 9.98
Underground: 11.00
-----
Total: 57.64
Drop: 7.28
Score: 50.36
===============
6) Rodger Lizaola
Kirkland: 10.53
Tukwila: 10.45
Edmonds: 8.89
Longview: 9.38
Bellingham: 9.93
Underground: 9.95
-----
Total: 59.13
Drop: 8.89
Score: 50.24
7) Lizzy Pilcher
Kirkland: 8.23
Tukwila: 10.74
Edmonds: 10.o7
Longview: 9.57
Bellingham: 10.24
Underground: 9.43
-----
Total: 58.27
Drop: 8.23
Score: 50.04
8) Greg Reid
Kirkland: 9.64
Tukwila: 9.14
Edmonds: 9.88
Longview: 10.21
Bellingham: 11.00
Underground: 8.66
-----
Total: 58.53
Drop: 8.66
Score: 49.87
9) Mike Wally Walter
Kirkland: 8.12
Tukwila: 9.31
Edmonds: 10.98
Longview: 10.57
Bellingham: 10.60
Underground: 7.47
-----
Total: 57.05
Drop: 7.47
Score: 49.58
10*) Darren Frost
Kirkland: 9.33
Tukwila: 8.76
Edmonds: 10.30
Longview: 10.45
Bellingham: 10.55
Underground: 0.00
-----
Total: 49.40
Drop: 0.00
Score: 49.40
10*) Stephen O'Keefe
Kirkland: 10.07
Tukwila: 9.85
Edmonds: 9.64
Longview: 9.86
Bellingham: 9.98
Underground: 8.23
-----
Total: 57.63
Drop: 8.23
Score: 49.40
12) Lukas Seely
Kirkland: 8.17
Tukwila: 8.40
Edmonds: 10.91
Longview: 10.74
Bellingham: 9.43
Underground: 8.23
-----
Total: 55.89
Drop: 8.17
Score: 47.71
13) Scott Moran
Kirkland: 8.33
Tukwila: 8.88
Edmonds: 10.34
Longview: 9.57
Bellingham: 10.41
Underground: 7.85
-----
Total: 55.38
Drop: 7.85
Total: 47.53
14) Jaqi Furback
Kirkland: 11.00
Tukwila: 10.00
Edmonds: 8.39
Longview: 9.00
Bellingham: 9.12
Underground: 6.95
-----
Total: 54.45
Drop: 6.95
Score: 47.50
15) Adam Norwest
Kirkland: 9.98
Tukwila: 6.97
Edmonds: 9.86
Longview: 7.71
Bellingham: 9.07
Underground: 7.19
-----
Total: 50.78
Drop: 6.97
Score: 43.81
16) Sharon Lacey
Kirkland: 7.87
Tukwila: 7.62
Edmonds: 8.09
Longview: 9.21
Bellingham: 9.36
Underground: 6.33
-----
Total: 48.48
Drop: 6.33
Score: 42.15
(NOTE ONE: There are additional decimal point differences between Darren's and Stephen's scores--due to the averaging of scores throughout the process. However, the scores are essentially the same...so, I've listed them as being tied here.)
(NOTE TWO: Comparing this year's Preliminary Week One to last year's, a compliment must be made regarding the depth of talent in this year's field. Even into the lower positions, the scores across the board were stronger this year--up to five to eight points higher than comparable positions the previous years for those who did not make the semi-finals. Perhaps those who did not move on this year can take some consolation in that--and perhaps those who have moved on will know that they do so after surviving tough competition.)
Welcome to the inherent drama of sport.
"Do you believe in miracles??? YES!!!"
--Al Michaels, 1980 Winter Olympics
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week One--Night Six
November 5, 2007
Comedy Underground, Seattle
After the soul crushing night in Bellingham, the warm and comforting arms of our home club welcomed us back to Seattle. Hello, Comedy Underground...it's been too long, we're glad to be back.
With twelve competitors still fighting for three available slots to move on into the semi-finals, this was going to be a very exciting show. Having this be "industry night"--where the judges are representing the very people who can help bring any talented performer to "the next level"--means there couldn't possibly be more incentive for every performer tonight to give it their best effort tonight.
They'd be putting this effort out for a good sized-crowd for a Monday night at Seattle's longest running comedy club...and, as such, this should not only be a good-sized crowd but they should be a good crowd--or, as Heneghen said, "Everyone's happy to be back in Seattle. All of the smart jokes are gonna work tonight."
Yes, our host would once again be the legendary Heneghen...slipping into his home club like a favorite pair of jeans. There are only so many places on the face of the earth where you can say, "I've been to jail...and I was the prettiest motherfucker in the place..." and get the kind of love that Heneghen got tonight at the Comedy Underground.
OK, enough stalling...let's talk about how everyone did...and see who moved on to the semi-finals...
Competitor Review-----
Entering the night in 3rd place but not locked into the semi-finals, KEY LEWIS knew that he would need to either pull off a strong performance while biting the bullet as the first performer of the night, or he'd have to sweat out the entire night to see if those battling to take his place away from him could manage to do so.
While Heneghen did his job and got the crowd warmed up, the crowd seemed to clamp down again when the competition sets began--so, Key's opening few jokes landed on the crowd to a rather weak response. Key is a compelling performer, but sometimes that's not enough to overcome the problems of going up first (witness Geoff Lott, who had a strong set in the bullet spot at the Edmonds Center for the Arts--which was his lowest placement so far in the week.)
"(Being half-black and half-white) is messed up. I used to steal shit and bring it back"--got a good laugh.
This crowd was very discerning...and they seemed to run very hot & cold with Key as he pursued his material, especially on his comments about looking Mexican. He'd get a laugh with one punchline, lose them on the next, get them back on the one after that...and so on. It meant Key wasn't getting the momentum he'd managed in other venues.
Still, the "Don't clap, it's not mine" stock line got a good laugh...and Key easily earned himself his encore point...so, it might have been as much as could be expected out of the bullet for Key. The question quickly becomes--would it be enough to keep him moving forward in the competition? We wouldn't know for a couple of hours... (Do not envy Key that particular torture.)
One of the raps on LUKAS SEELY was that he had gained a reputation as being a very strong performer--at his home club, Giggles Comedy Club in the U-District--but not able to do as well in other venues. I'm happy to say that Lukas has proven this reputation is unearned--as he made the top 5 twice--neither time, obviously, at Giggles. His chances of moving on in the competition now rested on his ability to tackle the Comedy Underground audiences--who haven't been as warm to Lukas (leading to that unearned reputation, I believe.) It was a lot of pressure for a performer going up this early in the night...
Now, how a performer responds to pressure is important to considering how they'll fare throughout their career and I have to say that I was impressed with Lukas this entire week in not letting any cracks show. Whatever the circumstances, Lukas took every stage and gave a strong performance. I should also say that his material is much stronger than it was a couple of years ago--and it was good to get to see Lukas work, as I don't often have the chance to do so anymore.
Tonight, he showed his ability to calmly take the laughs that he was getting from this audience. Lukas wasn't trying to force the issue. He wasn't setting the expectation level so high that it became obvious that the laughs weren't meeting them. It seemed to be the right energy level for the room at this point in the night. He comes across as casual, confident in his ability to deliver a professional job.
This audience (on this night, in this venue, in this position of the show) is giving Lukas some good laughs but, he's not hitting home runs...and, unfortunately, the cruelty of math suggests that he needs some home runs.
As the set goes on, Lukas looks and sounds very natural--which is sometimes at odds with how he comes to the stage. He often takes the stage appearing awkward and goofy. Perhaps there's some disconnect here--Is he goofy or is he natural? Sometimes both.
After selling the "Salmon Technique" act-out, Lukas announced to the crowd--which didn't come close to matching the love for that same bit in the three previous venues that he's done the bit, "That's my best joke--do you know how hard it is to jump up and down?"
That might have been the only evidence of Lukas' frustration with the tepidly pleasant audience response tonight.
He ended up closing on a bit where he couldn't help himself from mimicking the voice of an Indian taxi cab driver--a joke that the audience gave Lukas his first really big applause break for...which lead to Lukas getting a strong encore cheer. As deserved. As to his scores, we'll have to see if the judges enjoyed his casual style...because that could be the key to his chances of moving on.
This is the third attempt for GEOFF LOTT to tackle the beast that is the Seattle International Comedy Competition--the first time, he came very close to making the semi-finals but he ended up self-torpedoing his chances to move past the preliminary week. (The second attempt was during a transition time for Geoff in his comedy and the less said about it the better.) Tonight, after some recalculation of the revised official scores from what had been reported at the time of the previous night's show in Bellingham, Geoff entered the last night of competition holding onto 5th place for the week. Everyone was gunning for him and his slot in the semi-finals tonight...and it could be a cause for concern--a worry about another moment of self-destruction for such a talented performer.
Except that this is THIS year...not four years ago (and certainly not two years ago.) This is Geoff in bloom. (He's the one who likes all the pretty songs.) Geoff simply commanded the stage as he has done every night this week. He simply produced a strong, personal night of sharing his opinions and enjoying the audience's reaction to what's shared with them. No sense of pressure, no serious missteps. And, as it had five times already this week, it worked very well.
Tonight, specifically, his response to what odd mixture he's taken from his parent's medicine cabinet, "Call it The Hefner," got a good laugh tonight.
In looking for elements to review critically in any Geoff Lott set, there's a rather insane question that needs to be asked. Is he "too smooth"? I don't know even what that means--but there's always the risk that Geoff can cross over from being confident, professional, smart and well-spoken...and becoming smarmy, or worse, arrogant. I think those are demons he fights--and so far in this competition, he's definitely been winning those fights. (Demon fights? It's like he's playing Doom...with his ego. Even thinking of that analogy makes me motion sick.)
No worries about being too slick tonight, though. I just felt the need to say something to balance all of the slurping I'm doing.
Geoff didn't have a perfect set tonight. He actually missed a couple of vital words in his DUI bit that might have hurt people's understanding of the joke...but his attitude got his point across. S
And, as it seemed like he was cruising to another strong set, he got to a certain point and lost a little momentum. That had to have put a chill in his heart.
He chose to end a bit that involves tweaking with the audience's willingness to absorb some comments about causal racism--exactly the topic that Seattle clubs get most squirrelly about. It was a risk. Sure, the strength of "I'm white, people think I want to work--I don't. Not at all..." got him a great laugh. And, I love the irony of "the hate has to stop" tag that followed it.
But, right at the end, going into the Canadian swerve...that's a joke that seemed to cross the line for many in the crowd...and had he gone on for even five seconds more, he might not have ended up with the good graces of that crowd. But Geoff didn't flinch...and he had the smarts to close when he still had them--and boy, did he have some of them...as he got a very loud encore cheer.
Nice work, Geoff.
One of the nicest surprises of this year's competition has been seeing the evolution of SCOTT MORAN from being thought of as just another alt-comic wannabe who relied on odd stunts, thin mildly ironic material and a dependence on the absolute love of a complementary audience...into being a performer who could be counted on to entertain any audience in any venue. I was really looking forward to seeing him do as well as he'd been doing in the previous nights in front of some industry people who could see what we were seeing.
And then, Scott had somewhat of a self destructive set on this important night.
Yeah. That happens, sometimes, doesn't it?
Scott opened by announcing to the audience, "OK. Here's my shittiest joke." On a meta-comedy level, that's funny...but from that absolutely buries you as a performer in any traditional perspective of a comedy performance. It was a ballsy gambit...and certainly something that I've come to expect and appreciate from Scott, as he's always had a need to play with the form and confound expectations, even from his earliest days as an open-mic'r--but, even if I saw the genius in the fog, I wasn't certain how he'd score with it.
"Score me one point for audience rapport" he called out after having merely acknowledge the fact that someone in the audience responded to him. This became a pattern as Scott kept referencing the judges and the scoring process throughout his set. Almost a willful attack on his even being part of what's been going on--after a week of fully participating in it.
Scott lost place after his first joke and looked at notes. I'm going to repeat that. He lost his place after his first joke and looked at his notes. Oh, and he drew attention to this...by telling everyone that he lost his place and pointed out that he was looking at his notes. He did this more than once during his set--although, he did make good fun of having done so...and he worked it into his crowd work and stage patter in between his bits...
"What's my next joke? Yeah. Oh, by the way judges, I meant to do that."
The more he did it, the more it worked with the audience.
It did, however, make him look somewhat sloppy and unprofessional...
...in front of the industry.
Just saying.
I couldn't tell if this was a strategic move or if this was, really, the first "break" of the week. (Some might consider what Darren, or Jaqi, did in Bellingham to be a break...but what they did was perfectly in line with what they'd have done there anyway.)
It continued through the entire set--when he made a minor stumble on a word in his last example of new slogans for Supercuts, he called attention to it.
During another pause in his set, Scott asked, "Peter, how much time do I have left?"
(Hey! He mentioned me on stage! If I had a judges sheet, I'd give him an extra point! Seriously, though, that's the most insane "local reference" pimp move ever! If he knew everyone's name in the audience and said it, he'd HAVE to win!)
One thing that might have been happening that I couldn't understand from where I was sitting was that Scott kept reacting to a guy in the crowd that most of the audience couldn't hear, saying at one point, "I've done this exact same set every night of the week and THAT guy was at all my shows."
When his time was finally winding down, Scott announced, "Well...time to power through my closer, here..." and then paused as if to deny the whole possibility of a closer.
Ironically, his closer did work...and everyone was laughing...and, in the end, isn't that exactly what Scott was supposed to do?
He got the encore point...and I hope some of the judges enjoyed how he played with the format. It'd be nice to see Scott get some reward for his strong efforts this week.
What a rollercoaster ride this competition has been for JAQI FURBACK. The places first in the first show, gets a strong score in the second show, struggles in two theater shows and merely survives the whirling blades of disruptive death wielded by the Bellingham audience. Could she bring the whole ride into the station with a strong performance back in Seattle--in a club where her dark but charming style should find a more hospitable welcome?
It quickly seemed like a return to her top contender form was not to be, tonight. She just wasn't getting a lot of reaction to her stuff...and a dark cloud began to form in the room. People started to sense the fact that other people weren't laughing...and when your act, like Jaqi's, is pointing out your own foibles and insecurities...it leads to a intersection between depression and empathy--neither path leads to laughter.
What I'm sensing from the audience is a distinct whiff of Eau de I-don't-want-to-listen-to-this-whiny-girl-complain-about-her-being-fat-or-being-drunk-or-being- slutty" cologne--missing, of course, the fact that Jaqi's material is smart, clever and it tweaks with whining without ever falling into being whiny.
They DID laugh at her 90% on a test, her pinned by a ceramic pig and her hug the shit out of her mom jokes...but, honestly, not much else. She got absolutely nothing on her personal trainer material.
Some of the audience members have begun tuning Jaqi out...which brings out something new to realize--that she's actually getting some laughs--but only from some of the women in the audience. Her dark insecurities are proving relatable...but they're not translating to everyone.
And I'm sorry, but her "Random fits of bulimia brought on by alcoholism" bit got some love, but it deserved more laughs than it got. In fact, her entire set deserved more laughs than it got.
Jaqi stuck to her guns throughout the rollercoaster ride...up and down, she didn't back down or compromise. She kept to her pacing, she kept (with the exception of some of the TRULY dark stuff she unleashed on Bellingham--but, as she explained, they pissed her off...so, they deserved that...) her chosen material. I hope she keeps the feeling of having placed first, by FAR, on that first night with this approach...and doesn't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Her comedic voice is right there--it just needs tweaking to make certain that what happened to her tonight--where she never was able to welcome the audience into feeling comfortable laughing WITH HER at herself and, instead, got their sympathy instead of their laughs--doesn't happen as often as the good shows do.
I should add here that after show, Jaqi told me how someone in the left upper seating area, in the pause between her saying "Hey everybody? How's it going? Good?" and the punchline of "I don't care" that follows the pause, said (loud enough for her to hear but not loud enough that I could here where I was sitting) "Not funny." Jaqi said that this idiot basically announced the fact that she "wasn't funny" to a significant part of the audience right as she was starting to prove that she was... To her, it must have felt like a body blow. Either that threw her off or it poisoned that side of the room--either way, in her mind, it impacted her chances.
I feel for her--but I also know no one thing should be able to torpedo an entire act...and maybe the opening should be tweaked to make it dominantly funny over any contrary thought and anyone foolish enough who may want to claim otherwise.
Jaqi got enough cheers for encore point, but the set felt very weak and unappreciated...and it appears that the rollercoaster ride will end disappointingly soon, considering how high the hill it released from after the first night's victory, here in the Preliminary Week.
Following an awkward set like Jaqi had might be difficult for some performers, but not for the Swedish Killing Machine: LEIF SKYVING. Not much to describe here--as Kurt Sudden did what Kurt Sudden does.
By the way, smart move in not confusing the audience by identifying Kurt Sudden as being different than Leif Skyving, as Leif did twice. Only being up on stage for five to seven minutes, there's no point in defining the character that you're going to stay in for the entire time you're on stage as something other than simply you.
Either way, with his barrage of crisp and powerful jokes, Leif picked up the energy from a dead room and kept that energy building and building through his act.
For a change, the audience DIDN'T clap reflexively for the first breath of air that Leif took while warming up his harmonica blues. Evidently, when it comes to harmonicas, Seattle audiences aren't quite the sheep that others are... These goodly people waited until the ACTUAL break in the joke-less blues wailing to clap. Seattle audiences are not sheep, they are merely sheeplike...in that regard.
In the blues, I have to point out that the "Yeah, women..." line kills me every time.
As expected from a progressive audience like Seattle's, Leif got cheers for his Bush/Kerry/oil joke.
And, once again, he pulled out a good, if however stunt-y, "Scottish Blues" closer and Leif earned himself a rather big and well deserved encore cheer.
Some of you who know me (or have read my never-ending rants on a variety of other message boards) know that one of my big pet peeves in comedy are the needless rhetorical questions in a comedy set--especially to start a set. It invites too many idiots, like the one who threw Jaqi off her game, to insert themselves into the driver's seat as the show travels on the one way expressway where the entertainment is supposed to be flowing--which is from the stage to the audience. You give an audience the chance to drive wherever they want with their answers to a question that you really don't need to know an answer to, you're making a mistake that you might not recover from.
ADAM NORWEST opened with a rhetorical question, about if anyone happened to see him on the cover of a non-existent "Firemen's calendar", and sure enough, that allowed the audience to start getting chatty.
And, for Adam's style to work...you have to pay attention to him. He's going to be quick with some clever word twist jokes...and if you're not paying attention, you're not going to get anything out of his performance--which will lead you to be more chatty--it's a vicious cycle AND a vicious circle (pick your vocabulary poison.)
So, with a chatty audience...and a very Seattle audience, that has already proved to be some what sensitive towards the issues that Seattle audiences are always sensitive towards, it wasn't surprising when Adam's NASCAR/racism joke got both laughs...followed by then "oohs."
Once again, as happened too often this week, Adam's getting laughs--but they're small laughs. Small laughs just don't get you the momentum a performer needs to truly carry his performance into becoming an enjoyable "whole." It's like seeing someone read you jokes from a joke book--at some point, you start to think that it doesn't mean anything...and it doesn't work quite as well.
Tonight, even the STDs bit--which ALWAYS kills--didn't go over as big as it almost always does...and his masturbating in school zones joke got more "oohs" than laughs.
Some performers might have just accepted their fate and finished their set, getting what they coudl get. Adam, however, is used to generating laughs in difficult crowds--with his improv/murder mystery background...
When his Naomi/rhyming bit went down in flames, Adam reverted to goosing it with some additional crowd work. He found someone he could pick on in the front row...and, when that got some laughs, he would go back to it...like a prospector going back to pan in a previously successful spot in the river. Adam let his performer's instincts take over...and he kept goosing laughs by continuing to hump the air, towards the general direction of his front row friend. He humped the stool, he came back and humped the air again.
This worked, to some extent...and he probably saved his set by doing it. Adam got his encore point and hopefully this week will have helped him learn what he'll want to work on for the next step in his development as a comic. He held his own...now, it's time to refine things and improve.
One understands where a young up and comer like Adam Norwest might want to subject himself to the process of this competition. It not only could open doors but it could help you refine your performance style...and, it's good to know how you might stack up against your peers.
Why would MIKE WALLY WALTER drag himself around the state with a bunch of kids who all wish they might end up with half the career that Mike Wally has?
Is it for respect? Is it to see if he's still got "it"? Is it to reclaim some former glory? Or, is he just a working comic and being in competitions like this is simply what working comics do, from time to time?
Going into this final show, Mike Wally was lead to believe by the announced unofficial scores that he was on the outside of the Top 5 looking in...but he thought he'd scored far better in Bellingham than was listed. It turns out that Mike Wally's intuition was right, as Official Scorekeeper Wally Glenn found a computational error with the previous night's results...and the revised scores indicated not only that Mike Wally Walter had made the previous night's Top 5...but that he was actually in the Top 5 for the week...going in to tonight's show.
However, the crowd that filled up most of the Comedy Underground sure seemed rather young--and this was not Mike Wally getting a golden opportunity with the Edmonds crowd or the Longview crowd. This was a traditional comic striving to remain relevant in a world where the form of comedy is being tweaked and re-evaluated with every new and inspiring performer that captures the public eye.
I think, if relevance was the goal, Mike Wally remains so... Now, the question is...could he be competitive--and could he hold back all of the upstarts who want to snag his Top 5 position away from him?
Mike started with a pimp for the troops and went into his Michael Jackson jokes--which died again. This lead off a rather slow start for the fingersnap quickness that Mike likes to work with... He didn't really grab the audience and start dragging them along with him until he got to the 635 pound woman as DUI test joke. That one got 'em--but, for the most part, he was skimming the surface with this audience.
Sheer professionalism can't be denied--and make no mistake, Mike got his encore point...and he may have scored high enough to defend his position in the semi-finals, depending on how others do--but he didn't connect with this crowd on this night--as exemplified by how he got an "oooh" at his signing a biker chick's boob bit. That, and his topless review one-liner, just didn't get as much as it did in other places.
That makes me wonder--is it Mike Wally...or Jaqi...or anyone else who got "oohs" instead of laughs...or is the Underground really getting audiences that are THAT sensitive?
If so...it's probably a good thing that DARREN FROST wasn't there to suffer one more night of audiences not letting him be who he is...a profanely funny man. Instead, Darren was not there--he had prior commitments...so, he wouldn't be getting a score that might lift him into the semi-finals.
Darren had actually thought of a clever way to try to compete in tonight's show, despite being over a thousand miles away. He printed out a photo of himself and was going to have someone hold a phone up to the microphone so he could actually "phone it in." This plan, clever as it may have been, was nixed by the Executive Producer of the competition, Jon Fox--who was in attendance and enjoying the show tonight.
So, no Darren tonight. Of course, Heneghen was giving the encore point to everyone...had it been allowed, I wouldn't imagine that Darren wouldn't have gotten it, too...
So, with no Darren Frost, we quickly move on to getting to see GREG REID do his thing on the stage. Greg, who won last night under difficult circumstances in Bellingham, left the club thinking that he would be holding on to 5th place for the week and a slot in the semi-finals only to find out, due to the revised numbers mentioned above, that he was actually on the outside looking in...and he needed to score well tonight to assure himself a chance to move forward.
Now, typically, Seattle audiences--especially those that are mostly white--tend to adore performers of color (or gender or orientation...pretty much anything that isn't exactly them...) That would seem to favor Greg--but, remember, Greg claims that he's "Not THAT black. You know, not blackity-black black. Not Jay-Z or Eminem black."
That may be...but Seattle was already liking you, Greg...and that joke got 'em going.
One thing I haven't mentioned to this point--in a bit about there being a lot of drug commercials during televised sporting events, Greg kept using "Lakers game" as his example--until tonight, when he changed it to "Clippers game." This may be accurate for him, as a California comedian...but would it have hurt him to localize this reference? He localized OTHER references (like putting "Levitra" on a corner in the Central District)--just not THIS one. Did he think that the Sonics had already moved to Oklahoma City?
(He could have spun a good local awareness joke about that very issue--by saying something like "I would have said 'during a sonics game'--but I wasn't sure anyone actually still WATCHING Sonics games any more..." Sigh. Should have thought of that sooner, I suppose.)
To be sure, this crowd LOVED his bit about drug-based names...but the same left corner that was giving Jaqi and some others problems started talking again during Greg's set.
Rather than slamming them, as many comics have been trained to do, Greg decided to engage them constructively. Since they responded to his "drug names" joke, Greg sent a shout out to them--and called them his "Druggie Corner." This worked perfectly with his friendly, easy going style--and it would have been confounding had he dealt with them in an aggressive or negative manner. So, really interesting strategy--and it gave him a solid ad lib, where he said "Let's get together after the show...maybe we can talk about...injections...or something."
It was surreal and funny and perfectly timed...and unexpected, as Greg really hadn't shown off any adlib skills--sticking pretty closely to his prepared set each night. What a time to play THAT card--during INDUSTRY judging night, of all nights... He did it and he was successful with it. Nice work, Greg.
Then, in the middle of that...as a lead in to the Justin Timberlake parody that he knew would kill, he brought in the idea that hip hop dj's record scratching sounds like the N-word, as in comparing "wicki-wicki" to "nigga-nigga"--and that brought all of his momentum to a curiously Seattle "can't handle laughs about the certain topics related to race"-style crashing halt. What was surprising is that this rule rarely applied to performers of color--but evidently Greg was right in saying that he's not exactly blackity-black black.
Greg didn't get too distracted by this one joke not working--he got 'em back, as expected, on the Justin Timberlake parody...and then closed strong as he had done every night, with his James Blunt parody closer.
With very big encore cheering, it's looking pretty good for Greg...and not so good for Mike Wally.
The random order of performance sure dealt SHARON LACEY a difficult hand. She had to start the competition following Darren Frost...twice. And then on three of the remaining four nights, she had to follow Greg Reid's crowd pleasing performances. Obviously, comedians will have to follow many different styles of performers...but there might have been other combinations that might have worked out better for Sharon and her comedic style.
Whether or not order of performance impacted her performance, Sharon did suffer throughout the competition in getting small laughs per joke--just as Adam sometimes found himself getting. The jokes that Sharon tells just haven't been connecting fully with these audiences--either the jokes aren't strong enough to generate more than small laughs, or interesting enough to be compelling. Even her jokes that rely on shock value aren't getting the kind of crowd unifying responses that can help propel a set towards its destination...
She did get laughs...and, unfortunately, groans...for her "I could tell by the stitches" joke. And she got very good laughs for her "now, give your teacher a lap dance" topper--although, the joke it topped didn't get nearly as good laughs.
Sharon is actually very good at act-outs...but her skill at these act-outs actually sometimes points out the disconnect between her intelligence and her performance skills...and her sometimes crude material. In the context of her set tonight, her act-out on Build-A-Bears seemed a bit fussy, a bit precious. It shouldn't...and I hope that Sharon concentrates on elevating her material so that it matches her act-out performance level.
She'll improve when her act is more honest. She'll improve when she's more herself on stage and her material will improve when she bases it on her own emotions.
One thing that's been bugging me all week. Is there a disconnect, and if so, is it on my end--between what the public knows about Build-a-Bear shops in malls...and Sharon's joke that suggests that these are consider to be high-end/expensive items? I never got the sense that Build-a-Bears were highly valued...more of a fun, hands on, customizable item. If being expensive and high end IS the right take on Build-a-Bears, then I as an audience member, needed to be given the information for me to agree with her take on it...rather than for her to simply assume that I had the same awareness that she has on it so she can go on with her joke.
I've got to say that the girls in the audience sure like her "Build-A-Boyfriend is better/Boys in bars are like shopping at Goodwill" stuff. And she earned an encore point.
I know it wasn't as fun as doing well in San Francisco, but hopefully this experience will continue Sharon on her way in being a strong comic. I get the feeling she wants that...and she seems motivated to get what she wants.
Next up, ANDY HAYNES. Kind of a rough week for Andy. He, like Jaqi Furback, started really strong--Andy took second place for the night, after going up last, at Laughs in Kirkland...only to struggle later--as Andy ended up taking second to last the very next night in Tukwila when he bit the bullet. He's never truly recovered, scoring wise--although he's had decent sets. He's seen his friend, and somewhat similarly styled performer, Scott Moran place in the Top 5 twice while he's been languishing in the middle of the pack.
Tonight might just be about pride, as he goes into this night in 12th place...but, mathematically he still had a chance. He'd need to win tonight...and then nearly everyone else would have to score near or lower their drop scores just for the chance.
Starts off good for Andy, as his opening joke, about how the phrase "shit's gonna hit the fan" might have been coined--a joke that Andy dropped at some point during the week as it wasn't getting all that much--killed.
Andy was killing right out of the gate...and he was on his way. He wasn't getting small laughs, either--he was getting that kind of avalanche momentum that allows laughs from previous jokes to build the laughs for the next joke you're telling.
His excellently written bit about how comparing homophobia with a more legitimate fear of zombies...and how fear of zombies might seem more foolish if people reacted the same way those who are homophobic react to gays...absolutely slaughtered the room. It was sooooo good to hear this crowd react to material that deserved the love it was getting.
His "things you'll never hear" bit--especially the "Pottery Barn" part of it--killed (although, I worried that he might be dipping into the yelling thing too often).
When Andy extended his bit about a gun that shot out babies instead of bullets and used it to call back a previous joke about there being nothing guaranteeing people health care in the Bill of Rights...it killed--proving that people were paying attention.
"Fuck Teeth!"--killed.
Technically solid throughout tonight's set, Andy held for an excellent pause as he relates how his dental hygienist asked him if he does meth. That pause multiplied the laughs he got from his response by a factor of 3, if not more.
With the crowd totally behind everything he's been giving them, Andy didn't stop his set short at the first set-ending level laugh he got--he continued his meth chunk all the way into a bit about mouth rape and gay prostitution--tying it back into his "meth user dental appointment" bit...because he had their trust, he had their energy...he had their laughs...
And Andy closed on an applause break with six seconds before a time penalty...and he received the biggest and most earnest encore point cheer we'd heard this entire night, so far.
Too bad he's in 12th place.
Taking the reins on this rumbling avalanche of comedic momentum, RODGER LIZAOLA found himself in perfect position to have an excellent set that might just send HIM up into the top 5 and into the semi-finals that he missed out on by mere percentage points the last time he competed in this competition.
On this night, Rodger was in good spirits and clear of mind--and from the instant he took the stage, he generated a lot of love in the room. He took the momentum that Andy had built and made it his own very fast.
Rodger pretty much stuck to the same set he did every night of the competition...and on this night, nearly everything worked well...and it was, for the most part, pretty much exactly the set he wanted to do...the set he needed it to do...
The only question became--will it be enough?
If anything, the encore applause break for Rodger was even louder than the one for Andy. I wouldn't be all that surprised if one of them moved on--and since Rodger was a little closer to the goal (Rodger goes into this night in 9th place, Andy in 12th)--I might give him the edge... It might even be possible for BOTH of them to move on...and wouldn't THAT be an amazing finish to the week!
Even closer to contention than either Andy or Rodger, was LIZZY PILCHER. After a disappointing opening night's set, Lizzy had quietly reeled off a string of top quality scores putting her into a similar position as she was in two years ago when she went into the final night of her preliminary week with a chance to move on.
That time, some catastrophically timed audience interruptions torpedoed her chances on that night...but that was elsewhere, that was two years ago and THIS was the Underground and tonight--and she'd get every opportunity to do her best tonight.
She's been so good lately, transitioning into her material in a very natural way...that I was a bit surprised by how dark her comment about how "You never know what'll happen to you in Pioneer Square. You could get stabbed or raped leaving the Comedy Underground." While true...it didn't easily lead her into her material...or into anything else, much less something else that was funny.
She took the anti-Bush pop from her opening joke and added some good energy to goose her "baby under a pile of clothes" bit into good, solid laughs.
Lizzy has a very strong, placid deadpan face--that allows the audience to put their own reactions into what she's saying, rather than simply agreeing with her on her take on things. It's an interesting strategic decision...one that puts a lot of trust in the intelligence of her audience to take her lead--but, when it works, it pays off with a bonus, because the audience feels like they solved a puzzle on their own...and people like that feeling, especially when it comes with really good laughs. Lizzy's material and her ability to hold a look certainly does that...
That said, some open mic-y tendencies crept in to Lizzy's set tonight--for example, at one point, she complained about the mic stand when nobody either noticed that she was having an issue with it nor cared about what was a momentary distraction for her.
When she got to the joke she'd been using as her closer, I got the sense that she wanted to leave a bigger impression. She had plenty of time...so, she pulled out one more joke--a joke about how her dad gave her a Bible as a present from him when he was in jail and the dedication in the book that told her to get to know her heavenly father.
"Great. Now I've got TWO dad's that won't be there for me."
She struck a pose and milked the audience's laughter for a long applause break...
...and then...she admitted that she's so tired that she actually forgot to leave the stage after she did her closing joke.
Read that last line again.
Seriously, she stayed on stage as the applause died...and then her eyes widened and she said "I'm so tired, I've just forgotten to leave the stage."
Such an endearingly silly and yet unimaginably unfathomable mistake--it earned Lizzy another long applause break for her encore point cheer as she left the stage with that...but it wasn't exactly the kind of dismount that performers dream about in closing up a closely fought comedy competition in front of industry judges, I'm sure.
Certainly, it was a good set through and through, though...and it might be enough to push her forward... I'm already realizing that the math is going to be INSANE, with how well these last few sets have gone.
Now, while everyone is scrambling, the person in the cat bird's seat--the person currently in first place for the week...and the person who can't be dislodged from that first place position for the week, no matter what anyone does tonight...has nothing on his mind than impressing the comedy industry judges.
That person is KYLE HARBERT. And he's been fighting some sickness over the last couple of days...so, one hopes that he can deliver a solid performance here tonight.
On one hand, with the week already in hand, I thought Kyle might stray from his competition-5...but when he opened with "Let's get depressed" and went on to talk about student loans, I realized that he was sticking with the girl he brought to the dance. Nothing wrong with that strategy--especially with industry in the house.
Unless it doesn't make anyone laugh.
Kyle's doing his best stuff...and he's giving it his all, they're just not going for it. At all. This crowd is no selling him and his act like they were Hulking-up in the face of some knife-edged but suddenly ineffective Ric Flair chops. Seriously, Kyle's getting nothing, or, at best, weak small laughs--something I've never witnessed from a set from Kyle in five straight solid sets.
What's going on here? Is it him? Is it the club? Kyle's got an excellent joke that hammers on President Bush--something that is typically catnip for Underground audiences...and yet, tonight, Kyle gets half--if that--of what it normally did. His bit slamming on Paris Hilton, another prime target, typically, for Underground audiences--and again, tonight for Kyle...it gets nothing.
Earlier in the night, Kyle cornered me and discussed what is meant by "tv clean." Typically, in contests' past, there's been a night designated as officially "tv clean"--and that was, typically, on industry night. However, that wasn't officially designated tonight--although, at some point in time, Kyle was advised by Competition Producer Ron Reid that doing tv clean on industry night might be a good idea.
Unfortunately, Kyle claims to not watch television. (The concept is incomprehensible to me...a pop culture whore by my own celebrated admission.) Understanding what is meant by an amorphous definition as "tv clean" is based on context and the understanding of nuance--what is ok in one instance is not in another...and that's hard to convey in 30 seconds of an answer to "what should I do?" when the REAL answer is "do what you do best to make the tv people like you and let THEM bleep you or vet your material in advance..." No point in doing tv clean when you're not on tv--especially if you don't really understand, much less embrace, the concept.
So why was Kyle here now trying to force himself to edit his act on the fly to try to make it some bowdlerized version of a "tv clean" set that he had no particular commitment to? No one else tried to be tv clean--not obviously, anyway. Worse--Kyle's simply not all that good at it (most likely because he's not committed to doing it.) He'll choose a weaker word than what he'd been proving to be very successful over every other night of the competition...without understanding what makes something unbroadcast-able, content wise.
He's just shooting himself in the foot with no possible benefit...and it hurt to watch.
I think he psyched himself right out of his head and off his game. Not that it totally matters, as he's moving on to the semi-finals, no matter what he did tonight...but, here was a chance to impress industry people...and he's making the least of the opportunity.
Now, let's get real. He wasn't absolutely bombing--it wasn't crickets and silence. But, for every joke...it seemed like a losing game of tug of war, like the "Waiting in line for a Pauly Shore movie" movie joke worked, but then, his equally as solid Ted Nugent joke did get ABSOLUTELY nothing, so much so that Kyle pointed out, "That joke killed in Longview--screw you guys."
I got the sense that Kyle thought that this audience didn't know who Ted Nugent was... I think they did. They just weren't connected with it as other audiences had been. And, if they didn't know who Ted was...it was up to Kyle to give them the information they'd need to find it funny anyway.
Things that never happened to Kyle before in this week are happening. The people in the left elevated seating area started talking during his set, and he reacts very negatively to them in order to slam them shut--but the sad truth is, those idiots are talking during his set because he's not compelling enough to this audience to keep their attention...or get many of their laughs.
What an odd night for Kyle. Get well and come back and kill in the semis and make the memory of this night go away. Encore point, obviously...but he certainly didn't do well enough to earn his fourth first place finish of the night...which opens the door for someone else.
Could that person be STEPHEN O'KEEFE? It'd be nice. Stephen has been consistently scoring decently everywhere he's gone...but he's never been able to crack the top five.
Tonight, Stephen tried out a new joke about speaking like someone who is telling someone that there is a bear behind him. It's a good visual and a funny joke--but it needs a bit of polish to get the elements right. Finding a way to make the concept clear and still being able to shorten the set-up would be a good start...and I'd even go bigger with acting out trying to say "there's a bear...a bear...A BEAR" and then acting out the bear...would make this joke truly sing.
The bottom line for Stephen is that all of his jokes--with the exception of the "lying to kids" joke, which hadn't been working all week...but tonight, at least, the first two parts worked very well (the "you can achieve anything you want" part comes across as too cynical for the person that Stephen projects. It seems like someone else's joke--not in a Carlos Mencia way, but in a "that joke doesn't sound right coming from you" way.)
The people who were chatty during Kyle's struggle set actually shut up for Stephen (which, again, is somewhat ironic, because of all of the performers that a little stray table talk wouldn't throw off his game...Stephen's the guy)... I think they shut up, both, because Stephen needs more attention due to his speech, but also because stephen is a compelling performer.
Stephen only fails to get the bigger scores that might propel him to the next level, I think, because he gets good, solid laughs at a slower pace than others. He doesn't have that building of momentum aspect of the top performers--where a run often seals a big closing bit. Stephen is slow and steady and funny. I don't know if he can really get more laughs squeezed in. If he goes faster, he loses clarity--he really needs to speak as distinctly as he can, as that's all ways going to be a concern. And, if he can't go faster...he needs his material to be so incredibly strong that he generates far bigger laughs per punchline. His material is good, but it just seems that he doesn't yet have the material or technique or...that whatever-it-is...to get the really big laughs.
If I knew how he might get it, I'd have told him...because I was honestly impressed with his work this week and wouldn't have minded seeing him do even better.
And it's a very good sign that while Stephen wants more...he wants the big laughs and he wants the big scores...he simply goes on stage and gets what he can...and what he can get is damn good.
He ended the week with good encore-worthy applause and, hopefully, an awareness that he completely held his own in a very competitive week of comedy. Nice work, Stephen.
So, that was it. That was the last night of the first week of this year's competition. Sixteen brave performers. Five are moving on. We added up the judges scores--and I'll be honest, the representative from Comedy Central was crystal clear and honest with her assessments. Unlike many judges, she actually used all the numbers available to her between 1-10. Those she liked, she scored well. Those she wasn't as much of a fan of suffered the slings and arrows of her numerical assessment. The other judges scored as they saw it... All of the scores were tabulated...all of the other shows scores were added in...
And that's when Al Michaels' famous US Olympic Ice Hockey team call started echoing in our heads...
But first, let's clue you in on who had done what for the night...and then for the week...
Are you sitting down? Are you holding on to something? OK...
And...the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Leif Skyving.
Fourth place--Lizzy Pilcher.
Third place--Rodger Lizaola.
Second place--Geoff Lott.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Andy Haynes.
(L to R: Lizzy Pilcher, Leif Skyving, James Heneghen, Rodger Lizaola, Geoff Lott and Andy Haynes)
And, since the drama and suspense during this night were over the final openings for the semi finals, I'm going to flip this around and announce the top five for the week from first down to fifth.
...and the top five for the week, moving to the semi-finals, are???
First place--Kyle Harbert.
Second place--Leif Skyving.
Third place--Geoff Lott.
Fourth place--Key Lewis.
...and, the final performer making it to the semi-finals from this week...
Fifth place--Andy Haynes.
...and the top five for the week, moving to the semi-finals, are???
First place--Kyle Harbert.
Second place--Leif Skyving.
Third place--Geoff Lott.
Fourth place--Key Lewis.
...and, the final performer making it to the semi-finals from this week...
Fifth place--Andy Haynes.
(L to R: Kyle Harbert, Geoff Lott, Leif Skyving, James Heneghen,Key Lewis, Andy Haynes
Going into this night, it was mathematically possible for Andy Haynes to make the semi-finals--but, no one really thought he could do it. Andy was in 12th place, for heaven's sake...and this has been a very consistently strong week of competitors. Pretty much, the only way that Andy could make up the ground between 12th place and 5th place was going to be if he won the night...AND if nearly everyone else scored below their previous drop scores.
And that's exactly what happened.
This being "industry night," the scores were very clear as to who were impressive in a "could see them on Live at Gotham any day now" versus a "hey, they were pretty good" sort of way that some of judges we find at some of the other venues we go to can be expected to offer... That meant, those that earned top scores got 'em...and Andy, more than anyone else on this night, got his.
It also meant that those who might not have completely knocked it out of the park--even though they may have had perfectly good sets--found themselves with a lower than typical score from the cruel reality of industry perspective.
And that opened the door for a miracle.
...a miracle that the cynics and skeptics who make up the production crew for this competition couldn't believe it.
Here is the photographic evidence, taken by Pavel Simsa, of the very moment when Official Scorekeeper Wally Glenn realized that the Andy Haynes miracle had happened.
...and another photo when Wally informed me of what was happening...
...and another photo of when Competition Producer Ron Reid came over to make certain that we hadn't completely lost our minds...or that we hadn't made some sort of horrible computational mistake.
We hadn't.
A true, blue spectacle--a miracle had come true.
(And a nice bit of photojournalism there, Pavel...)
Congratulations to Andy Haynes--he's moving on to the semi-finals...along with Key Lewis, Geoff Lott, Leif Skyving and this week's top performer, Kyle Harbert. We'll see them in Walla Walla in a week.
In the meantime, we've got 16 (it just turned into 16 with the announcement of Ruben Barron to the previously announced 15 performers in week two) more competitors ready to battle it out over their own six night tour...to cull 5 more from the heard to join them. It all starts all over again Tuesday night at the Comedy Underground.
But, before we leave Preliminary Week One--a shout out to those brave eleven performers who are not moving on. To Rodger Lizaola, who once again came up less than a point short of making the semi-finals--this year, he was .12 behind Andy's final score (--and what will give Rodger nightmares for two years to come is wondering if the night he took a .5 point time penalty is the reason he's not a semi-finalist.) To Lizzy Pilcher, who was consistently strong all week and, like Rodger, was a mere fraction of a point away from the top 5. To Greg Reid and Mike Wally Walter, who each had their reasons and the scores behind their reasons for thinking they were in the driver's seat for making the semi-finals...and each had solid sets tonight--only to get caught up in tonight's perfect storm and both fell just short. To Darren Frost, who after a contentious second night's show, was picking up momentum only to be called away from the competition at the worst strategic time. To Stephen O'Keefe, this week's most consistent performer...who was always in the mix but never made a nightly top 5. To Lukas Seely and Scott Moran, who each hit the top5 twice during the week and were stronger than perhaps their scores on other nights might suggest. To Jaqi Furback, who started the week with a strong performance and an unexpected top finish for the night, and managed to maintain her composure and her confidence in her performances when repeating that result proved elusive. To Adam Norwest, who may have been the least experienced of the competitors this week, but who offered up a week of strong performances and exits the week having earned valuable experience that might have taken him years to acquire otherwise. To Sharon Lacey, who faced the disappointment of not building on her recent success in the San Francisco Comedy Competition with a smile...and nary a complaint or anything less than her best effort.
What a great first week...all thanks to you.
NEXT SHOW: TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6th, Preliminary Week Two-Show One takes place at the Comedy Underground in Pioneer Square, right here in Seattle. Show time, 8:30pm. Look for a report from THAT show posted late tonight and into tomorrow.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:
PRELIMINARY WEEK ONE
1) Kyle Harbert
Kirkland: 10.67
Tukwila: 11.00
Edmonds: 11.00
Longview: 11.00
Bellingham: 10.31
Underground: 8.43
-----
Total: 62.41
Drop: 8.43
Score: 53.98
2) Leif Skyving
Kirkland: 10.64
Tukwila: 10.57
Edmonds: 10.30
Longview: 9.90
Bellingham: 10.93
Underground: 8.71
-----
Total: 61.05
Drop: 8.71
Score: 52.34
3) Geoff Lott
Kirkland: 10.42
Tukwila: 10.50
Edmonds: 9.11
Longview: 10.02
Bellingham: 10.17
Underground: 10.47
-----
Total: 60.69
Drop: 9.11
Score: 51.58
4) Key Lewis
Kirkland: 9.87
Tukwila: 11.00
Edmonds: 10.59
Longview: 9.50
Bellingham: 10.29
Underground: 8.09
-----
Total: 59.33
Drop: 8.09
Score: 51.24
5) Andy Haynes
Kirkland: 10.83
Tukwila: 7.28
Edmonds: 9.50
Longview: 9.05
Bellingham: 9.98
Underground: 11.00
-----
Total: 57.64
Drop: 7.28
Score: 50.36
===============
6) Rodger Lizaola
Kirkland: 10.53
Tukwila: 10.45
Edmonds: 8.89
Longview: 9.38
Bellingham: 9.93
Underground: 9.95
-----
Total: 59.13
Drop: 8.89
Score: 50.24
7) Lizzy Pilcher
Kirkland: 8.23
Tukwila: 10.74
Edmonds: 10.o7
Longview: 9.57
Bellingham: 10.24
Underground: 9.43
-----
Total: 58.27
Drop: 8.23
Score: 50.04
8) Greg Reid
Kirkland: 9.64
Tukwila: 9.14
Edmonds: 9.88
Longview: 10.21
Bellingham: 11.00
Underground: 8.66
-----
Total: 58.53
Drop: 8.66
Score: 49.87
9) Mike Wally Walter
Kirkland: 8.12
Tukwila: 9.31
Edmonds: 10.98
Longview: 10.57
Bellingham: 10.60
Underground: 7.47
-----
Total: 57.05
Drop: 7.47
Score: 49.58
10*) Darren Frost
Kirkland: 9.33
Tukwila: 8.76
Edmonds: 10.30
Longview: 10.45
Bellingham: 10.55
Underground: 0.00
-----
Total: 49.40
Drop: 0.00
Score: 49.40
10*) Stephen O'Keefe
Kirkland: 10.07
Tukwila: 9.85
Edmonds: 9.64
Longview: 9.86
Bellingham: 9.98
Underground: 8.23
-----
Total: 57.63
Drop: 8.23
Score: 49.40
12) Lukas Seely
Kirkland: 8.17
Tukwila: 8.40
Edmonds: 10.91
Longview: 10.74
Bellingham: 9.43
Underground: 8.23
-----
Total: 55.89
Drop: 8.17
Score: 47.71
13) Scott Moran
Kirkland: 8.33
Tukwila: 8.88
Edmonds: 10.34
Longview: 9.57
Bellingham: 10.41
Underground: 7.85
-----
Total: 55.38
Drop: 7.85
Total: 47.53
14) Jaqi Furback
Kirkland: 11.00
Tukwila: 10.00
Edmonds: 8.39
Longview: 9.00
Bellingham: 9.12
Underground: 6.95
-----
Total: 54.45
Drop: 6.95
Score: 47.50
15) Adam Norwest
Kirkland: 9.98
Tukwila: 6.97
Edmonds: 9.86
Longview: 7.71
Bellingham: 9.07
Underground: 7.19
-----
Total: 50.78
Drop: 6.97
Score: 43.81
16) Sharon Lacey
Kirkland: 7.87
Tukwila: 7.62
Edmonds: 8.09
Longview: 9.21
Bellingham: 9.36
Underground: 6.33
-----
Total: 48.48
Drop: 6.33
Score: 42.15
(NOTE ONE: There are additional decimal point differences between Darren's and Stephen's scores--due to the averaging of scores throughout the process. However, the scores are essentially the same...so, I've listed them as being tied here.)
(NOTE TWO: Comparing this year's Preliminary Week One to last year's, a compliment must be made regarding the depth of talent in this year's field. Even into the lower positions, the scores across the board were stronger this year--up to five to eight points higher than comparable positions the previous years for those who did not make the semi-finals. Perhaps those who did not move on this year can take some consolation in that--and perhaps those who have moved on will know that they do so after surviving tough competition.)
Monday, November 05, 2007
Ch-ch-ch-changes... SICC competitors list changes.
While tonight's show is the dramatic conclusion to an exciting and very closely contested Preliminary Week One of the 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition, it will likely continue without Toronto's Darren Frost.
Darren, who had a slower than expected start in this week's competition before turning it on and making the top 5 the last two nigths, and was once considered to be one of the early favorites to possibly win the entire competition, will be unable to perform at tonight's final night of his week--due to prior commitments. He had hoped to have earned five strong scores in the first five shows, and that would allow him to drop tonight's score and still make his way into the semi-finals.
Unfortunately, as it stands, Darren is in 7th place--and could have moved up with a strong performance tonight and some slippage from those above him...but by not performing tonight, he's consigned himself to narrowly miss moving on.
Darren's a strong performer and I wouldn't be surprised to see him working in this area more often--and when he does, remember to buckle up.
In other competitors news, the start of Preliminary Week Two is tomorrow...and the competitors list for that week continues to be in flux. A couple of highly regarded performers that originally accepted invitations to compete in week two had dropped out and had been replaced...the most recent announced replacement was that local alt-comedy favorite and the man behind "Making Strangers Laugh", Derek Sheen, has been added to Week 2.
But, in a last minute decision, another of the potential favorites to win the competition has had to pull out...
Billy Wayne Davis, originally from Nashville but now making his home here in Seattle, will not be competing this year. That's very sad news--as he has a wonderfully unique comedic presence that is impossible to duplicate...and I do hope that we'll see him battle for the championship next year. (That's right, Billy Wayne...don't you dare get too famous between now and then.)
Because of the last minute-ness of this decision, it is unclear whether or not the competition will be able or interested in replacing him with another performer--or if they will simply run this week with only 15 comedians (and that has happened in previous years, so there is precedent for that.) As of right now, 15 comedians are listed and 15 comedians are expected...but if that changes, we'll announce those changes here.
Darren, who had a slower than expected start in this week's competition before turning it on and making the top 5 the last two nigths, and was once considered to be one of the early favorites to possibly win the entire competition, will be unable to perform at tonight's final night of his week--due to prior commitments. He had hoped to have earned five strong scores in the first five shows, and that would allow him to drop tonight's score and still make his way into the semi-finals.
Unfortunately, as it stands, Darren is in 7th place--and could have moved up with a strong performance tonight and some slippage from those above him...but by not performing tonight, he's consigned himself to narrowly miss moving on.
Darren's a strong performer and I wouldn't be surprised to see him working in this area more often--and when he does, remember to buckle up.
In other competitors news, the start of Preliminary Week Two is tomorrow...and the competitors list for that week continues to be in flux. A couple of highly regarded performers that originally accepted invitations to compete in week two had dropped out and had been replaced...the most recent announced replacement was that local alt-comedy favorite and the man behind "Making Strangers Laugh", Derek Sheen, has been added to Week 2.
But, in a last minute decision, another of the potential favorites to win the competition has had to pull out...
Billy Wayne Davis, originally from Nashville but now making his home here in Seattle, will not be competing this year. That's very sad news--as he has a wonderfully unique comedic presence that is impossible to duplicate...and I do hope that we'll see him battle for the championship next year. (That's right, Billy Wayne...don't you dare get too famous between now and then.)
Because of the last minute-ness of this decision, it is unclear whether or not the competition will be able or interested in replacing him with another performer--or if they will simply run this week with only 15 comedians (and that has happened in previous years, so there is precedent for that.) As of right now, 15 comedians are listed and 15 comedians are expected...but if that changes, we'll announce those changes here.
SICC: Preliminary Week Scoring Analysis
Normally, this is where I wax on poetically about the cruelty of math.
Typically, going into the last night of a competition week, despite the best efforts of all of the talented comedians who have given their best efforts night after night, it's painfully clear that only a few of the valiant competitors actually have a mathematical chance of moving on to the next week.
As a competitor, you want to go into that last week with some sense that there's hope...that there's a chance, no matter how unlikely it may be, for you to pull off the big last-minute comeback.
As I said, so often, the top five is elusive to all but a few going into that last night of the week.
But...I can't say that THIS week.
THIS week, because all of the competitors have been earning solid scores from venue to venue and the judging has been close the entire time--math be not so cruel. THIS week, FOURTEEN of the competitors in Preliminary Week One have a chance--however unlikely--of snagging one of the top five positions.
Well, ok...actually, 12 of them are fighting for three spots...but still...if the recent NBA draft teaches us anything...it's that even a team with only a ping-pong or two might end up with a top pick--and who knows what havoc the results of tomorrow night's show might make on the expected progression of things.
Let me go ahead and explain the math we're working with here...
But, then again...don't count anything (or almost anyone) out.
Go ahead and laugh right in math's face if you want to...you've got the touch, you've got the power.
And you've got one last chance to see what these performers have to offer--at the Comedy Underground at 8:30pm Monday, November 5th.
Typically, going into the last night of a competition week, despite the best efforts of all of the talented comedians who have given their best efforts night after night, it's painfully clear that only a few of the valiant competitors actually have a mathematical chance of moving on to the next week.
As a competitor, you want to go into that last week with some sense that there's hope...that there's a chance, no matter how unlikely it may be, for you to pull off the big last-minute comeback.
As I said, so often, the top five is elusive to all but a few going into that last night of the week.
But...I can't say that THIS week.
THIS week, because all of the competitors have been earning solid scores from venue to venue and the judging has been close the entire time--math be not so cruel. THIS week, FOURTEEN of the competitors in Preliminary Week One have a chance--however unlikely--of snagging one of the top five positions.
Well, ok...actually, 12 of them are fighting for three spots...but still...if the recent NBA draft teaches us anything...it's that even a team with only a ping-pong or two might end up with a top pick--and who knows what havoc the results of tomorrow night's show might make on the expected progression of things.
Let me go ahead and explain the math we're working with here...
According to the unofficial cumulative results...here's what's happening:
- As you know, each performer has received a score for each night--the top judged performer of the night is scored as an eleven--ten for the best judged score and one bonus point for the encore point. Every other competitor's score is less than eleven.
- There are six shows in this preliminary week, but only the competitor's top five scores are added together for a final score. The lowest of the six scores is dropped.
- The five performers with the best five final scores will move on to compete in the semi-finals.
Kyle Harbert, he of the three first place finishes and having placed every single night, leads this week's competition going into the sixth show. His current five show total is 53.98 and his lowest score of the week was 10.31. That means that 53.98 is the lowest score he can get, because if his score for the sixth show is lower than 10.31, then THAT score is the score that would be dropped and the current drop score 10.31 would be used. If he scores more than 10.31, then the 10.31 score is dropped. Kyle's maximum score is determined by subtracting his drop score from his current total score and then adding the maximum score he might get on the sixth show, which would be 11.00. If Kyle Harbert wins tomorrow night, he would get 11.00 points...and drop his 10.31...giving him a maximum score of 54.67.
Because Kyle's lowest possible score, compared to the highest score of everyone else, would keep him in the top 5,--Kyle is, mathematically a lock for one of the top 5 spots--Kyle is IN the semi-finals...even if he dropped his pants and took a giant dump on the Comedy Underground stage. (Unless I missed a "no public defecation" rule in the rulebook, of course.)
Here then is all of the math you need to know to know who is capable of doing what...
PRELIMINARY WEEK ONE: (MATH REVISED 11/6 at 9:58am, due to revisions on the score for 11/4-Bellingham)
(FORMAT: name/drop score (aka lowest nightly score)/current (aka minimum) weekly score/maximum weekly score)
1) Kyle Harbert / 10.31 / 53.98 / 54.67
(Because Kyle's lowest possible score is higher than everyone else's highest possible scores, Kyle is not only locked into the semi-finals...he goes into the last show of the week already knowing that he will be the first place finisher for the week.)
2) Leif Skyving / 9.90 / 52.34 / 53.44
(The best that Leif can do is to maintain his current second place standing. The worst that he can finish is in third place. Thus, Leif is locked into the semi-finals.)
3) Key Lewis / 9.50 / 51.24 / 52.74
(The best that Key can finish is in second place. The worst that Key can finish is eighth place. A poor showing in the next show and impressive showings by a couple of a handful of competitors could push Key completely out of the semi-finals. It could happen--but Key is in the best position of anyone to defend his position into the semi-finals, with high scores and a high drop score.)
4) Mike Wally Walter / 8.12 / 49.58 / 52.46
(The best that Mike can finish is in third place. The worst that Mike can finish is in 14th place. Note that Mike Wally has a lower current total score but is ahead of Geoff Lott currently because Mike has a lower drop score--so, by shedding that score, his adjusted score and possible maximum score goes up higher than Geoff's.)
5) Geoff Lott / 9.11 / 50.22 / 52.11
(The best that Geoff can finish is in third place. The worst, in theory, that Geoff can finish is in 11th place.)
6) Greg Reid / 9.14 / 49.87 / 51.73
(The best that Greg can finish is in third place. The worst that Greg can finish is in 14th place.)
7) Darren Frost / 8.76 / 49.40 / 51.64
(Although Darren thought he was mathematically eliminated after the second night of the competition, the truth is that, in theory, Darren could finish in third place. The worst that Darren can finish is in 14th place. Remember, too, that fellow Canadian Damonde Tschritter went into the last night of BOTH his preliminary week AND the semi-final week in seventh place and managed to move on each time...and he ended up winning the entire competition.)
8) Lizzy Pilcher / 8.23 / 48.84 / 51.62
(The best that Lizzy can finish is in third place. The worst that Lizzy can finish is in 14th place.)
9) Rodger Lizaola / 8.89 / 49.18 / 51.29
(Obviously, once you get into these scenarios--the chances get slimmer as they would involve a lot of competitors getting low scores--however, the best that Rodger could do is finish third. The worst that Rodger could do is 14th place.)
10) Stephen O'Keefe / 9.69 / 49.50 / 50.75
(Stephen's consistency has kept him within spitting distance of the top five, but it also means that he doesn't have much as much room for improvement. Stephen's best possible finish is fourth place. His worst is 14th.)
11) Lukas Seely / 8.17 / 47.65 / 50.48
(Starting the week with two weak scores has put Lukas in difficult straits. Still, his best possible finish would give him a chance to make the semi-finals, as he could finish as high as fourth. Lukas's worst possible finish would be 14th.)
12) Andy Haynes / 7.28 / 46.64 / 50.36
(Andy Haynes could possibly finish as high as fourth place, and, at worst, 15th.)
13) Scott Moran / 8.33 / 47.53 / 50.19
(Scott, like Lukas, is anchored by two weak scores in the first two shows. His best possible finish would be fifth, and Scott's worst possible finish would be 15th.)
14) Jaqi Furback / 8.39 / 47.50 / 50.11
(Jaqi, the winner of the first night of the week, could find herself on the outside looking in without a near miracle occurring. Yet, miracles have been known to happen...and Jaqi could, mathematically, possibly finish fifth. Her worst possible finish would be 15th.)
And now, a moment of quiet contemplation of the only two competitors who five nights of comedy have shaken loose from their desperate cling to the hope of moving on...
15) Adam Norwest / 6.97 / 43.59 / 47.62
(Adam's best possible finish would be 12th, Adam's worst would be:16th)
16) Sharon Lacey / 7.62 / 42.15 / 45.53
(Sharon's best possible finish would be 15th, Sharon's worst would be 16th.)
Back, for a moment, to those fighting to get into the semi-finals:
- Kyle Harbert is locked--he's in the semi-finals.
- Leif Skyving is locked--he's in the semi-finals.
- Key Lewis needs to score an 9.91 or better on Monday night in order to be locked into the semi-finals. A lower score than that leaves him vulnerable to not getting into the second round.
- Geoff Lott needs to score 10.54 or better to be guaranteed of a spot in the semi-finals. Lower scores leave him vulnerable.
But, then again...don't count anything (or almost anyone) out.
Go ahead and laugh right in math's face if you want to...you've got the touch, you've got the power.
And you've got one last chance to see what these performers have to offer--at the Comedy Underground at 8:30pm Monday, November 5th.
SICC: Preliminary Week One--Night Five
Big News! Kyle Harbert didn't take first on this night!
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week One--Night Five
November 4, 2007
The Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar, Bellingham
Sometimes, it's good to be reminded that comedy isn't always pristine comedy clubs, good natured banquet rooms, plush new theaters or hot crowds in beautiful old theaters.
Sometimes, it's good not to get too comfortable, lest one gets spoiled.
Sometimes, it's good to give the competitors an honest challenge--a hell gig room in front of a disinterested audience full of drunken and chatty wannabe ballers who can't seem to absorb the concept that a comedy competition is happening within fifteen feet of their domestic disputes...
Sometimes...but MAN, was it depressing to run into a near nightmare situation in a normally strong room like The Fairhaven in Bellingham...because the competitors, game as they might be to plow through it, had little chance to really and truly show what they could do.
But, the good news is that the judges saw through the distractions and gave the competitors the scores that they earned...and I'm told that half of the room was enjoying themselves...and sometimes, that's all you can hope for...
(FULL REPORT TO COME. THIS REPORT IS BEING POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
There is a reason that all scores on the night that they are tabulated are considered to be "unofficial"--because computational mistakes can occur. And, on this night, they did.
The top five announced for the night left Mike Wally Walter off the podium and out of the picture below. So, if you've got SICC OCD, you can take the photo below and erase Kyle Harbert OUT...and put Mike Wally IN... And then, get a hobby--because you've got too much time on your hands.)
And...the top five for the night are, OFFICIALLY...???
Fifth place--Scott Moran.
Fourth place--Darren Frost.
Third place--Mike Wally Walter.
Second place--Leif Skyving.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Greg Reid.
(L-R: Kyle Harbert, James Heneghen, Scott Moran, Darren Frost, Leif Skyving, Greg Reid. Not pictured: Mike Wally Walter.)
NEXT SHOW: MONDAY NOVEMBER 5th, Preliminary Week One-Show Six takes place at the Comedy Underground in Pioneer Square, right here in Seattle. The week's top five performers, who will move on to the semi-finals, will be announced at that show Show time, 8:30pm. Look for a report from THAT show posted late tonight and into tomorrow.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week One--Night Five
November 4, 2007
The Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar, Bellingham
Sometimes, it's good to be reminded that comedy isn't always pristine comedy clubs, good natured banquet rooms, plush new theaters or hot crowds in beautiful old theaters.
Sometimes, it's good not to get too comfortable, lest one gets spoiled.
Sometimes, it's good to give the competitors an honest challenge--a hell gig room in front of a disinterested audience full of drunken and chatty wannabe ballers who can't seem to absorb the concept that a comedy competition is happening within fifteen feet of their domestic disputes...
Sometimes...but MAN, was it depressing to run into a near nightmare situation in a normally strong room like The Fairhaven in Bellingham...because the competitors, game as they might be to plow through it, had little chance to really and truly show what they could do.
But, the good news is that the judges saw through the distractions and gave the competitors the scores that they earned...and I'm told that half of the room was enjoying themselves...and sometimes, that's all you can hope for...
(FULL REPORT TO COME. THIS REPORT IS BEING POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
There is a reason that all scores on the night that they are tabulated are considered to be "unofficial"--because computational mistakes can occur. And, on this night, they did.
The top five announced for the night left Mike Wally Walter off the podium and out of the picture below. So, if you've got SICC OCD, you can take the photo below and erase Kyle Harbert OUT...and put Mike Wally IN... And then, get a hobby--because you've got too much time on your hands.)
And...the top five for the night are, OFFICIALLY...???
Fifth place--Scott Moran.
Fourth place--Darren Frost.
Third place--Mike Wally Walter.
Second place--Leif Skyving.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Greg Reid.
(L-R: Kyle Harbert, James Heneghen, Scott Moran, Darren Frost, Leif Skyving, Greg Reid. Not pictured: Mike Wally Walter.)
NEXT SHOW: MONDAY NOVEMBER 5th, Preliminary Week One-Show Six takes place at the Comedy Underground in Pioneer Square, right here in Seattle. The week's top five performers, who will move on to the semi-finals, will be announced at that show Show time, 8:30pm. Look for a report from THAT show posted late tonight and into tomorrow.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Sunday, November 04, 2007
SICC: Preliminary Week One--Night Four
Obviously, the pace of this year's competition is bogging down the blogging process. There should be an opportunity to catch up with ALL of these partially submitted reports on Monday. Your patience and understanding is appreciated...although, your frustrations have been noted--and once we get caught up with this week's reports, things should go much more efficiently for the remaining weeks of the competition.
Note: The reports from Night One and Night Two from this week are completely finished. Work continues on the others.
--pg
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week One--Night Four
November 3, 2007
Columbia Theatre For the Performing Arts, Longview
(the following individual competitor review reports are to be posted soon)
LEIF SKYVING
ADAM NORWEST
MIKE WALLY WALTER
GEOFF LOTT
SCOTT MORAN
ANDY HAYNES
LUKAS SEELY
RODGER LIZAOLA
LIZZY PILCHER
DARREN FROST
GREG REID
STEPHEN O'KEEFE
KYLE HARBERT
JAQI FURBACK
KEY LEWIS
SHARON LACEY
(THIS REPORT IS BEING POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And...the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Greg Reid.
Fourth place--Darren Frost.
Third place--Mike Wally Walter.
Second place--Lukas Seely.
...and, the top performer for the night...for the THIRD NIGHT IN A ROW...
First place--Kyle Harbert.
(L-R: Greg Reid, Darren Frost, The Guy From the "Operation Game" (aka Mike Wally Walter), Lukas Seely, Ron Osborne, Kyle Harbert)
NEXT SHOW: SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th, Preliminary Week One-Show Five takes place at the Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar in Bellingham--show time, 8:30pm. Look for a report from THAT show posted late tonight and into tomorrow.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Note: The reports from Night One and Night Two from this week are completely finished. Work continues on the others.
--pg
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week One--Night Four
November 3, 2007
Columbia Theatre For the Performing Arts, Longview
(the following individual competitor review reports are to be posted soon)
LEIF SKYVING
ADAM NORWEST
MIKE WALLY WALTER
GEOFF LOTT
SCOTT MORAN
ANDY HAYNES
LUKAS SEELY
RODGER LIZAOLA
LIZZY PILCHER
DARREN FROST
GREG REID
STEPHEN O'KEEFE
KYLE HARBERT
JAQI FURBACK
KEY LEWIS
SHARON LACEY
(THIS REPORT IS BEING POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And...the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Greg Reid.
Fourth place--Darren Frost.
Third place--Mike Wally Walter.
Second place--Lukas Seely.
...and, the top performer for the night...for the THIRD NIGHT IN A ROW...
First place--Kyle Harbert.
(L-R: Greg Reid, Darren Frost, The Guy From the "Operation Game" (aka Mike Wally Walter), Lukas Seely, Ron Osborne, Kyle Harbert)
NEXT SHOW: SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th, Preliminary Week One-Show Five takes place at the Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar in Bellingham--show time, 8:30pm. Look for a report from THAT show posted late tonight and into tomorrow.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Saturday, November 03, 2007
SICC: Preliminary Week One--Night Three
11/5 report progress update: The post BELOW THIS ONE, on the second night of the competition, is now finished.
Work now continues on THIS report...and then the one above it...etc. Thank you for your patience.
You know, kids these days have it pretty good. Back in MY day, the competition would drag its preliminary week competitors into smoky sports bars in Kent and Yakima, shoutfests in Oak Harbor, wannabe hipster bars that hadn't really cottoned to comedy...and to each of those venues we had to walk for miles and miles...uphill...both ways...through three feet of snow...and for craft services, we were given a lump of dried poison.
Now?
The kids in this year's first preliminary week
are getting spoiled by the luxury of performing in a wonderful new comedy club in Kirkland, the life of leisure as sampled at a country club in Tukwila...and now, in the third brand new venue of the competition, these spoiled performers are given a brand new and wonderfully plush 700-seat theater with all mod cons--including a stage manager who softly whispers reminders into the green room speaker for each performer, in turn, to begin making their way towards the stage for their performance.
Pah.
But, you know what? We were happier in those days.
Actually, no.
As I look around at the wonder that is the Edmonds Center for the Arts, I have to admit--"No, we weren't."
Lucky bastards.
(And apologies to the Four Yorkshiremen.)
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week One--Night Three
November 2, 2007
Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds
So, things have started out very good for this year's competition. We've had good weather, we've had good luck with traffic, we've certainly had good performances from our competitors...and we've had good audiences. Tonight, the competition heads slightly north to check out the new Edmonds Center for the Arts--a beautiful facility constructed from an old school.
Really, the only thing that hasn't been part of our good fortune has been the health of former champion and expected host for this week, Lamont Ferguson--who, it turns out, will not be able to catch-up to our competition tonight as was hoped. We hope everything with Lamont is all right--his professionalism and good humor would have been a wonderful addition to this great group of comics.
Stepping into his shoes--although, albeit, with a different hat--is the legend that is Heneghen. James hosted a week of the competition last year...and he's been a finalist, as a competitor, in this competition more than anyone else. His experience will prove valuable to helping us break in this beautiful new venue in Edmonds.
Once again, the game faces come on and the tension begins for the competitors as they spend the hour before the show starts trying to figure out who they'll be performing for and what weapons in their arsenal will be the most effective for blowing this place up. It is a theater show and tickets weren't exactly cheap...on the other hand, it's Edmonds and not Redmond. Making those decisions and believing in the decisions that you've made is a huge part of taking on this competition.
...but so is simply doing what you do with confidence. You can think yourself right out of your best possible effort. Comedians develop their instincts...and sometimes your gut knows more than your head.
Maybe that's why there are so many funny fat guys?
As he often does, producer Ron Reid came out to address the crowd before handing things over to Heneghen. As Ron got to his standard line advising people to put their cellphones on vibrate and put them in their front pockets so they might really enjoy the show--he got groans.
"Wow," Ron said. "If you groaned at that...some of you are in for a very long night."
With that, he passed the show over to Heneghen...and, at first, you might look at Heneghen and feel a disconnect with the theater crowd. Heneghen is in his jeans, jean jacket, baseball cap, long hair and beard... But that's judging a book by its cover--because on this night, Heneghen was spot on perfect. He made connections with local references that welcomed the crowd into laughing with each other and, sometimes, at themselves.
As a couple of people with seats closer to the stage showed up late, Heneghen referenced the former use of this building as he welcomed their late arrival. "These two just got done getting high in the parking lot. Wow, this place IS just an old high school..."
His relaxed tone helped counter some of the stuffiness that sometimes keeps theater audiences sitting on their hands--when really, they should be comfortable and more ready to laugh. Heneghen got them there and inspired confidence in both the audience and the performers that they'd be in good hands tonight.
Excellent work. And, with that...the audience was handed over to the competitors to see what they could do with them...
Competitor Review-----
GEOFF LOTT, pointing at Heneghen as he left the stage, smiled and said "Hey! My drug dealer's here. It's one stop shopping in Edmonds."
Once again, Geoff proves his ability to do the little things that make a comedy performance seem both professional and "in the moment"--by connecting to the previous performer, in this case it was the host, and then he managed to take that connection and smoothly transition into his actual material...without it seeming like it was forced... He makes his prepared material seem conversational--and that's a vital skill.
There was some concern going into this venue about whether or not this crowd would expect a "clean" show. It was advertised as an all-ages show--but with the caveat that comedy can often use language that some people don't feel comfortable with... Before Geoff took the stage, Heneghen had done a cleaner version of his warm-up set--but, he also got laughs when he said something that wasn't entirely scrubbed.
Geoff took advantage of this by presenting some adult material--but it was SMART, adult material...and it worked very well. And I truly mean "adult"--as in topics and attitudes that grown-ups could relate to. Geoff related to these people. In some ways, more than any other competitor in this week, Geoff IS these people.
Yet, he knows that comedy comes from surprise...from tension and release...so, Geoff found laughs when he pushed that envelope...when he said things that this audience could relate to but not necessarily or automatically agree with...and that's where he found his laughs.
And, Geoff managed to hit his closing material perfectly...earning him an easily rendered encore point and putting the cap on an excellent bullet biting set. Now, would the scores by the end of the night reflect that or will Geoff be bitten by the bullet he just bit?
We'd have to wait and see...this night has just begun.
With the help of Ron Reid and the stage manager, a keyboard on a stand was brought out--so that meant that going up second on this night would be GREG REID. This would seem to be a venue where Greg could really shine--as Jeff at the sound and light board was going to make him look and sound good.
The crowd, charmed by a smile and Greg's easy going manner, was enjoying Greg's set...especially the bit about "Levitra" sounding like the name of a woman on a street corner in the Central District.
However, they really enjoyed his re-construction of the James Blunt song--where his keyboard, properly amplified through the theater sound system, really sounded nice...and it made it seem like Greg offered more than just being a guy on stage saying funny things.
Greg earned his encore point.
Finally, tonight, it seemed that SHARON LACEY would get a chance to truly be herself and get her laughs--rather than having to fight against paradigms when she had to follow Darren Frost's abrasive style in the previous two nights. Sharon welcomes audiences in and shares--and her success in the recent San Francisco Comedy Competition suggested that if she got the chance and a little momentum, she'd make a run here.
Following Greg's crowd-pleasing set seemed to give her the opportunity she was looking for--but when she got an "ooooh" for mentioning that she was a teacher, it suddenly didn't seem quite so promising. Sharon did a good job of acknowledging the odd reaction and guessing that there were teachers in the audience.
"...and the rest are at home, grading tests."--good connective ad lib, didn't get the love it deserved.
Her transition into her planned set was thus a bit awkward with the set-starting momentum already slipping away from her. As Sharon began to talk about her thoughts on Brazilian waxes, there was some sense of audience discomfort--not the same kind of audience tension that Geoff worked so effectively, but actual "I'm not really enjoying hearing about this" reactions.
It was one thing for her to describe someone who might want a Brazilian wax to be the owner of a hairless cat--but this audience was not ready to laugh when she imagined the recipient of a Brazilian wax showing the results to her parents and saying "Just like the old days." That went too far for Edmonds tonight.
Still, her next line was damn funny and should have got more love and more laughs than it did:
"I've had some shitty jobs, but ripping off crotch hairs isn't one of them..."
I suppose that it's hard for half of the audience to laugh as they're crossing their legs in empathy pain.
Surprisingly, she's coming across as being very dirty to this crowd. I say surprisingly because when compared to Darren's act on the previous two nights, I thought of Sharon's material as rather safe. Safe, evidently, only in direct comparison--and not so safe in the comfortable seats of the Edmonds Center for the Arts.
As she came close to the end of her set, the momentum had slipped to the point where it was getting very quiet in between the laughs she was getting for each joke. To this end--Sharon didn't seem or look uncomfortable...in fact, I still say that she has the potential to be a very good performer in a theater. I just think there was a disconnect between what material she's working and what the audience wanted from her.
This might be an excellent lesson for Sharon--that her material that has been both pulled from her reactions to her job and then honed in rough and tumble clubs, might need to be refined and deepened...because she's got great stage presence and strong technique--so, I keep coming back to thinking that it is material that is what's frustrating her progress in this competition.
Speaking of technique, Sharon was the first competitor this week to realize an effective technique for helping to get an encore point--that of staying on stage and waving to the crowd while the host considers the level of applause. Rarely can an audience that is asked for applause fail to give it, especially right to the face of a likable performer. (All bets are off if the performer has been antagonistic to the audience--but that's certainly not something you'd accuse Sharon of being...)
Sharon got her encore point...and it'll be interesting to see her scores.
Our host tonight, Heneghen, is keeping things moving--still getting in a quick one-liner to keep the laughs moving.
The next performer, MIKE WALLY WALTER, seized on the topic of the one-liner that Heneghen used to bring him up and connected that laugh to the start of one of his chunks of material. It proved to be very effective and it launched him with strong momentum into his set.
As one of the judges noted on his score card, there's no substitute for the experience of stage time--and a veteran like Mike Wally Walter's experience in handling crowds of all shapes and sizes came through loud and clear tonight.
This audience understood Mike and they loved his description of a Texas sobriety test.
That said, for the third night in a row, his Michael Jackson joke died. Three strikes and it's out, that's the comedy rule, right Mike?
But, it proved merely a minor speed bump in a solid set--as this audience connected to the Laughlin Nevada material...and to his classic stand-up style.
Towards the end of his set, Mike got a "closing set" level of applause for his "boob signing" bit--but he chose to go past it and try to get another joke in. So often, this proves disastrous--if you're near the end of your set and you get a big laugh...grab it and put it in your pocket. But Mike Wally went on...and it looked like he was going into material that might have damaged the connection he had with this audience--because where he was going was into a bit that showed off the dirtier, rowdier side of Mike than he'd shared so far...
But, again, this is where experience kicks in...because he stopped short of where the bit turns dirty--and he got one more laugh into his set, just as he wanted. Mike, like Sharon, stayed on stage and waved...but he didn't need to do the "encore whore"--he was getting a huge encore cheer just for his work on stage alone...
Up to this point, there had been a conspicuous absence of f-bombs dropped on the Edmonds crowd. That would be taken care of by KEY LEWIS and his "homeless guy passing him by at the gas station" bit. If the performers had any concern that this crowd couldn't handle whatever language that might be tossed their way--it was resolved when no one got out of their comfortable chairs and left in the middle of Key's set.
Far from it--this audience was loving Key...and Key was loving himself. When he explained to the crowd that he was half black, half white and he looked Mexican--they loved it...and Key doubled up with laughter at his own brilliance.
Fun, as every comedian should know...but sometimes forgets, is contagious. Key doesn't forget.
I still have some issues--starting his set with a stock line about his "career being on fire"...doing the "my wife is pregnant, don't clap, it's not mine" street joke...they don't impress me as solid, original material.
But boy, do they work. Proving something that Ron Reid has been saying for years--that comedy audiences, especially those in the Seattle area, don't value originality as much as those in the comedy industry seem to think it should be valued.
Audiences just want to laugh--and Key Lewis was certainly making them laugh tonight.
For heaven's sake, he closed on the words "Duct Tape" and got the biggest encore applause break of the night--give it up for Key, everybody.
It is one thing to laugh at another person's pain--isn't that the basis of every episode of "America's Funniest Home Videos? It is, unfortunately, another thing entirely when a comedian gets empathy instead of laughs. It's death.
And the line is very fine--and where the line is...that's where the biggest laughs are hiding--so, there's a lot of risk/reward calculations going into the style of comedy that JAQI FURBACK is pursuing now. When she connects on the same wavelength as her audience, like she did on the first night of this week at Laughs in Kirkland, it can be magical.
When the crowd wonders why such a nice girl would say such sad and nasty things about herself--it can be difficult to find the laughs you want... That's kind of what Edmonds was giving Jaqi on this night--chuckles and concern instead of deep belly laughs.
To her credit, Jaqi didn't try to force the issue and goose her jokes for the laughs that weren't coming as easily as they should have--nor, did she bail on her approach and try to do different, safer material. This is how she does what she does...and she presented it for the audience as best as she could. If they couldn't find the humor in it...as she obviously found the humor in it...there was little that she could do.
Edmonds just didn't go for dark, self-deprecating stuff...and Jaqi's typically winning smile didn't save her from some uncomfortable silences after jokes on this night.
Not to say that Jaqi didn't have strong moments that hinted at what the kind of reaction that she deserved to be getting. Saying that her body fat test was the first one she'd ever scored a 90 on seemed to win them back...but they fell away far too quickly to gain any traction.
I should also say that there were a number of younger girls who were giggling uncontrollably at Jaqi--perhaps they related to her and her dark look through her own insecurities more than the rest of the audience.
When it came time for her encore point, I have to say that it was very close as to whether or not Jaqi would actually get it--but Heneghen determined that she did...
(the following individual competitor review reports will be posted soon)
LEIF SKYVING
LUKAS SEELY
ADAM NORWEST
STEPHEN O'KEEFE
KYLE HARBERT
RODGER LIZAOLA
LIZZY PILCHER
DARREN FROST
ANDY HAYNES
SCOTT MORAN
(THIS REPORT IS BEING POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And...the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Scott Moran.
Fourth place--Key Lewis.
Third place--Lukas Seely.
Second place--Mike Wally Walter.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Kyle Harbert.
(Back Row: Heneghen, Scott Moran Front Row: Key Lewis, Lukas Seely, Mike Wally Walter, Kyle Harbert)
NEXT SHOW: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3rd, Preliminary Week-Show Four takes place at Columbia Theatre in Longview--show time, 7:30pm. Look for a report from THAT show posted soon.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Work now continues on THIS report...and then the one above it...etc. Thank you for your patience.
You know, kids these days have it pretty good. Back in MY day, the competition would drag its preliminary week competitors into smoky sports bars in Kent and Yakima, shoutfests in Oak Harbor, wannabe hipster bars that hadn't really cottoned to comedy...and to each of those venues we had to walk for miles and miles...uphill...both ways...through three feet of snow...and for craft services, we were given a lump of dried poison.
Now?
The kids in this year's first preliminary week
are getting spoiled by the luxury of performing in a wonderful new comedy club in Kirkland, the life of leisure as sampled at a country club in Tukwila...and now, in the third brand new venue of the competition, these spoiled performers are given a brand new and wonderfully plush 700-seat theater with all mod cons--including a stage manager who softly whispers reminders into the green room speaker for each performer, in turn, to begin making their way towards the stage for their performance.Pah.
But, you know what? We were happier in those days.
Actually, no.
As I look around at the wonder that is the Edmonds Center for the Arts, I have to admit--"No, we weren't."
Lucky bastards.
(And apologies to the Four Yorkshiremen.)
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week One--Night Three
November 2, 2007
Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds
So, things have started out very good for this year's competition. We've had good weather, we've had good luck with traffic, we've certainly had good performances from our competitors...and we've had good audiences. Tonight, the competition heads slightly north to check out the new Edmonds Center for the Arts--a beautiful facility constructed from an old school.
Really, the only thing that hasn't been part of our good fortune has been the health of former champion and expected host for this week, Lamont Ferguson--who, it turns out, will not be able to catch-up to our competition tonight as was hoped. We hope everything with Lamont is all right--his professionalism and good humor would have been a wonderful addition to this great group of comics.
Stepping into his shoes--although, albeit, with a different hat--is the legend that is Heneghen. James hosted a week of the competition last year...and he's been a finalist, as a competitor, in this competition more than anyone else. His experience will prove valuable to helping us break in this beautiful new venue in Edmonds.
Once again, the game faces come on and the tension begins for the competitors as they spend the hour before the show starts trying to figure out who they'll be performing for and what weapons in their arsenal will be the most effective for blowing this place up. It is a theater show and tickets weren't exactly cheap...on the other hand, it's Edmonds and not Redmond. Making those decisions and believing in the decisions that you've made is a huge part of taking on this competition.
...but so is simply doing what you do with confidence. You can think yourself right out of your best possible effort. Comedians develop their instincts...and sometimes your gut knows more than your head.
Maybe that's why there are so many funny fat guys?
As he often does, producer Ron Reid came out to address the crowd before handing things over to Heneghen. As Ron got to his standard line advising people to put their cellphones on vibrate and put them in their front pockets so they might really enjoy the show--he got groans.
"Wow," Ron said. "If you groaned at that...some of you are in for a very long night."
With that, he passed the show over to Heneghen...and, at first, you might look at Heneghen and feel a disconnect with the theater crowd. Heneghen is in his jeans, jean jacket, baseball cap, long hair and beard... But that's judging a book by its cover--because on this night, Heneghen was spot on perfect. He made connections with local references that welcomed the crowd into laughing with each other and, sometimes, at themselves.
As a couple of people with seats closer to the stage showed up late, Heneghen referenced the former use of this building as he welcomed their late arrival. "These two just got done getting high in the parking lot. Wow, this place IS just an old high school..."
His relaxed tone helped counter some of the stuffiness that sometimes keeps theater audiences sitting on their hands--when really, they should be comfortable and more ready to laugh. Heneghen got them there and inspired confidence in both the audience and the performers that they'd be in good hands tonight.
Excellent work. And, with that...the audience was handed over to the competitors to see what they could do with them...
Competitor Review-----
GEOFF LOTT, pointing at Heneghen as he left the stage, smiled and said "Hey! My drug dealer's here. It's one stop shopping in Edmonds."
Once again, Geoff proves his ability to do the little things that make a comedy performance seem both professional and "in the moment"--by connecting to the previous performer, in this case it was the host, and then he managed to take that connection and smoothly transition into his actual material...without it seeming like it was forced... He makes his prepared material seem conversational--and that's a vital skill.
There was some concern going into this venue about whether or not this crowd would expect a "clean" show. It was advertised as an all-ages show--but with the caveat that comedy can often use language that some people don't feel comfortable with... Before Geoff took the stage, Heneghen had done a cleaner version of his warm-up set--but, he also got laughs when he said something that wasn't entirely scrubbed.
Geoff took advantage of this by presenting some adult material--but it was SMART, adult material...and it worked very well. And I truly mean "adult"--as in topics and attitudes that grown-ups could relate to. Geoff related to these people. In some ways, more than any other competitor in this week, Geoff IS these people.
Yet, he knows that comedy comes from surprise...from tension and release...so, Geoff found laughs when he pushed that envelope...when he said things that this audience could relate to but not necessarily or automatically agree with...and that's where he found his laughs.
And, Geoff managed to hit his closing material perfectly...earning him an easily rendered encore point and putting the cap on an excellent bullet biting set. Now, would the scores by the end of the night reflect that or will Geoff be bitten by the bullet he just bit?
We'd have to wait and see...this night has just begun.
With the help of Ron Reid and the stage manager, a keyboard on a stand was brought out--so that meant that going up second on this night would be GREG REID. This would seem to be a venue where Greg could really shine--as Jeff at the sound and light board was going to make him look and sound good.
The crowd, charmed by a smile and Greg's easy going manner, was enjoying Greg's set...especially the bit about "Levitra" sounding like the name of a woman on a street corner in the Central District.
However, they really enjoyed his re-construction of the James Blunt song--where his keyboard, properly amplified through the theater sound system, really sounded nice...and it made it seem like Greg offered more than just being a guy on stage saying funny things.
Greg earned his encore point.
Finally, tonight, it seemed that SHARON LACEY would get a chance to truly be herself and get her laughs--rather than having to fight against paradigms when she had to follow Darren Frost's abrasive style in the previous two nights. Sharon welcomes audiences in and shares--and her success in the recent San Francisco Comedy Competition suggested that if she got the chance and a little momentum, she'd make a run here.
Following Greg's crowd-pleasing set seemed to give her the opportunity she was looking for--but when she got an "ooooh" for mentioning that she was a teacher, it suddenly didn't seem quite so promising. Sharon did a good job of acknowledging the odd reaction and guessing that there were teachers in the audience.
"...and the rest are at home, grading tests."--good connective ad lib, didn't get the love it deserved.
Her transition into her planned set was thus a bit awkward with the set-starting momentum already slipping away from her. As Sharon began to talk about her thoughts on Brazilian waxes, there was some sense of audience discomfort--not the same kind of audience tension that Geoff worked so effectively, but actual "I'm not really enjoying hearing about this" reactions.
It was one thing for her to describe someone who might want a Brazilian wax to be the owner of a hairless cat--but this audience was not ready to laugh when she imagined the recipient of a Brazilian wax showing the results to her parents and saying "Just like the old days." That went too far for Edmonds tonight.
Still, her next line was damn funny and should have got more love and more laughs than it did:
"I've had some shitty jobs, but ripping off crotch hairs isn't one of them..."
I suppose that it's hard for half of the audience to laugh as they're crossing their legs in empathy pain.
Surprisingly, she's coming across as being very dirty to this crowd. I say surprisingly because when compared to Darren's act on the previous two nights, I thought of Sharon's material as rather safe. Safe, evidently, only in direct comparison--and not so safe in the comfortable seats of the Edmonds Center for the Arts.
As she came close to the end of her set, the momentum had slipped to the point where it was getting very quiet in between the laughs she was getting for each joke. To this end--Sharon didn't seem or look uncomfortable...in fact, I still say that she has the potential to be a very good performer in a theater. I just think there was a disconnect between what material she's working and what the audience wanted from her.
This might be an excellent lesson for Sharon--that her material that has been both pulled from her reactions to her job and then honed in rough and tumble clubs, might need to be refined and deepened...because she's got great stage presence and strong technique--so, I keep coming back to thinking that it is material that is what's frustrating her progress in this competition.
Speaking of technique, Sharon was the first competitor this week to realize an effective technique for helping to get an encore point--that of staying on stage and waving to the crowd while the host considers the level of applause. Rarely can an audience that is asked for applause fail to give it, especially right to the face of a likable performer. (All bets are off if the performer has been antagonistic to the audience--but that's certainly not something you'd accuse Sharon of being...)
Sharon got her encore point...and it'll be interesting to see her scores.
Our host tonight, Heneghen, is keeping things moving--still getting in a quick one-liner to keep the laughs moving.
The next performer, MIKE WALLY WALTER, seized on the topic of the one-liner that Heneghen used to bring him up and connected that laugh to the start of one of his chunks of material. It proved to be very effective and it launched him with strong momentum into his set.
As one of the judges noted on his score card, there's no substitute for the experience of stage time--and a veteran like Mike Wally Walter's experience in handling crowds of all shapes and sizes came through loud and clear tonight.
This audience understood Mike and they loved his description of a Texas sobriety test.
That said, for the third night in a row, his Michael Jackson joke died. Three strikes and it's out, that's the comedy rule, right Mike?
But, it proved merely a minor speed bump in a solid set--as this audience connected to the Laughlin Nevada material...and to his classic stand-up style.
Towards the end of his set, Mike got a "closing set" level of applause for his "boob signing" bit--but he chose to go past it and try to get another joke in. So often, this proves disastrous--if you're near the end of your set and you get a big laugh...grab it and put it in your pocket. But Mike Wally went on...and it looked like he was going into material that might have damaged the connection he had with this audience--because where he was going was into a bit that showed off the dirtier, rowdier side of Mike than he'd shared so far...
But, again, this is where experience kicks in...because he stopped short of where the bit turns dirty--and he got one more laugh into his set, just as he wanted. Mike, like Sharon, stayed on stage and waved...but he didn't need to do the "encore whore"--he was getting a huge encore cheer just for his work on stage alone...
Up to this point, there had been a conspicuous absence of f-bombs dropped on the Edmonds crowd. That would be taken care of by KEY LEWIS and his "homeless guy passing him by at the gas station" bit. If the performers had any concern that this crowd couldn't handle whatever language that might be tossed their way--it was resolved when no one got out of their comfortable chairs and left in the middle of Key's set.
Far from it--this audience was loving Key...and Key was loving himself. When he explained to the crowd that he was half black, half white and he looked Mexican--they loved it...and Key doubled up with laughter at his own brilliance.
Fun, as every comedian should know...but sometimes forgets, is contagious. Key doesn't forget.
I still have some issues--starting his set with a stock line about his "career being on fire"...doing the "my wife is pregnant, don't clap, it's not mine" street joke...they don't impress me as solid, original material.
But boy, do they work. Proving something that Ron Reid has been saying for years--that comedy audiences, especially those in the Seattle area, don't value originality as much as those in the comedy industry seem to think it should be valued.
Audiences just want to laugh--and Key Lewis was certainly making them laugh tonight.
For heaven's sake, he closed on the words "Duct Tape" and got the biggest encore applause break of the night--give it up for Key, everybody.
It is one thing to laugh at another person's pain--isn't that the basis of every episode of "America's Funniest Home Videos? It is, unfortunately, another thing entirely when a comedian gets empathy instead of laughs. It's death.
And the line is very fine--and where the line is...that's where the biggest laughs are hiding--so, there's a lot of risk/reward calculations going into the style of comedy that JAQI FURBACK is pursuing now. When she connects on the same wavelength as her audience, like she did on the first night of this week at Laughs in Kirkland, it can be magical.
When the crowd wonders why such a nice girl would say such sad and nasty things about herself--it can be difficult to find the laughs you want... That's kind of what Edmonds was giving Jaqi on this night--chuckles and concern instead of deep belly laughs.
To her credit, Jaqi didn't try to force the issue and goose her jokes for the laughs that weren't coming as easily as they should have--nor, did she bail on her approach and try to do different, safer material. This is how she does what she does...and she presented it for the audience as best as she could. If they couldn't find the humor in it...as she obviously found the humor in it...there was little that she could do.
Edmonds just didn't go for dark, self-deprecating stuff...and Jaqi's typically winning smile didn't save her from some uncomfortable silences after jokes on this night.
Not to say that Jaqi didn't have strong moments that hinted at what the kind of reaction that she deserved to be getting. Saying that her body fat test was the first one she'd ever scored a 90 on seemed to win them back...but they fell away far too quickly to gain any traction.
I should also say that there were a number of younger girls who were giggling uncontrollably at Jaqi--perhaps they related to her and her dark look through her own insecurities more than the rest of the audience.
When it came time for her encore point, I have to say that it was very close as to whether or not Jaqi would actually get it--but Heneghen determined that she did...
(the following individual competitor review reports will be posted soon)
LEIF SKYVING
LUKAS SEELY
ADAM NORWEST
STEPHEN O'KEEFE
KYLE HARBERT
RODGER LIZAOLA
LIZZY PILCHER
DARREN FROST
ANDY HAYNES
SCOTT MORAN
(THIS REPORT IS BEING POSTED IN SECTIONS. YOU COULD CONTINUE TO READ BELOW TO SEE WHO THE TOP FIVE PERFORMERS WERE FOR THIS NIGHT.)
And...the top five for the night are...???
Fifth place--Scott Moran.
Fourth place--Key Lewis.
Third place--Lukas Seely.
Second place--Mike Wally Walter.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Kyle Harbert.
(Back Row: Heneghen, Scott Moran Front Row: Key Lewis, Lukas Seely, Mike Wally Walter, Kyle Harbert)
NEXT SHOW: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3rd, Preliminary Week-Show Four takes place at Columbia Theatre in Longview--show time, 7:30pm. Look for a report from THAT show posted soon.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Friday, November 02, 2007
SICC: Preliminary Week One--Night Two
"Everything will work out if you let it..."
--Cheap Trick
There are times when I wonder if the production crew who puts the Seattle International Comedy Competition together are simply gluttons for punishment. 23 shows in 26 days at 16 venues with 32 comedians plus hosts...endless miles and countless fires needing to be put out. We all know that and we sign on for it.
This year, just for fun, we decided to start the competition in three straight venues that the competition has never been in before. Do we ease in to the drama inherent in putting this competition on (and, by doing so, make it easier for the competitors who are thrown into this particular blast furnace) by going to places who we know understand what we need and are set and ready to handle the drama that we bring? Well, of course not... Where's the fun in THAT?
The first show, at Laughs Comedy Spot in Kirkland, went very well--because it's a comedy club and we're a comedy show... Thanks to Dave, Angela and everyone there...everything went very well.
For our next magic trick, the competition scheduled the second show of this week at Gordons on the Green in Tukwila. The show would take place in a banquet room of a golf course country club.
On the plus side, local comedians Marcus Absher and Tony Daniel have booked and promoted comedy shows at this venue and have had good responses to those shows. Concerns, however, included whether or not there'd be a sound system set up for us...and, based on some weak pre-show ticket sales reports, if more than a handful of people would be in the audience for our brave Preliminary Week One competitors?
Not to ruin the suspense, but the night went very well...if a bit long...
And when the top five was announced at Gordon's on the Green in Tukwila, there was a surprise for everyone.
On this night, there wouldn't be a top five.
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week One--Night Two
November 1, 2007
Gordon's On The Green, Tukwila
If Kirkland, home of the previous show's venue, was on the Eastside, from a Seattle perspective, Tukwila is South. Known for the Southcenter shopping complex (oh, I'm sorry...they're calling it "Westfield" now, but if you try to tell someone to go to Westfield, they'll respond with "You mean Southcenter?") and for being close to the SeaTac International Airport, Tukwila is also home to Gordon's on the Green--the restaurant and banquet complex of a golf course country club that has recently begun hosting comedy shows, about once every two to three months.
Personally, I've had the opportunity to perform on one of those comedy shows. If the audience I performed for was, in any way, typical, the audiences seemed to like comedy...wanted to be rather interactive with the performers (in other words, they were chatty...both with each other, but also to the comedian trying to do their act) and they had different sensitive areas than most "Seattle" audiences.
Let me explain. Seattle is known for having good comedy audiences--smart and aware. They're also known for getting a bit sphinctery about certain topics--especially when those topics are brought up by people who those audiences feel don't have "the right" to be the ones making those jokes about those topics. Comedians from other regions of the country are often amazed by how certain jokes which kill everywhere else will totally freeze out a Seattle audience.
Tukwila, however, is not Seattle. Sure, it's close to Seattle...and people from Seattle go to Tukwila (typically, to go to Southcenter...I mean Westfield...whatever, you know what I mean...)...but it's different. So, there are different sensibilities at play here... Knowing what this audience expects, wants and can't handle...well, that'll be one of the unfathomable amount of variables that every comedian has to consider when determining what approach they're going to take with their performance.
That's what THEY had to worry about. As it turns out, everything the production staff might have been worried about was handled. A perfectly good sound system was put together and there were no complaints about that. The attendance concerns, which lingered on as even with less than twenty minutes to go before showtime and only a handful of people were seated in the show room, turned out to be needless...as the room completely filled and more chairs were needed than originally planned for...
Many thanks to the staff and management at Gordon's on the Green for their help in making this event come together
And thanks, again, to David Testroet for helping out and stepping in as host for a second night--as health concerns continue to keep Lamont Ferguson away for at least another night.
Let me also address this right here--every performer has their own style and their own way of handling the duties of being a host...and no one is every going to confuse David's rough and tumble road-tested style with the more stylish and controlled finesse of Lamont Ferguson. There's been some rumbling amongst the competitors from last night (and it continued on this night) on the role of (and expectations of) the host in this competition.
I understand some of the whispered (and not so whispered) frustrations that I've heard from some of the competitors. On the other hand, the simple truth is that any concern regarding the host is just one of the seemingly infinite number of variables in this competition...and its something that every one in this competition is dealing with at the same time.
And, say what you will about certain aspects of his hosting technique, David did a very good job of warming up the crowd at Gordon's on this night. I got the feeling that he would definitely be a performer that they'd like to see booked at this club again. He gets his laughs quick and he definitely understands a crowd that sometimes looks at a comedy show like they're a birthday party at a Chuck E. Cheese...they WANT the staff to come out and embarrass the birthday kid...and some comedy audiences seem to really want the "battle" between a crowdworking comic and a table that's "getting picked on."
It's not everyone's cup of tea...but there's definitely that scent in the air at Gordon's...and David, like a comedy bloodhound, picked up on that scent...and got the ball rolling.
(And, he came in and helped out at the last minute. Props for that, David.)
Competitor Review-----
Last night, ANDY HAYNES closed out the long show and ended up a top 5 finisher. On this night, he was in the exact opposite position--he bit the bullet and went up first. Going up last is sometimes good and sometimes bad, but going up first is almost always a tough spot for any performer. The crowd--and the judges--have just started to get into the show.
Andy bit down hard on that bullet...and he had 'em. HE HAD 'EM. And then he lost them on a joke that absolutely killed the night before--remember what I said about this audience having a different sensibility than others. Andy never really got them back fully...so, it wasn't THAT much of a surprise when he didn't get an encore point.
Can you say "probable drop score night"?
After his set, MIKE WALLY WALTER came up to me and whispered, "I felt I had to try something different tonight." Whether or not that was inspired by my reporting on last night or just a veteran performer's instincts--what was surprising was to think of a performer as experienced as Mike Wally Walter is would be so ready to change his style.
How much of a change was there? Well, I got the sense that he was going much faster...and his talking accelerated, if anything, during his set. However, what I noticed even more was that this audience was really enjoying his crowd work (remember what I said about Chuck E. Cheese?)--to the point where his crowd work was what was scoring with the audience. The audience gave him an encore point-level cheer even before Dave came back to the stage to make the encore point pimp... Score one for Mike Wally.
Next up, RODGER LIZAOLA.
Seattle, proper, is pretty white bread. South of Seattle, less so...and Tukwila is definitely "south of Seattle." Now, on this night, we're talking about a country club gig--south of Seattle or not--so you wouldn't automatically think it would be true, but it has been my experience that performers of ethnicity--especially African-American and Mexican-American performers-- seemed to do well here at Gordon's on the Green's previous comedy shows. Part of that is the "south of Seattle"-ness of the venue's location--but the entire Seattle/Tacoma metro corridor has a certain affinity for celebrating the artistic endeavors of different ethnicities--kind of like dipping white bread into a guacamole spread.
Sure enough, there was a table right up front that could instantly relate to Rodger's point of view...and they gave him mad love, especially on his "Mexicans in the future" chunk.
And who, other than Rodger, can end a joke by singing the praises of "Retarded Honeys"?
Rodger also showed some competition savvy, when he cut his closing joke short when he got a show closing laugh on one of the punchlines of a run, rather than continuing on to the end like his performance was on rails.
Great decision, Rodger...and he was rewarded with a BIG encore cheer and the encore point.
Before going up, LIZZY PILCHER asked me if there were any Putt-Putts in the area. As I too often do, I went off on a longwinded Cliff Clavin-like ramble about the various styles of miniature golf courses...and described the difference between the "adventure golf"-style courses (with waterfalls, rock formations, multi-levels) and the Putt-Putt style of short, flat and technical-style mini-golf. Unfortunately, Lizzy was only asking me because she wanted to use Putt Putt in a joke, which would have worked very well...and instead, took from my answer the idea of calling it "Adventure Golf" in her joke instead. Putt Putt would have worked better and I should have told you that ahead of time, Lizzy. Sorry.
Lizzy stuck to her guns and did her best, most-time tested material. Tonight, she took to the stage with...and maintained throughout her set...with more energy. Typically, Lizzy works more casually...but tonight she found a higher energy level that works for her (and with her chosen material.) She seemed to grow in confidence as her set went on--so, her energy level felt more and more natural. One of her early jokes makes fun of President Bush, and it generated some good hearted booing from one large table towards the back, filled with country club members--as a country club in Tukwila might be one of the few places in Western Washington where you might run into more than a handful of card-carrying and out of the closet conservatives.
One of the most amazing moments that I've EVER seen in a competition show happened completely by accident. Lizzy, as a standard localizing transition, added the name of the venue to the first line of a joke...and Lizzy, being Lizzy, adds a cynical sauciness to it...kind of drawing attention to the inherent silliness of what is an effective technique.
What she said tonight was, "I don't smoke weed, Gordon's...on the Green.."
And in the moment that she paused before continuing her joke, one of the judges quickly recognized that her pause and her delivery of "on the green" was easily interpreted as a sly accusation...
And with that judge's laughter, before Lizzy could continue, others started to pick up on it...
Before she knew it, Lizzy was getting a strong applause break...for what, to her, was an innocuous transition line. And it was only THEN that Lizzy put the pieces and "got the joke" herself.
You could tell that it threw Lizzy off a bit. How do you possibly follow up on something that you didn't plan on doing? As she tried to work her way towards her closer, she started stumbling over her words... She must have known that she was tripping on her way to victory, so after one more misspoken word, she just said "Fuck it!" and closed without bothering to get to the joke.
THAT HONESTY and having won the crowd over already, earned Lizzy one of the biggest encore points of the night.
I wouldn't advise her to close with "Fuck it!" every show--but, what do I know? I couldn't even agree on suggesting Putt-Putt.
Sometimes GEOFF LOTT is too smart for his own comedy good. He learned that in two previous attempts to move forward in this competition and it's a lesson that he continues to show improved mastery over in THIS year's attempt.
On this night, Geoff did a smart thing--as he tried to connect himself to the show with a callback to Lizzy's opening joke. Good thought, but after Lizzy's dramatic closing moments, no one in the room could be expected to remember anything that had happened before it...even from as recently as the beginning of her set--so, his opening line fell flat. That, I think pushed Geoff, a bit, out of the extremely confident and comfortable tone he enjoyed last night.
That sense of Geoff being slightly off-kilter continued when he went into his crowd rhetorical start to his "does size matters?" joke--the joke itself, is a great, quick, crisp transition joke that balances out his longer more cerebral material. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, this particular room really likes to interact with the comments--so, asking the women if "size matters" didn't give Geoff the simple "yes" answer that helps his joke--he got crowd chaos as the topic spurred a negative first reaction and then a scientific investigation into that answer, complete with a PowerPoint presentation and lengthy anecdotal evidence.
Geoff surfed that crowd chaos--he's experienced with all manners of crowd work, but this was a competition and he needed to get his best material out there for a chance to score well. When he forced his original joke back into the crowd chaos--it quieted the room. Ironically, that's not exactly what Geoff was hoping to do by telling the joke, I'm sure.
Still, when you've got an upfront table that includes a couple of police officers laughing at your jokes celebrating the ability to drive while drunk--you're doing something right. Geoff ended up strong and got his encore point.
Remember what I wrote earlier, in Rodger Lizaola's competitor review, about how it has been my experience that this area, and this venue in particular, seems to do well by performers of different ethnicities. The other side of that coin is that audiences in this area are instantly judgmental of any performer who does jokes about an ethnicity other than their own. That side of the coin jumped up and bit ADAM NORWEST on this night.
Adam, a Boy Scout-ish young white man as has ever been born, has a delightfully edgy joke about how Colgate is the only company that can get away with using the phrase "Extreme White Power." It's a funny line--so, he often uses it very early in his set. Unfortunately, tonight, it totally froze the room. That's the thing about walking on the edge--if you step over it, it could hurt you.
Perhaps because of this, I got the sense that Adam switched to "auto-pilot" mode. He started to speed up his delivery and, worse, he started to mumble over key words in some of his jokes. Things didn't improve when his joke about being in a gang that carries knives and lights things on fire--Boy Scouts--flopped.
However, perhaps instinct took over as Adam began to slow down. Either that, or he'd lost so much momentum with this audience that it seemed like time slowed down. Either way, it was a rough go for this promising young comedian. No encore point for Adam.
Once again, donning his wrap-around shades and a jacket, LEIF SKYVING took to the stage--or rather, I should say, Leif's alter ego, Kurt Sudden, took to the stage. I'd totally failed to recognize, in my report for the previous show, that this is a character piece that Leif is doing... Interesting decision--and a successful one, so far.
What Kurt allows Leif to do--is to generate quick laughs with a surreal edge--and have that mindset in place the minute that Leif walks towards the stage. He needn't waste time explaining who Kurt is or what Kurt's about--Kurt is defined by his look, his attitude...and he demonstrates it with the material that Leif uses, as Kurt.
"Am I Mimi? Am I Meemer? I am many dogs"--John Riggi
Yeah, it can get confusing. Just imagine if Dolph Lundgren had played The Terminator and told jokes like Bob Zany--that's Kurt Sudden...and that's what Leif Skyving is doing tonight.
The jokes are solid. I especially liked how Kurt told the audience that he was in 'Nam. "I killed 37 Vietnamese. That was in 1982. Because, it's not over until I say it's over."
Evidently, that's not one of the ethnicity jokes that elicit concern from this audience--as they seemed to like this, and his other jokes, as much as I did. Give Kurt and Leif an encore point.
With one exception, this week's contestants are a low maintenance bunch--just one person in one microphone (and, in Leif Skyving's case, a harmonica--but that's going into the same microphone, so no big deal there.) The one exception is GREG REID--who uses music from a CD for some of his jokes and he has a keyboard he plays at the end.
That would be a challenge tonight, as the minimal sound system was cobbled together at the last minute. Greg, able to roll with the punches, eschewed using the CD on this night...and he tried to let the keyboard's internal speakers be picked up by the one microphone (as he'd done the previous night at Laughs.)
Not having the CD didn't hurt Greg--as he's got material that doesn't require it. I particularly liked a bit about "ethnic time sharing." But I think that properly amplifying the keyboard is important if you're going to use it--so, I have to image that we haven't seen, or more precisely, heard Greg do as well as I think he'd do. Not yet anyway.
Still, he's a very likable guy and the crowd liked him--so, give Greg an encore point.
What happened next was that David, our host for the night, was supposed to do a couple of minutes of material while we gave the judges a chance to use the restroom if they needed to...but without announcing that to the audience. Unfortunately, that instruction might not have been clear--as David announced that there was a break--and a significant number of people left the room to go smoke a cigarette or use the bathroom themselves. While the show, itself, didn't stop--as David filled the time with his own material--the momentum of the competitors was broken...and it can be difficult to get them sitting still and remaining quiet once they've been allowed to get up and do what they want.
The big question became--would this impact the first performer to go up after this break? Sometimes, performing after an intermission is like taking a second bullet...would this be the case tonight?
Well, for KEY LEWIS--it didn't seem to negatively impact him...as he comes across as a bold, brash, "take the attention of everyone even if they're reluctant to give it" kind of performer. His self-confidence--responding to a weaker than expected reaction to a joke, Key let the audience know "You ain't seen no swimming sperm joke. This is NEW SHIT right here."--is infectious.
One criticism that could be leveled at Key is that some of his material and some of his attitude seem cribbed from others. I don't mean to say that it's stolen--this isn't a Joe Rogan pointing at Carlos Mencia accusation by any means. I'm just saying that I'm hearing echoes...
It's always a fine line between being inspired by a performer or taking on a variation of a standard theme...and going past that point and being unoriginal. Right now, Key's on the good side of that fine line--but there are elements of his performance that push rather close...and some judges may note that.
On this night, however, whether it's being upset by homeless guys who don't ask him for change or signs that call for drunk drivers to call 911--what was on Key's mind was definitely hitting home with this audience...and he got a strong encore point cheer.
Imagine booking Rage Against The Machine for a Sweet Sixteen party.
Imagine booking Al Sharpton for a Knights of Columbus dinner in Nebraska.
Now, imagine booking DARREN FROST to do a country club banquet room.
I'm just saying, some things aren't meant to be...
Let's be honest. Darren doesn't want to tiptoe around the edges of a self-satisfied group of country club members. Darren wants to smash a grapefruit in their faces and tell them how fucked everything is... Darren wants to get laughs that are deep and uncontrolled--and he's used to getting them by going wherever the fuck he wants to go to get them... I can see he's chomping at the bit and that frustration (added to others--as I get the sense through Darren's comedic perspective that MANY things frustrate him) began to show through tonight.
Darren's been frustrated because David, the host, would call attention to Darren's being Canadian. David did this both nights. Darren didn't ask him to do that...didn't want him to do that...and it bothered him. And then, when it became clear that after a good start, this audience was going to clench up...and simply wasn't going to give him the slack necessary to do the material that would be cathartic for him to do...it was pretty much over.
At one point, Darren had to remind himself, out loud, "Do happy jokes, Darren." The thought must have appalled him, because Darren--vocalizing his interior monologue--answered himself by saying to the audience "I'm freaking out...I don't fucking care."
Darren, trying his best to salvage what he can from the situation, after selling his "being a Blockbuster greeter on the busiest day of the year made me sound like a dolphin on crack" bit with gusto...and not getting the reaction he wanted, reminded the audience "Clap, motherfuckers...THAT was a DOLPHIN."
Dolphin or not, Darren--frustrated by the process and the circumstances...and knowing that he's talented enough to be be doing better in this competition and that's weighed against the investment he's made to be part of it--did not get an encore point tonight.
Put in the position of following Darren Frost for the second time in two nights, SHARON LACEY must have taken some heart from finding out that there were fellow Portlanders in the audience on this night. It's always good to have your friends close by during difficult times.
And these were difficult times for Sharon, not only because her style seems so safe compared to where Darren is willing to force a crowd to go--but also because by this time in the night, the crowd's patience is wearing off...and the effect of their cocktails is kicking in. At one point in time, the entire front table took the topic of one of her jokes and began their own conversation on the topic--and that's got to be frustrating for any performer.
That said--she did connect with them over a number of jokes. In one, she imagines a woman showing her parents the results of a Brazillian wax, "Hey look! Just like the old days!"
Sharon is also very good at using pauses. Her timing--perhaps thanks to her work as a teacher--is solid. She seems very comfortable and she manages to make her technique seem quite natural.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to earn her an encore point on this night.
Between Sharon and the next performer to compete, LUKAS SEELY, the crowd was admonished to "shut up" by the host. This is always a difficult manouver--as you want them to pay attention to the show and allow others to enjoy the show...but, comedy is also meant to be fun...and it's hard to have fun when you've got a guy yelling at you to shut up. David tried to win the crowd back with a particularly Michael Buffer-esque intro for Lukas...who tends to take the stage in a quirky way that really couldn't take advantage of the wind-up intro he was given--so, all in all, it was an odd sequence of events.
Especially when the crowd ignored David's instructions and shouted "NICE HAIR" at Lukas, before Lukas got his first words out. Now, granted, Lukas has styled his hair in a style more reminiscent of a Final Fantasy video game than something that you'd get at a Tukwila Super Cuts, but that's still no excuse for an audience member at a competition show yelling out some stupid shit.
Lukas, to his credit, deflected that with a perfect riposte--pointing out that the person who yelled that was, in fact, bald himself. Proves all of those nights dealing with some drunken idiots over at Giggles came in handy--as Lukas seemed completely unfazed by the entire interaction. He transitioned into his actual material skillfully.
Lukas pulled out a classic joke of his that I love--the "check your facts at the factory, bitch" joke...and, perhaps sprurred on by the attempted heckle, I thought Lukas went a little bit dirtier than he had been at Laughs.
And closing with a call back to his hairstyle at the end of his set was a good move--but a less good move was going over his allotted time. He managed to earn the encore point but give half of it right back with a time penalty. Good news, bad news for Lukas then.
It was impressive to see KYLE HARBERT make his aggressively progressive and cynical political rants work with an Eastside crowd. He didn't change a word when he decided to take on the country club types at Gordon's.
At first, that didn't look like such a good decision--as he got actual boos from some of the back tables, for his "My car is like America" joke. However, those boos were playful...and those boos were mixed in with enough cheers that Kyle wasn't thrown off too badly by it.
He found more consistent traction by taking on some annoying celebrities--but the cool thing about Kyle's approach is that even as he's playing with the general public's weariness with celebrity culture, he's doing so in a way that continues to push his perspective on social issues.
Of course, there's not much social commentary to suggesting that we send Ted Nugent to Iraq--because all he'd need is a crossbrow and some freezer space.
"Haaaaaaaah. He's gonna eat 'em."
By taking a risk and going forward without fear or compromise, Kyle earned his encore point tonight.
One thing that STEPHEN O'KEEFE needs to do, every time he steps on the stage, is to give the audience enough information about himself and his deafness to allow the audience to adjust their expectations. Then, he has to meet or exceed those expectations by being funny--and not just funny "for a deaf guy."
"If I'm too loud, please let me know. If I'm too quiet, too bad," is one of the brilliant ways that Stephen takes care of his first objective and quickly on to his second, "Welcome to my deaf world."
Unfortunately, there are things that Stephen can't pick up on--like knowing when someone 's cell phone goes off (which one did) or when someone, rudely, starts table talking (as someone did...briefly.) What is nice to see, even from this audience which was getting louder and more chatty as the show went on, is that the need to pay careful attention to what Stephen was saying so they'd be able to get some very good jokes outweighed any rudeness. People really do listen to Stephen--and that basic human reaction clears a path for Stephen to do what he does successfully.
"I dated a deaf girl. When we argued, everything would go right in one eye and out the other."
Brilliant. Encore point...without a doubt.
Whatever grace the Gordon's group was giving Stephen ended the minute he left the stage, because before SCOTT MORAN could even open his mouth, someone in the back of the room--probably the same person who shouted at Lukas Seely--shouted out "NICE JACKET!"
Of course, it should be pointed out that Scott WAS wearing a nice jacket. He kind of looked like something between Fred Armisen and Elvis Costello. That's really not the point.
Competitors, trying to do their best with everything on the line, shouldn't have to put up with idiots like that...but, as we all know, that is an unfortunate reality seemingly anywhere you might look in the comedy universe--so, it should be expected that any performer good enough to be in this competition should be able to handle things without much concern.
Scott didn't even flinch. He diffused the situation with ease, saying:
"Thank you. I've got a nice jacket. That's a point."
Sorry, Scott. There's no category for wardrobe on the judges' score sheets.
Scott's easy going pace and casual style seemed to give the audience a misinformed sense that they were allowed to comment about what he was saying while he was saying it. That seemed to lead to Scott going "joke to joke" for his laughs--rather than getting them laughing and keeping them laughing. It was like THEY were going to judge whether or not each individual joke was worth enjoying and part of that process was to be able to discuss the concept behind the joke.
Sigh.
Scott reached into his bag of tricks to pull out a joke I haven't heard him do in awhile. It's a joke about taking magic mushrooms as a hangover cure. It's a fun joke that truly allows Scott to pursue his surreal side and let his imagination roam free. It also suffers from a certain schizophrenia. The early part of the joke is too on the nose...and the second half of the joke is too surreal for a country club audience that has been drinking their way through a very long comedy show that should be nearing its end.
I still think it's a funny joke--but it, like much of Scott's act, got a mixed response. That, combined with a "yawny" dismount meant that Scott didn't get an encore point tonight.
But his jacket is in the running for top five for the night.
Typically, going last in a preliminary week show is a tough position to be in--I mean, what could possibly be left to joke about after 15 other comedians and a host have clearcut the comedy woods?
But, tonight, it almost seemed like a reward for JAQI FURBACK, who opened up this year's competition with a surprising (but not shocking) top finish in last night's opening show. Would her slow paced, self-deprecating, darkly edged and clever material work as well here as it did last night?
Her mom and her sisters were in the audience hoping to help her prove that it could.
And it could. But it didn't.
Make no mistake, Jaqi had a solid set--and she handled the remaining hecklers without much distraction. There just weren't a lot of laughs to milk out of the fully milked udders in the room at this point in the night.
What's clear about watching Jaqi perform in this competition is that her darkness is countered by a Cheshire cat smile...and that her ability to laugh at herself makes her a compelling and likable performer, whatever she might want to talk about. The tightrope she walks is to not go too far in making fun of herself--either on the side of being whiny...or deserving sympathy. The key, as she found last night...and as she continued to display in this second night's performance...is to make certain that everyone knows that making fun of yourself is something that you're enjoying...
Because people want Jaqi to be happy. And, to that end, the people in the audience at Gordon's gave her the encore point.
With all of the performances out of the way, it was all up to the judges to determine if last night's results were going to repeat themselves...or if others would get their moment in the top 5 spotlight.
And, when it came to counting the scores, something became quickly apparent. Two of the judges--both of them, having spent the entire night loudly laughing at all of the comics throughout the show while taking plenty of pictures of themselves with their camera phones during the show--had scored EVERYONE with low numbers. I didn't get the sense that these numbers were low because they didn't like the performers--I just think that they started at one level at the beginning of the show and felt that everyone was nearly as good or slightly better.
There was a third judge who scored things generously--much more in line with the way that most judges score shows during the competition.
It is for precisely this reason that this competition is not scored by "total points" but by the arcane system of weights and measures that it uses to determine who is considered to have done well and who has considered to have done not quite as well.
So, what the numbers those used mattered less than the differences between the comedians in those numbers...and when that was tallied...and after one final harmonica song from host David Testroet...it was time to reveal the top five for the night.
Except, of course, if you remember the beginning of this report...I told you that there wasn't a top five from tonight. The explanation for this will become apparent by reading below.
And...the top (however many there were, if I'm saying there wasn't a top five) for the night are...???
Fifth place--Rodger Lizaola.
(Second night in a row, Rodger takes the podium in 5th place.)
Fourth place--Geoff Lott.
Third place--Leif Skyving.
Second place--Lizzy Pilcher.
...and, the top performer for the night...
...well... ...actually, there's a TIE for first place tonight.
First place--Kyle Harbert & Key Lewis.
--Cheap Trick
There are times when I wonder if the production crew who puts the Seattle International Comedy Competition together are simply gluttons for punishment. 23 shows in 26 days at 16 venues with 32 comedians plus hosts...endless miles and countless fires needing to be put out. We all know that and we sign on for it.
This year, just for fun, we decided to start the competition in three straight venues that the competition has never been in before. Do we ease in to the drama inherent in putting this competition on (and, by doing so, make it easier for the competitors who are thrown into this particular blast furnace) by going to places who we know understand what we need and are set and ready to handle the drama that we bring? Well, of course not... Where's the fun in THAT?
The first show, at Laughs Comedy Spot in Kirkland, went very well--because it's a comedy club and we're a comedy show... Thanks to Dave, Angela and everyone there...everything went very well.
For our next magic trick, the competition scheduled the second show of this week at Gordons on the Green in Tukwila. The show would take place in a banquet room of a golf course country club.
On the plus side, local comedians Marcus Absher and Tony Daniel have booked and promoted comedy shows at this venue and have had good responses to those shows. Concerns, however, included whether or not there'd be a sound system set up for us...and, based on some weak pre-show ticket sales reports, if more than a handful of people would be in the audience for our brave Preliminary Week One competitors?
Not to ruin the suspense, but the night went very well...if a bit long...
And when the top five was announced at Gordon's on the Green in Tukwila, there was a surprise for everyone.
On this night, there wouldn't be a top five.
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week One--Night Two
November 1, 2007
Gordon's On The Green, Tukwila
If Kirkland, home of the previous show's venue, was on the Eastside, from a Seattle perspective, Tukwila is South. Known for the Southcenter shopping complex (oh, I'm sorry...they're calling it "Westfield" now, but if you try to tell someone to go to Westfield, they'll respond with "You mean Southcenter?") and for being close to the SeaTac International Airport, Tukwila is also home to Gordon's on the Green--the restaurant and banquet complex of a golf course country club that has recently begun hosting comedy shows, about once every two to three months.
Personally, I've had the opportunity to perform on one of those comedy shows. If the audience I performed for was, in any way, typical, the audiences seemed to like comedy...wanted to be rather interactive with the performers (in other words, they were chatty...both with each other, but also to the comedian trying to do their act) and they had different sensitive areas than most "Seattle" audiences.
Let me explain. Seattle is known for having good comedy audiences--smart and aware. They're also known for getting a bit sphinctery about certain topics--especially when those topics are brought up by people who those audiences feel don't have "the right" to be the ones making those jokes about those topics. Comedians from other regions of the country are often amazed by how certain jokes which kill everywhere else will totally freeze out a Seattle audience.
Tukwila, however, is not Seattle. Sure, it's close to Seattle...and people from Seattle go to Tukwila (typically, to go to Southcenter...I mean Westfield...whatever, you know what I mean...)...but it's different. So, there are different sensibilities at play here... Knowing what this audience expects, wants and can't handle...well, that'll be one of the unfathomable amount of variables that every comedian has to consider when determining what approach they're going to take with their performance.
That's what THEY had to worry about. As it turns out, everything the production staff might have been worried about was handled. A perfectly good sound system was put together and there were no complaints about that. The attendance concerns, which lingered on as even with less than twenty minutes to go before showtime and only a handful of people were seated in the show room, turned out to be needless...as the room completely filled and more chairs were needed than originally planned for...
Many thanks to the staff and management at Gordon's on the Green for their help in making this event come together
And thanks, again, to David Testroet for helping out and stepping in as host for a second night--as health concerns continue to keep Lamont Ferguson away for at least another night.
Let me also address this right here--every performer has their own style and their own way of handling the duties of being a host...and no one is every going to confuse David's rough and tumble road-tested style with the more stylish and controlled finesse of Lamont Ferguson. There's been some rumbling amongst the competitors from last night (and it continued on this night) on the role of (and expectations of) the host in this competition.
I understand some of the whispered (and not so whispered) frustrations that I've heard from some of the competitors. On the other hand, the simple truth is that any concern regarding the host is just one of the seemingly infinite number of variables in this competition...and its something that every one in this competition is dealing with at the same time.
And, say what you will about certain aspects of his hosting technique, David did a very good job of warming up the crowd at Gordon's on this night. I got the feeling that he would definitely be a performer that they'd like to see booked at this club again. He gets his laughs quick and he definitely understands a crowd that sometimes looks at a comedy show like they're a birthday party at a Chuck E. Cheese...they WANT the staff to come out and embarrass the birthday kid...and some comedy audiences seem to really want the "battle" between a crowdworking comic and a table that's "getting picked on."
It's not everyone's cup of tea...but there's definitely that scent in the air at Gordon's...and David, like a comedy bloodhound, picked up on that scent...and got the ball rolling.
(And, he came in and helped out at the last minute. Props for that, David.)
Competitor Review-----
Last night, ANDY HAYNES closed out the long show and ended up a top 5 finisher. On this night, he was in the exact opposite position--he bit the bullet and went up first. Going up last is sometimes good and sometimes bad, but going up first is almost always a tough spot for any performer. The crowd--and the judges--have just started to get into the show.
Andy bit down hard on that bullet...and he had 'em. HE HAD 'EM. And then he lost them on a joke that absolutely killed the night before--remember what I said about this audience having a different sensibility than others. Andy never really got them back fully...so, it wasn't THAT much of a surprise when he didn't get an encore point.
Can you say "probable drop score night"?
After his set, MIKE WALLY WALTER came up to me and whispered, "I felt I had to try something different tonight." Whether or not that was inspired by my reporting on last night or just a veteran performer's instincts--what was surprising was to think of a performer as experienced as Mike Wally Walter is would be so ready to change his style.
How much of a change was there? Well, I got the sense that he was going much faster...and his talking accelerated, if anything, during his set. However, what I noticed even more was that this audience was really enjoying his crowd work (remember what I said about Chuck E. Cheese?)--to the point where his crowd work was what was scoring with the audience. The audience gave him an encore point-level cheer even before Dave came back to the stage to make the encore point pimp... Score one for Mike Wally.
Next up, RODGER LIZAOLA.
Seattle, proper, is pretty white bread. South of Seattle, less so...and Tukwila is definitely "south of Seattle." Now, on this night, we're talking about a country club gig--south of Seattle or not--so you wouldn't automatically think it would be true, but it has been my experience that performers of ethnicity--especially African-American and Mexican-American performers-- seemed to do well here at Gordon's on the Green's previous comedy shows. Part of that is the "south of Seattle"-ness of the venue's location--but the entire Seattle/Tacoma metro corridor has a certain affinity for celebrating the artistic endeavors of different ethnicities--kind of like dipping white bread into a guacamole spread.
Sure enough, there was a table right up front that could instantly relate to Rodger's point of view...and they gave him mad love, especially on his "Mexicans in the future" chunk.
And who, other than Rodger, can end a joke by singing the praises of "Retarded Honeys"?
Rodger also showed some competition savvy, when he cut his closing joke short when he got a show closing laugh on one of the punchlines of a run, rather than continuing on to the end like his performance was on rails.
Great decision, Rodger...and he was rewarded with a BIG encore cheer and the encore point.
Before going up, LIZZY PILCHER asked me if there were any Putt-Putts in the area. As I too often do, I went off on a longwinded Cliff Clavin-like ramble about the various styles of miniature golf courses...and described the difference between the "adventure golf"-style courses (with waterfalls, rock formations, multi-levels) and the Putt-Putt style of short, flat and technical-style mini-golf. Unfortunately, Lizzy was only asking me because she wanted to use Putt Putt in a joke, which would have worked very well...and instead, took from my answer the idea of calling it "Adventure Golf" in her joke instead. Putt Putt would have worked better and I should have told you that ahead of time, Lizzy. Sorry.
Lizzy stuck to her guns and did her best, most-time tested material. Tonight, she took to the stage with...and maintained throughout her set...with more energy. Typically, Lizzy works more casually...but tonight she found a higher energy level that works for her (and with her chosen material.) She seemed to grow in confidence as her set went on--so, her energy level felt more and more natural. One of her early jokes makes fun of President Bush, and it generated some good hearted booing from one large table towards the back, filled with country club members--as a country club in Tukwila might be one of the few places in Western Washington where you might run into more than a handful of card-carrying and out of the closet conservatives.
One of the most amazing moments that I've EVER seen in a competition show happened completely by accident. Lizzy, as a standard localizing transition, added the name of the venue to the first line of a joke...and Lizzy, being Lizzy, adds a cynical sauciness to it...kind of drawing attention to the inherent silliness of what is an effective technique.
What she said tonight was, "I don't smoke weed, Gordon's...on the Green.."
And in the moment that she paused before continuing her joke, one of the judges quickly recognized that her pause and her delivery of "on the green" was easily interpreted as a sly accusation...
And with that judge's laughter, before Lizzy could continue, others started to pick up on it...
Before she knew it, Lizzy was getting a strong applause break...for what, to her, was an innocuous transition line. And it was only THEN that Lizzy put the pieces and "got the joke" herself.
You could tell that it threw Lizzy off a bit. How do you possibly follow up on something that you didn't plan on doing? As she tried to work her way towards her closer, she started stumbling over her words... She must have known that she was tripping on her way to victory, so after one more misspoken word, she just said "Fuck it!" and closed without bothering to get to the joke.
THAT HONESTY and having won the crowd over already, earned Lizzy one of the biggest encore points of the night.
I wouldn't advise her to close with "Fuck it!" every show--but, what do I know? I couldn't even agree on suggesting Putt-Putt.
Sometimes GEOFF LOTT is too smart for his own comedy good. He learned that in two previous attempts to move forward in this competition and it's a lesson that he continues to show improved mastery over in THIS year's attempt.
On this night, Geoff did a smart thing--as he tried to connect himself to the show with a callback to Lizzy's opening joke. Good thought, but after Lizzy's dramatic closing moments, no one in the room could be expected to remember anything that had happened before it...even from as recently as the beginning of her set--so, his opening line fell flat. That, I think pushed Geoff, a bit, out of the extremely confident and comfortable tone he enjoyed last night.
That sense of Geoff being slightly off-kilter continued when he went into his crowd rhetorical start to his "does size matters?" joke--the joke itself, is a great, quick, crisp transition joke that balances out his longer more cerebral material. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, this particular room really likes to interact with the comments--so, asking the women if "size matters" didn't give Geoff the simple "yes" answer that helps his joke--he got crowd chaos as the topic spurred a negative first reaction and then a scientific investigation into that answer, complete with a PowerPoint presentation and lengthy anecdotal evidence.
Geoff surfed that crowd chaos--he's experienced with all manners of crowd work, but this was a competition and he needed to get his best material out there for a chance to score well. When he forced his original joke back into the crowd chaos--it quieted the room. Ironically, that's not exactly what Geoff was hoping to do by telling the joke, I'm sure.
Still, when you've got an upfront table that includes a couple of police officers laughing at your jokes celebrating the ability to drive while drunk--you're doing something right. Geoff ended up strong and got his encore point.
Remember what I wrote earlier, in Rodger Lizaola's competitor review, about how it has been my experience that this area, and this venue in particular, seems to do well by performers of different ethnicities. The other side of that coin is that audiences in this area are instantly judgmental of any performer who does jokes about an ethnicity other than their own. That side of the coin jumped up and bit ADAM NORWEST on this night.
Adam, a Boy Scout-ish young white man as has ever been born, has a delightfully edgy joke about how Colgate is the only company that can get away with using the phrase "Extreme White Power." It's a funny line--so, he often uses it very early in his set. Unfortunately, tonight, it totally froze the room. That's the thing about walking on the edge--if you step over it, it could hurt you.
Perhaps because of this, I got the sense that Adam switched to "auto-pilot" mode. He started to speed up his delivery and, worse, he started to mumble over key words in some of his jokes. Things didn't improve when his joke about being in a gang that carries knives and lights things on fire--Boy Scouts--flopped.
However, perhaps instinct took over as Adam began to slow down. Either that, or he'd lost so much momentum with this audience that it seemed like time slowed down. Either way, it was a rough go for this promising young comedian. No encore point for Adam.
Once again, donning his wrap-around shades and a jacket, LEIF SKYVING took to the stage--or rather, I should say, Leif's alter ego, Kurt Sudden, took to the stage. I'd totally failed to recognize, in my report for the previous show, that this is a character piece that Leif is doing... Interesting decision--and a successful one, so far.
What Kurt allows Leif to do--is to generate quick laughs with a surreal edge--and have that mindset in place the minute that Leif walks towards the stage. He needn't waste time explaining who Kurt is or what Kurt's about--Kurt is defined by his look, his attitude...and he demonstrates it with the material that Leif uses, as Kurt.
"Am I Mimi? Am I Meemer? I am many dogs"--John Riggi
Yeah, it can get confusing. Just imagine if Dolph Lundgren had played The Terminator and told jokes like Bob Zany--that's Kurt Sudden...and that's what Leif Skyving is doing tonight.
The jokes are solid. I especially liked how Kurt told the audience that he was in 'Nam. "I killed 37 Vietnamese. That was in 1982. Because, it's not over until I say it's over."
Evidently, that's not one of the ethnicity jokes that elicit concern from this audience--as they seemed to like this, and his other jokes, as much as I did. Give Kurt and Leif an encore point.
With one exception, this week's contestants are a low maintenance bunch--just one person in one microphone (and, in Leif Skyving's case, a harmonica--but that's going into the same microphone, so no big deal there.) The one exception is GREG REID--who uses music from a CD for some of his jokes and he has a keyboard he plays at the end.
That would be a challenge tonight, as the minimal sound system was cobbled together at the last minute. Greg, able to roll with the punches, eschewed using the CD on this night...and he tried to let the keyboard's internal speakers be picked up by the one microphone (as he'd done the previous night at Laughs.)
Not having the CD didn't hurt Greg--as he's got material that doesn't require it. I particularly liked a bit about "ethnic time sharing." But I think that properly amplifying the keyboard is important if you're going to use it--so, I have to image that we haven't seen, or more precisely, heard Greg do as well as I think he'd do. Not yet anyway.
Still, he's a very likable guy and the crowd liked him--so, give Greg an encore point.
What happened next was that David, our host for the night, was supposed to do a couple of minutes of material while we gave the judges a chance to use the restroom if they needed to...but without announcing that to the audience. Unfortunately, that instruction might not have been clear--as David announced that there was a break--and a significant number of people left the room to go smoke a cigarette or use the bathroom themselves. While the show, itself, didn't stop--as David filled the time with his own material--the momentum of the competitors was broken...and it can be difficult to get them sitting still and remaining quiet once they've been allowed to get up and do what they want.
The big question became--would this impact the first performer to go up after this break? Sometimes, performing after an intermission is like taking a second bullet...would this be the case tonight?
Well, for KEY LEWIS--it didn't seem to negatively impact him...as he comes across as a bold, brash, "take the attention of everyone even if they're reluctant to give it" kind of performer. His self-confidence--responding to a weaker than expected reaction to a joke, Key let the audience know "You ain't seen no swimming sperm joke. This is NEW SHIT right here."--is infectious.
One criticism that could be leveled at Key is that some of his material and some of his attitude seem cribbed from others. I don't mean to say that it's stolen--this isn't a Joe Rogan pointing at Carlos Mencia accusation by any means. I'm just saying that I'm hearing echoes...
It's always a fine line between being inspired by a performer or taking on a variation of a standard theme...and going past that point and being unoriginal. Right now, Key's on the good side of that fine line--but there are elements of his performance that push rather close...and some judges may note that.
On this night, however, whether it's being upset by homeless guys who don't ask him for change or signs that call for drunk drivers to call 911--what was on Key's mind was definitely hitting home with this audience...and he got a strong encore point cheer.
Imagine booking Rage Against The Machine for a Sweet Sixteen party.
Imagine booking Al Sharpton for a Knights of Columbus dinner in Nebraska.
Now, imagine booking DARREN FROST to do a country club banquet room.
I'm just saying, some things aren't meant to be...
Let's be honest. Darren doesn't want to tiptoe around the edges of a self-satisfied group of country club members. Darren wants to smash a grapefruit in their faces and tell them how fucked everything is... Darren wants to get laughs that are deep and uncontrolled--and he's used to getting them by going wherever the fuck he wants to go to get them... I can see he's chomping at the bit and that frustration (added to others--as I get the sense through Darren's comedic perspective that MANY things frustrate him) began to show through tonight.
Darren's been frustrated because David, the host, would call attention to Darren's being Canadian. David did this both nights. Darren didn't ask him to do that...didn't want him to do that...and it bothered him. And then, when it became clear that after a good start, this audience was going to clench up...and simply wasn't going to give him the slack necessary to do the material that would be cathartic for him to do...it was pretty much over.
At one point, Darren had to remind himself, out loud, "Do happy jokes, Darren." The thought must have appalled him, because Darren--vocalizing his interior monologue--answered himself by saying to the audience "I'm freaking out...I don't fucking care."
Darren, trying his best to salvage what he can from the situation, after selling his "being a Blockbuster greeter on the busiest day of the year made me sound like a dolphin on crack" bit with gusto...and not getting the reaction he wanted, reminded the audience "Clap, motherfuckers...THAT was a DOLPHIN."
Dolphin or not, Darren--frustrated by the process and the circumstances...and knowing that he's talented enough to be be doing better in this competition and that's weighed against the investment he's made to be part of it--did not get an encore point tonight.
Put in the position of following Darren Frost for the second time in two nights, SHARON LACEY must have taken some heart from finding out that there were fellow Portlanders in the audience on this night. It's always good to have your friends close by during difficult times.
And these were difficult times for Sharon, not only because her style seems so safe compared to where Darren is willing to force a crowd to go--but also because by this time in the night, the crowd's patience is wearing off...and the effect of their cocktails is kicking in. At one point in time, the entire front table took the topic of one of her jokes and began their own conversation on the topic--and that's got to be frustrating for any performer.
That said--she did connect with them over a number of jokes. In one, she imagines a woman showing her parents the results of a Brazillian wax, "Hey look! Just like the old days!"
Sharon is also very good at using pauses. Her timing--perhaps thanks to her work as a teacher--is solid. She seems very comfortable and she manages to make her technique seem quite natural.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to earn her an encore point on this night.
Between Sharon and the next performer to compete, LUKAS SEELY, the crowd was admonished to "shut up" by the host. This is always a difficult manouver--as you want them to pay attention to the show and allow others to enjoy the show...but, comedy is also meant to be fun...and it's hard to have fun when you've got a guy yelling at you to shut up. David tried to win the crowd back with a particularly Michael Buffer-esque intro for Lukas...who tends to take the stage in a quirky way that really couldn't take advantage of the wind-up intro he was given--so, all in all, it was an odd sequence of events.
Especially when the crowd ignored David's instructions and shouted "NICE HAIR" at Lukas, before Lukas got his first words out. Now, granted, Lukas has styled his hair in a style more reminiscent of a Final Fantasy video game than something that you'd get at a Tukwila Super Cuts, but that's still no excuse for an audience member at a competition show yelling out some stupid shit.
Lukas, to his credit, deflected that with a perfect riposte--pointing out that the person who yelled that was, in fact, bald himself. Proves all of those nights dealing with some drunken idiots over at Giggles came in handy--as Lukas seemed completely unfazed by the entire interaction. He transitioned into his actual material skillfully.
Lukas pulled out a classic joke of his that I love--the "check your facts at the factory, bitch" joke...and, perhaps sprurred on by the attempted heckle, I thought Lukas went a little bit dirtier than he had been at Laughs.
And closing with a call back to his hairstyle at the end of his set was a good move--but a less good move was going over his allotted time. He managed to earn the encore point but give half of it right back with a time penalty. Good news, bad news for Lukas then.
It was impressive to see KYLE HARBERT make his aggressively progressive and cynical political rants work with an Eastside crowd. He didn't change a word when he decided to take on the country club types at Gordon's.
At first, that didn't look like such a good decision--as he got actual boos from some of the back tables, for his "My car is like America" joke. However, those boos were playful...and those boos were mixed in with enough cheers that Kyle wasn't thrown off too badly by it.
He found more consistent traction by taking on some annoying celebrities--but the cool thing about Kyle's approach is that even as he's playing with the general public's weariness with celebrity culture, he's doing so in a way that continues to push his perspective on social issues.
Of course, there's not much social commentary to suggesting that we send Ted Nugent to Iraq--because all he'd need is a crossbrow and some freezer space.
"Haaaaaaaah. He's gonna eat 'em."
By taking a risk and going forward without fear or compromise, Kyle earned his encore point tonight.
One thing that STEPHEN O'KEEFE needs to do, every time he steps on the stage, is to give the audience enough information about himself and his deafness to allow the audience to adjust their expectations. Then, he has to meet or exceed those expectations by being funny--and not just funny "for a deaf guy."
"If I'm too loud, please let me know. If I'm too quiet, too bad," is one of the brilliant ways that Stephen takes care of his first objective and quickly on to his second, "Welcome to my deaf world."
Unfortunately, there are things that Stephen can't pick up on--like knowing when someone 's cell phone goes off (which one did) or when someone, rudely, starts table talking (as someone did...briefly.) What is nice to see, even from this audience which was getting louder and more chatty as the show went on, is that the need to pay careful attention to what Stephen was saying so they'd be able to get some very good jokes outweighed any rudeness. People really do listen to Stephen--and that basic human reaction clears a path for Stephen to do what he does successfully.
"I dated a deaf girl. When we argued, everything would go right in one eye and out the other."
Brilliant. Encore point...without a doubt.
Whatever grace the Gordon's group was giving Stephen ended the minute he left the stage, because before SCOTT MORAN could even open his mouth, someone in the back of the room--probably the same person who shouted at Lukas Seely--shouted out "NICE JACKET!"
Of course, it should be pointed out that Scott WAS wearing a nice jacket. He kind of looked like something between Fred Armisen and Elvis Costello. That's really not the point.
Competitors, trying to do their best with everything on the line, shouldn't have to put up with idiots like that...but, as we all know, that is an unfortunate reality seemingly anywhere you might look in the comedy universe--so, it should be expected that any performer good enough to be in this competition should be able to handle things without much concern.
Scott didn't even flinch. He diffused the situation with ease, saying:
"Thank you. I've got a nice jacket. That's a point."
Sorry, Scott. There's no category for wardrobe on the judges' score sheets.
Scott's easy going pace and casual style seemed to give the audience a misinformed sense that they were allowed to comment about what he was saying while he was saying it. That seemed to lead to Scott going "joke to joke" for his laughs--rather than getting them laughing and keeping them laughing. It was like THEY were going to judge whether or not each individual joke was worth enjoying and part of that process was to be able to discuss the concept behind the joke.
Sigh.
Scott reached into his bag of tricks to pull out a joke I haven't heard him do in awhile. It's a joke about taking magic mushrooms as a hangover cure. It's a fun joke that truly allows Scott to pursue his surreal side and let his imagination roam free. It also suffers from a certain schizophrenia. The early part of the joke is too on the nose...and the second half of the joke is too surreal for a country club audience that has been drinking their way through a very long comedy show that should be nearing its end.
I still think it's a funny joke--but it, like much of Scott's act, got a mixed response. That, combined with a "yawny" dismount meant that Scott didn't get an encore point tonight.
But his jacket is in the running for top five for the night.
Typically, going last in a preliminary week show is a tough position to be in--I mean, what could possibly be left to joke about after 15 other comedians and a host have clearcut the comedy woods?
But, tonight, it almost seemed like a reward for JAQI FURBACK, who opened up this year's competition with a surprising (but not shocking) top finish in last night's opening show. Would her slow paced, self-deprecating, darkly edged and clever material work as well here as it did last night?
Her mom and her sisters were in the audience hoping to help her prove that it could.
And it could. But it didn't.
Make no mistake, Jaqi had a solid set--and she handled the remaining hecklers without much distraction. There just weren't a lot of laughs to milk out of the fully milked udders in the room at this point in the night.
What's clear about watching Jaqi perform in this competition is that her darkness is countered by a Cheshire cat smile...and that her ability to laugh at herself makes her a compelling and likable performer, whatever she might want to talk about. The tightrope she walks is to not go too far in making fun of herself--either on the side of being whiny...or deserving sympathy. The key, as she found last night...and as she continued to display in this second night's performance...is to make certain that everyone knows that making fun of yourself is something that you're enjoying...
Because people want Jaqi to be happy. And, to that end, the people in the audience at Gordon's gave her the encore point.
With all of the performances out of the way, it was all up to the judges to determine if last night's results were going to repeat themselves...or if others would get their moment in the top 5 spotlight.
And, when it came to counting the scores, something became quickly apparent. Two of the judges--both of them, having spent the entire night loudly laughing at all of the comics throughout the show while taking plenty of pictures of themselves with their camera phones during the show--had scored EVERYONE with low numbers. I didn't get the sense that these numbers were low because they didn't like the performers--I just think that they started at one level at the beginning of the show and felt that everyone was nearly as good or slightly better.
There was a third judge who scored things generously--much more in line with the way that most judges score shows during the competition.
It is for precisely this reason that this competition is not scored by "total points" but by the arcane system of weights and measures that it uses to determine who is considered to have done well and who has considered to have done not quite as well.
So, what the numbers those used mattered less than the differences between the comedians in those numbers...and when that was tallied...and after one final harmonica song from host David Testroet...it was time to reveal the top five for the night.
Except, of course, if you remember the beginning of this report...I told you that there wasn't a top five from tonight. The explanation for this will become apparent by reading below.
And...the top (however many there were, if I'm saying there wasn't a top five) for the night are...???
Fifth place--Rodger Lizaola.
(Second night in a row, Rodger takes the podium in 5th place.)
Fourth place--Geoff Lott.
Third place--Leif Skyving.
Second place--Lizzy Pilcher.
...and, the top performer for the night...
...well... ...actually, there's a TIE for first place tonight.
First place--Kyle Harbert & Key Lewis.
(Back Row: Lizzy Pilcher, Key Lewis, Leif Skyving Front Row: Kyle Harbert, Rodger Lizaola, David Testroet, Geoff Lott)
ANALYSIS: I suppose the biggest surprise from the scores was how far Andy Haynes had fallen from the previous night's 2nd place finish--but biting the bullet can do that to anyone.
By going last, last night's winner, Jaqi Furback, produced a thoroughly decent 7th place finish...with a score good enough to keep.
Of the six performers in tonight's top six, three of them were in the top five last night...and three of them were brand new to the top five. If this competition teaches us anything, it's that you can't put too much stock into initial results...so, for anyone who hasn't made the top 5 yet--remember, it's early yet...and this is still anyone's contest. Being consistent can be more important than taking home a top spot--just ask last year's winner, Damonde Tschritter.
(I'd ask you to ask the 2005 winner--Lamont Ferguson--but he's dealing with some health issues that will mean that he will NOT be available to be this week's host. More information on who WILL host the remaining shows of this week--as David Testroet is unavailable for the remainder of the week--in the next report.)
NEXT SHOW: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 2ND, Preliminary Week-Show Three takes place at Edmonds Center For The Arts in Edmonds--show time, 7:30pm. Look for a report from THAT show posted late tonight and into tomorrow.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
ANALYSIS: I suppose the biggest surprise from the scores was how far Andy Haynes had fallen from the previous night's 2nd place finish--but biting the bullet can do that to anyone.
By going last, last night's winner, Jaqi Furback, produced a thoroughly decent 7th place finish...with a score good enough to keep.
Of the six performers in tonight's top six, three of them were in the top five last night...and three of them were brand new to the top five. If this competition teaches us anything, it's that you can't put too much stock into initial results...so, for anyone who hasn't made the top 5 yet--remember, it's early yet...and this is still anyone's contest. Being consistent can be more important than taking home a top spot--just ask last year's winner, Damonde Tschritter.
(I'd ask you to ask the 2005 winner--Lamont Ferguson--but he's dealing with some health issues that will mean that he will NOT be available to be this week's host. More information on who WILL host the remaining shows of this week--as David Testroet is unavailable for the remainder of the week--in the next report.)
NEXT SHOW: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 2ND, Preliminary Week-Show Three takes place at Edmonds Center For The Arts in Edmonds--show time, 7:30pm. Look for a report from THAT show posted late tonight and into tomorrow.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
Thursday, November 01, 2007
SICC: Preliminary Week One--Night One
Something wicked this way comes...
(And, by "this way" we mean "to the Eastside...")
Last year, the Seattle International Comedy Competition slogged through night after night of nearly-Biblical downpours...that was scary. This year, the forecast is for generally decent, if not downright sunny weather. Nothing scary about that.
Last year, the Seattle International Comedy Competition began with a show at the Liberty Theatre in Puyallup, which was still dressed out from a private Halloween party, meaning that the competitors had to perform underneath the gnarled arms of a scary "living tree"...and that was scary. This year, the host venue for the first show of the year is the brand new and beautifully appointed Laughs Comedy Spot in Kirkland. Nothing scary about that.
In fact, despite starting on Halloween night, pretty much the ONLY thing scary about the start of the 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition was the traffic getting from Seattle over the bridge to get to Kirkland.
The traffic reports on KOMO were screaming about the sky falling and the faithful vanishing into thin air; they'd never seen such bad traffic. What was up with THAT?
Guess all the candy's on the Eastside.
If, by candy, we're talking about the opportunity to start off Preliminary Week One strongly and set a pace for your fellow competitors to chase...
Because there's something special...and something somewhat scary...about a first night of the competition. Nobody really knows what to expect from the other performers, or from yourself as a performer, for that matter.
Everything is fresh, everything is new.
And you're venturing off...
Into the dark...
Into the unknown...
Hoping to get candy...
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week One--Night One
October 31, 2007
Laughs Comedy Spot, Kirkland
Actually, going into the night, I wasn't hoping for candy--I was just hoping for a good crowd that really wanted to see some good comedy. It being Halloween--you know there's always the chance that the crowd will be "distracted" by festive thoughts...and, frankly, Laughs is such a new club...and while they get good weekend crowds, who knows what they might draw on a Wednesday night.
As Competition Producer Ron Reid would later tell me, when we walked into Laughs and saw how many tables were reserved--he had no worries about the attendance...
By showtime, club was packed...almost entirely full...and the audience, a few of them were in costume (although, the club being right next to Lovers Package, I wasn't sure if a few of them weren't really "costumes," if you know what I mean...) and it was difficult to determine their demographics, yet all were attentive and definitely there to see some comedy.
And can I just say that Laughs is such a good place to see comedy. It is clean, it is well maintained, it is well served and well managed. The sound (except for an odd mooing sound coming from the back speaker early in the night) is perfect, the stage is easily seen by everyone...and the seating is comfortable. I'm glad to know that we'll be returning to Laughs for more action in the competition.
So, we had a great venue, we had a great audience, we had sixteen great competitors all ready to put it on the line and see what happens...the only thing we DIDN'T have...was our host.
2005 SICC Champion Lamont Ferguson was scheduled to host...to host the entirity of Preliminary Week One of this year's competition...but on his way up from San Diego, evidently, Lamont began to feel quite ill. So ill, in fact, that he sought out a hospital. His status as I write this is still unknown and we all wish Lamont our best for a speedy recovery from whatever it is that might be ailing him.
The job of hosting the competition can't just go to "anyone"--as it is a job that demands a certain level of experience. Luckily, Ron was able to call upon the services of a man quite familiar with the demands of this competition--the man who will be headlining this weekend at Laughs Comedy Spot--David Testroet, to help the competition out.
So, with the host situation taken care of...a crowd full of eager comedy fans and a good group of comics to entertain them...it was time for the show to begin...and who better to lead the charge than the particularly well dressed man in charge of producing this competition, year after year...Ron Reid.
"I'd like to say thank you to Godfather's Pizza...for moving out of here and allowing us to have our show at this wonderful club."
Ron's job was to prep the audience for what they were about to witness...a night of the first of two preliminary weeks, where five comedians will earn the right to continue in the competition in the semi-finals and, as Ron explained, "after this week, eleven comedians will be sent home without even a t-shirt. We don't give 'em shit. They just go."
How very Anne Robinson of you, Ron. :)
Ron then took a moment to dedicate this competition to Laura Crocker--a dedication that is reprinted on the official Seattle International Comedy Competition website. Laura, in addition to being Ron's wife, helped create the very first Seattle comedy competition in 1980 and was influential in fostering a vibrant comedy scene in this area over the years. Laura recently passed away, far too soon...and this dedication is a fitting tribute to a very important person to everyone who enjoys comedy in Seattle.
It was also Ron and Laura's anniversary last night and I know that the night had to have been a bittersweet one for him...
Ron then brought our substitute host, David Testroet, to the stage. David is a hard working, classic road comic. He's played for every kind of audience in every scenario imaginable...and he does what he does, night after night in town after town. He's been everywhere, so he's got jokes about everywhere he goes.
"People always ask me. 'You've been to Seattle. Have you seen the hydroplane races?' I'm like, yeah...I've seen rush hour traffic."
After priming the pump with laughs in his warm-up set, it was time for David to start the competition proper. The order of the sixteen competitors was determined randomly. They would perform for five minutes--with penalties for going less than three minutes and more than seven--and try to impress the four judges, tonight, in the seven categories that those judges would be scoring them on. They were also working hard to impress the audience enough to earn the "terribly obvious encore point" that would add a full point to their score for the night.
The encore point is always the mystery factor in the competition...as the host determines who gets the point and who doesn't, based on his or her assessment of what constitutes the audience response necessary to earn it...and their willingness to suffer the slings and arrows that come from not giving it to the competitors.
David proved very early on...he was going into this battle like Achilles--unafraid of facing whatever might be thrown at him and demanding that the others prove themselves in battle.
In other words, people who might think that they should have been given the encore point were going to be disappointed--because unlike some hosts, David wasn't just giving them out to everyone.
Competitor Review-----
MIKE WALLY WALTER took the bullet by going first on this first night of the first week. Never an easy thing to do--but Mike Wally is the ultimate veteran comic...it's not like this would be something that he would fear...and certainly wasn't anything he couldn't handle.
Put that, way, there probably wasn't anyone better suited to going up first on this night...with one caveat.
Mike's style is similar to that of the host, David Testroet. Not the same...but they share a battle-tested road worthiness. It must have been a little odd for Mike to follow Dave directly.
Mike has a confident, professional air about him--and both in his voice and in his delivery, I hear a echoes of Bob Hope...although, Bob Hope probably wouldn't have pushed the envelope of the audience that Mike does.
Throughout his set, Mike was getting laughs--his stuff is too well-crafted and well delivered not to work at some level. He just wasn't getting the level of laughs that he might have liked.
Towards the end, when doing a chunk about Texas, Mike took on a bit of a Texas-y accent. Odd to hear Bob Hope with a Texas drawl.
However smooth and professional Mike is, on this night, he couldn't goose the audience into giving him enough laughter to convince David to give him the encore point
This made it very clear to the other comedians waiting to come up that they were going to have to earn those encore points...Dave wasn't handing out Halloween candy just because you knocked on the door.
ADAM NORWEST took the stage next, and it felt like he and the crowd were off rhythm with each other on his first couple of prepared jokes. Kind of like dancing with someone who is on the off-beat from you. However, after these first few jokes, Adam and the audience got in sync--as they started to understand his enjoyably warped perspective.
I do think that Adam dipped into the well once too often with jokes that included rhyming couplets. In a tight, short set...unless there's a call-back involved, probably not a good idea to have more than one joke with that distinct construction.
Still that's a nitpick in what was a very solid competition set--and many of the non-performing comedians in the back of the room, who came to watch the events unfold, commented on how much Adam has improved over the past year. He barely did over four minutes of material, but what he did was enough to earn him an encore point.
Next up, LUKAS SEELY. Lukas has done very well in other comedy competitions and this is his first chance to take on the Seattle International Comedy Competitions.
Lukas came to the stage, silently...allowing the audience to drink in his goofily stiff awkwardness. That might have been more effective if Adam, before him, wasn't also a little goofy and a little awkward.
Lukas plays off on his being Laotian and having originally been from Montana. His style is casual--he sacrifices being "crisp" for being real. Unfortunately, there were times when it seemed like he and the audience weren't quite on the same wavelength.
Still, his jokes about being forced to order the new Asian Salad at McDonald's and being invited to join the KKK in Montana (so they could get a discount on getting their sheets cleaned) found their mark. There just wasn't enough momentum to earn him the encore point.
After Lukas, David almost introduced skipped over GEOFF LOTT, the next performer, to introduce the performer AFTER Geoff. That must have been more than a little disconcerting--to be totally in your head and ready to claim that stage as your own, only to hear someone else being brought up...and then to have that reversed. Bound to put you off your game.
Not Geoff, though. Basically, Laughs is his home club and he seemed totally at home on stage there...and this is the third time for Geoff in the Seattle International Comedy Competition. Four years ago, he seemed on his way to the semi-finals...but tripped. Two years ago, his act was in transition. This year...he seems to have perfected his style...he's truly found his voice.
And that voice is smart, cynical and unafraid of considering the unpopular perspective. He'll make himself the target of his own jokes and he doesn't mind moments when the audience is uncomfortable.
Geoff had a great set going and, if his closing bit hadn't fallen rather flat, it would have been a consistent winner. As it was, he ended on a rather weak note--never a good situation when you're being judged.
Luckily, the audience had his back...and gave him the response he needed for the encore point.
After Geoff, it was time for the performer that David almost brought up instead of Geoff. Evidently, David has never seen RODGER LIZAOLA perform before...because David guessed that Rodger is Italian and made a joke about it.
Rodger is not Italian. Rodger is Mexican...and again, things like that can throw a performer, prepared for a tight competition set, off his game.
Rodger, though, has seen it all and his strong personality carries him through any challenge. Rodger carries that same strength into his material--which often simply, and boldly, states what everyone thinks on a topic.
"I saw a herpes commercial and a woman in the commercial said, 'Living with herpes is such a hassle.' No, it isn't. Losing your wallet. THAT'S a hassle."
His pride in seeing Edward James Olmos in "Battlestar Galactica" leads Rodger into fertile comedic territory about being happy that finally there's Mexicans in the future.
Rodger also doesn't hesitate to throw himself against the boundaries. A particularly edgy joke about rape and ethnic origins drew out some more sensitive audience reactions--to which, Rodger replied, "'Oooooh'??? 'Oooooh'???? You can't 'oooh' fact."
Which is just plain brilliant.
Rodger earned himself his encore point.
Taking the stage with a casual "'Sup?'", KEY LEWIS brought to the stage many of the same strengths as the performer immediately ahead of him--Rodger Lizaola. Only, Key isn't Mexican--he's black. At first. Later, he talks about being mixed race--black and white. And then still later, he talks about how his lady is Mexican.
Unfortunately, however strong his performance was, it paled compared to the strong focus and point of view that Rodger brought to his set immediately before him.
There are times when Key begins to take on a Katt Williams-y cadence. Key doesn't have that boldness of character, but he was doing perfectly fine early in his set--but, like so many Western Washington audiences, they shut down on a non-Mexican performer doing material about Mexicans (a recurring theme in previous years of this very competition--and usually, it's a California based performer learning THAT lesson the hard way.)
Nevertheless, Key got his encore point.
No one is ever going to compare the next performer, SCOTT MORAN, to Katt Williams. Compared to the boldness of both Key and Rodger, Scott's taking to the stage might best be described as "yawn-y".
Scott, one of the core members of the Peoples Republic of Komedy--the leaders of the alt-comedy scene here in Seattle--and his ability to twist every day moments in new ways, without seeming too safe or too surreal, is one of the reasons that PRoK shows can be so satisfying.
Free bicycle scissors, politically incorrect bear pepper spray, the concept of non-boner fighting...all of these make perfect sense when Scott discusses them on stage.
Less successful was a trip into the land of bird impressions...proving one of the lingering criticisms of some alt-comedy performers--an inability (or unwillingness) to edit one's self--AND one of its obvious strengths--the compulsion to try whatever you think might work.
But...this IS a competition and there are judges who may not share alt-comedy values. What they know is funny...and to my ears, Scott was definitely that.
His ending gambit--describing his every day attire as a Halloween costume, that he was "a winner of a coloring contest" lead to an inside joke about how countered what he'd just set up, in a Droopy-Dog voice, saying "I've never won ANYTHING before...judges..."
Scott cracked me up. Unfortunately, he didn't crack up enough of the audience to get the encore point--however, he was rather close to getting it.
Another veteran of the competition, LIZZY PILCHER was in position to make a serious try at making the semi-finals two years ago...but events (and Oak Harbor) conspired against her. She's back for another go.
I don't know if I need to point this out--but Lizzy is a female. She's a female comedian. She's the first female comedian of the night. I'm not sure that the fact that Lizzy is a female is so important and so unusual that I have to point it out as many times as I've just done...if at all. It just seems to be something that is done at comedy shows--to point out that she is, like many other comedians including a few others to perform later in this very show, a female. Evidently, audiences have to be asked if they're ready for a female comedian, and specifically for the first female comedian of the night.
I don't know...I think that's something that'd become obvious to the audience, without much prompting, when she comes on stage. I mean, ready or not...this particular female comedian is coming to the stage.
Lizzy's decided to do a set that she's done very well for some time now--her best tested material that she's developed over the past few years. Strategically, it makes some sense--but I've seen Lizzy do newer material recently...and she's done very well with it--and she seems to enjoy performing the newer material more...
That's just one of countless decisions that every comedian in this competition needs to make--to go with material that you know works or go with the material that inspires you now. There are reasons to doubt all of these decisions at nearly every step of this competition--and if you choose one, you never really know if things would be different if you'd chosen the other. It can mess with your head, believe me.
Lizzy seemed to be doing well with the competition set she'd chosen for tonight, until she went into a joke about going to Mexico for hard drugs. Perhaps it was the audience's sensitivity to the topic following Rodger and then Key...hard to say, but the bit--which I've seen do well for Lizzy--fell absolutely flat...killing whatever momentum she had going into it.
Still, the strength of her other material and her comfort on stage seemed to give her a good chance at getting the encore point. After the show was over, one of the judges expressed his surprise that, in fact, Lizzy did not get the encore point. It was close.
Events...or maybe decisions...conspired against her.
Again...it'll make your brain hurt if you think about it too much...ready or not.
Last year's competition was dominated by Canadians...and won by a Canadian. Thus, it makes sense to alert the audience to the first Canadian of the competition to take the stage--one of the most intriguing performers in the competition, DARREN FROST.
Darren's entry DVD was jawdropping...both because it was damn funny...but also because it took no prisoners, it killed countless sacred cows...and most of all, it didn't give a damn what you thought of it.
Of course, he had to be in this year's competition.
And the genteel nature and tranquil pool of Laughs in Kirkland was disturbed...some waves were made... Even in Darren's first joke, about being naked in a field, calling the 1-800 number on beer bottles "if you have questions" earned him more than a few whispered "Wow..."'s from an audience that suddenly realized that they should be holding on.
Darren is very short. Perhaps there's a little Napoleon in him. (Certainly couldn't be a big Napoleon--heyyyyyoooooo, try the veal!) He suffers no fools, gladly or not...and even when I realized he was trying to tone it down for tony Kirkland...it was still like being barked at by a terrier with the heart of a feral pit bull.
Or, as Darren would describe himself later in his set, "a dolphin on crack."
At one point, Darren warned the audience that if they don't start laughing, he'd bite his own arm off and ram it up their asses. That's a threat that I believe many in the audience felt him to be capable of...
He has a distinct cadence and a meter to how he says whatever he wants to say. Imagine, if you can, an angry and unfiltered John Pinette with no obsession with food...and you can kind of hear in your mind what Darren Frost sounds like.
Tacoma-based comedian Riggs, also known for not toning his style down, smiled as he listened to Darren's performance, saying "Oh, I SO wanna work with THIS guy!"
After his set, when complimented on his set, Darren made it clear that these people have no idea what his set COULD have been...
To which I point out...the week is very young, yet.
As was the night... Sixteen comedians in a night are a lot to go through and with that many performers, and the order of performance determined randomly for each night, you're going to get some odd combinations. People whose acts really don't blend well together.
After Darren Frost came former middle school teacher, SHARON LACEY.
Sharon is a sweet person and very positive about comedy and how she approaches her opportunities in comedy. She recently did very well in the San Francisco Comedy Competition and was looking to extend her success there, here in the Seattle International Comedy Competition.
But, bringing her tales of dealing with crazy students...following the wild howling nightmare that is Darren Frost? A difficult position, to be sure.
Still, Sharon didn't seem intimidated...and, most importantly, she didn't try to match what Darren had done...that would have been foolish. Instead, she did what she does best...tales of how Bush's "No Child Left Behind" act kind of took the fun out of taking kids on field trips.
When she was telling crisp, economical jokes...the laughs came fast enough to give her a sense of momentum. When she went into an extended bit--an act out of a "nature show" focusing in on the wild animals that roam the hallways of a middle school--that momentum began to flag. It felt too bloated for the size of the laughs it was generating.
In the end, compared to some of the more adventurous material that was being presented on this show, much of what Sharon had to offer was a bit safe, a bit easy...too much "my damn job" type of material--which is very relatable, sure...but it hoes an already much tilled field.
Like Lizzy earlier, the audience response for Sharon certainly put her in the neighborhood of getting an encore point...but she didn't get escorted through that door. Much to the frustration of the fans she had in the audience, she did not get the encore point.
Maybe Kirkland really wasn't ready for female comedians?
Fresh from a flight from California, GREG REID earned his way into this competition by winning another competition. Greg had his keyboard on stage and came up to music--the only performer to arrange to do so. Unfortunately, there might have been some sort of a mix-up as the music he came to the stage to didn't immediately lead to a bit--and Greg indicated that it was the wrong song.
...except that just as Greg said that, he did a bit about the song that had played...a bit that pretty much lead into his material...so, who knows? (If he does the same set in other nights of the competition--then, we'll know.)
He did a fun parody version of Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" with new words and a dance that the audience cheered for... He brought out the keyboard to parody hypocritical R&B singers.
And he ended by changing the lyrics to James Blunt's "Beautiful" by imagining the song being sung to a woman suffering from STD's.
This is the kind of thing that many Seattle-area audiences eat up with a spoon and wash down with a latte...and the Kirkland crowd responded with one of the loudest cheers of the night--and it earned Greg an easily given encore point.
That love was definitely extended to the next performer, JAQI FURBACK.
Jaqi has worked very hard over the past few years to develop her distinct voice. She's had a surreal side that hasn't always connected with the audience. She's had a dark side that hasn't always lead to generating laughter--sometimes, it would dip into generating sympathy. And, she's always had an ability to be a compelling figure on stage...but she hasn't always been able to harness that and keep her surreal and dark sensibilities informing her comedy.
If tonight's set was any indication, she may have found the right balance at last. She gets away with being charming and dismissive at the same time--asking the crowd how it's going for them and immediately letting them know that she doesn't care. It's risky--like any tease--but it can certainly pay-off if you can get and keep the audience on your hook.
Jaqi's set began with a bizarre story about having her body fat measured...naked, in an alley way, while someone was taking pictures. Each detail points to the story being a silly made up tail, but Jaqi uses her words to paint vivid pictures and then maintains continuity so that every detail that she adds to her story makes it seem more real...and more ludicrous at the same time.
Many jokes add details that break the illusion--Jaqi maintains the illusion with each detail, which then reveals other details that she continues to release...again, like the audience is a fish being let out on a line while on the hook.
"I should probably Google my name when I get home. Might be some royalties due to me..." is a damn funny place to take that story--but it didn't end there...and unlike Sharon's nature show story, the laughs build...supporting the weight of the growing structure of the multilayered bit.
Another weapon in Jaqi's arsenal is that when she says something dark, like "About my mom. I want to hug the shit out of her face with a pillow."--she lets it sit for just a second before an absolutely charming and adorably giggly smile blossoms perfectly across her face. This might seem to break up the dark mood--which it does, but it only serves to seal the impression of Jaqi being someone who is amused at her own dark surreal thoughts.
That's very compelling...especially when her material is smart and well crafted.
She definitely got the loudest audience cheers at the end of her set for anyone during the night...a testimony to her hard work and her figuring out who she is, and how to best represent herself to others. Encore point well deserved, Jaqi.
In last year's competition, I predicted before the event began that Damonde Tschritter would win...and he did. The previous year, I predicted before the event that Lamont Ferguson would win...and he did. This year...understanding that there were some performers who I have never seen, so it is patently unfair for me to make such a prediction...my prediction would be going up right after Jaqi on this first night of the first preliminary week.
And next up on the bill was LEIF SKYVING. Leif's is a name (and an easily mispronounced one at that) and a face I've seen on countless comedy club walls...and he's had some success in competitions like this before. This competition eats up promising newcomers for breakfast--so, my prediction has something to do with being experienced but still capable of surprising people.
Coming on stage in shades and a jacket and then using the silence (much more effectively than Lukas Seely had tried to do earlier in the night) to add tension to the start of one's set (tension that punchlines can release--the essence of comedy) surprised me...as did the strength of his seemingly simple but devastatingly well crafted jokes would... Proved to me, at least, that my prediction was at least on the right track.
Leif has a nice balance of being the kind of a mildly dirty comedian that parents seem to like... It's not dirty for being dirty's sake or dirty for being shocking's sake, it's mildly dirty for being funny's sake...and it works throughout his set.
Lost my virginity to a girl who was special. Back then, we called her retarded...I guess, you call them special now.
Even when he whips out his harmonica (a tool of the comedy trade that host David Testroet makes good work out of when he's doing his full set...and one that Leif used to get an applause break just by playing without even having used it in its first joke yet) and does some blues lyrics jokes--his mindset is always there and always works.
Women, huh?
Every one I've ever been with...
Has herpes...
...now.
With the music giving him a chance to put in the perfect amount of space to make the joke work and not a smidgen more or less, the joke simply works. That's why people like him and that's why he's my "before I know anything" prediction.
Leif got the encore point, indeed, he did. A big one, too.
Here's a description that I have a hard time typing, much less defending--I have to simply ask you to trust me here.
Next up was the angry (ok), political (ok), and likable (wait...what?) KYLE HARBERT. There are plenty of comedians who use their anger to fuel their performances. There are a lot of performers who choose to take on issues in their material. There are certainly performers who combine those two elements--but rarely do they present those elements and still remain likable, even to audience members who might not share Kyle's point of view on the issues he talks about. That's both a gift and a skill and Kyle is to be commended for it.
Unlike many angry and political comics, Kyle maintains a very high laughs per minute ratio. He also manages to avoid getting bogged down in the details of a topic--another trap that many political comics fall into. He exudes positive energy, makes his points, gets his laughs and then moves on to his next target.
Kyle also manages to work in a liberal dosing of pop culture references...connecting two worlds that might not often get connected. That helps audience members who aren't as informed on current event issues to not be left behind.
Of course, this was one audience in a somewhat progressive part of town. There will be other audiences who might not be so tolerant of someone who doesn't share their views...and there are other towns that just don't seem to know any pop culture references. We'll see how Kyle's act does there as the competition moves forward...but on THIS night, in THIS town...Kyle did very well and got the encore point.
Here's another description that we both might stumble over.
Smart (ok), funny (good...), and deaf (wait...what?), STEPHEN O'KEEFE has two specific challenges inherent in taking the stage.
First question: Is he merely a novelty...a circus show...a "Hey, look what the deaf guy can do?" exhibition...or is he a real comic? My answer to that question, based on tonight, is that Stephen is a real comic. Obviously, he's going to have to deal with the elephant in the room--so, his material centers around being deaf. However, he rarely plays that card to pander or for sympathy...he plays it, as a real comic does, for laughs. His material works...and he comes across, in his stage presence, as strong as anyone else in the field. He works all sides of the room and he makes the connection with the audience. He certainly earns his place on stage, without qualifications or a sense of undeserved entitlement. Respect.
Second question: Do the physical challenges for a deaf comedian make it impossible for him to do what any comedian should be expected to do? The answer to this question is--it isn't at all "impossible" for Stephen, but there ARE challenges...and it is interesting to watch (and, have the luxury to hear) how he deals with them.
Stephen's voice and delivery ARE impacted by his hearing impairment. Certain words are not easy for him to pronounce. Stephen tries hard to make certain that he speaks as distinctly as he can, he slows his pace down to make certain that people can work out his meaning and there are times when he uses vital act-outs to help fill in any missing puzzle pieces in the audience's mind. There are, however, some times when his voice sounds, almost, robotic. I can imagine judges being forced to mark him down for delivery--if compared to the standard set by non-hearing impaired performers.
There is, however, a benefit for Stephen. Sensing the challenge that Stephen faces and the hard work that he's putting in to entertaining them, audiences seem willing to spend the energy to pay attention and work with him. That's taking a potential negative and making it a positive.
Some of Stephen's material is kind of obvious--but I found myself laughing very loudly at a few lines--not that Stephen would notice, of course. ...and think about THAT, for a second. Stephen can't easily adjust to how the audience is reacting to his performance as he goes on with his set. Those adjustments that non-hearing impaired performers take for granted, based on what we hear when a joke doesn't get laughs or when it gets groans...whatever...Stephen is forced to constantly scan the audience for visual clues to help him make those adjustments That must, at some level, be terrifying for a performer...and I give props to Stephen for facing that potential terror with great aplomb.
Solid set tonight...got the encore point.
Closing out the show strong, with attitude and a boundless imagination is ANDY HAYNES. Since returning to Seattle from some simmering time in the Washington DC scene, Andy's come back to install himself as one of the most solid performers in the alt-comedy scene--with a wicked ability to carve and slice up potential comedic scenarios...and a strong ability to ad lib and improv his way into deeper comedic waters.
He's not quite as physical as last year's Seattle International Comedy Competition semi-finalist, Rory Scovel--one of Andy's good friends and also a product of that Washington DC scene...and, there are times where Andy takes on some of the stylistic tics that Rory exhibited in the competition last year. (That's less something that an audience member would notice and more more something that only I'd notice--since I've seen both Andy and Rory a lot over the past two years.) I bring up Rory's name here because luckily, Andy also resembles Rory in being confident on stage and extremely funny.
Another point of contact for Andy is Daniel Tosh. Like Tosh, Andy often works on two levels at the same time...building and undercutting himself as a friend or foe of those who aren't quick enough to stay with him.
After a very long night of comedy, Andy kept the attention of the audience and drew blood consistently with strong material and a distinct attitude. Andy did very well and got one of the loudest cheers for an encore point of the night.
So, it's up to the judges to score each competitor in seven categories...and then the scores of those four judges are added up, divided, curved and the announced. This is the first time this year that these competitors will get actual, hard copy deterimants of how they stack up to their peers...and what their chances are over the next five shows.
After a lengthy weight for checking and rechecking the math in the back room, a card was handed to David Testroet with the information that everyone was waiting for.
Fifth place--Rodger Lizaola.
Fourth place--Leif Skyving.
Third place--Kyle Harbert.
Second place--Andy Haynes.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Jaqi Furback.
(Back Row: Jaqi Furback, Andy Haynes. Front Row: David Testroet, Rodger Lizaola, Kyle Harbert, Leif Skyving)
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 1ST, Preliminary Week-Show Two takes place at Gordon's on the Green in Tukwila--show time, 8pm. Look for a report from THAT show posted late tonight and into tomorrow.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
(And, by "this way" we mean "to the Eastside...")
Last year, the Seattle International Comedy Competition slogged through night after night of nearly-Biblical downpours...that was scary. This year, the forecast is for generally decent, if not downright sunny weather. Nothing scary about that.
Last year, the Seattle International Comedy Competition began with a show at the Liberty Theatre in Puyallup, which was still dressed out from a private Halloween party, meaning that the competitors had to perform underneath the gnarled arms of a scary "living tree"...and that was scary. This year, the host venue for the first show of the year is the brand new and beautifully appointed Laughs Comedy Spot in Kirkland. Nothing scary about that.
In fact, despite starting on Halloween night, pretty much the ONLY thing scary about the start of the 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition was the traffic getting from Seattle over the bridge to get to Kirkland.
The traffic reports on KOMO were screaming about the sky falling and the faithful vanishing into thin air; they'd never seen such bad traffic. What was up with THAT?
Guess all the candy's on the Eastside.
If, by candy, we're talking about the opportunity to start off Preliminary Week One strongly and set a pace for your fellow competitors to chase...
Because there's something special...and something somewhat scary...about a first night of the competition. Nobody really knows what to expect from the other performers, or from yourself as a performer, for that matter.
Everything is fresh, everything is new.
And you're venturing off...
Into the dark...
Into the unknown...
Hoping to get candy...
The 28th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Preliminary Week One--Night One
October 31, 2007
Laughs Comedy Spot, Kirkland
Actually, going into the night, I wasn't hoping for candy--I was just hoping for a good crowd that really wanted to see some good comedy. It being Halloween--you know there's always the chance that the crowd will be "distracted" by festive thoughts...and, frankly, Laughs is such a new club...and while they get good weekend crowds, who knows what they might draw on a Wednesday night.
As Competition Producer Ron Reid would later tell me, when we walked into Laughs and saw how many tables were reserved--he had no worries about the attendance...
By showtime, club was packed...almost entirely full...and the audience, a few of them were in costume (although, the club being right next to Lovers Package, I wasn't sure if a few of them weren't really "costumes," if you know what I mean...) and it was difficult to determine their demographics, yet all were attentive and definitely there to see some comedy.
And can I just say that Laughs is such a good place to see comedy. It is clean, it is well maintained, it is well served and well managed. The sound (except for an odd mooing sound coming from the back speaker early in the night) is perfect, the stage is easily seen by everyone...and the seating is comfortable. I'm glad to know that we'll be returning to Laughs for more action in the competition.
So, we had a great venue, we had a great audience, we had sixteen great competitors all ready to put it on the line and see what happens...the only thing we DIDN'T have...was our host.
2005 SICC Champion Lamont Ferguson was scheduled to host...to host the entirity of Preliminary Week One of this year's competition...but on his way up from San Diego, evidently, Lamont began to feel quite ill. So ill, in fact, that he sought out a hospital. His status as I write this is still unknown and we all wish Lamont our best for a speedy recovery from whatever it is that might be ailing him.
The job of hosting the competition can't just go to "anyone"--as it is a job that demands a certain level of experience. Luckily, Ron was able to call upon the services of a man quite familiar with the demands of this competition--the man who will be headlining this weekend at Laughs Comedy Spot--David Testroet, to help the competition out.
So, with the host situation taken care of...a crowd full of eager comedy fans and a good group of comics to entertain them...it was time for the show to begin...and who better to lead the charge than the particularly well dressed man in charge of producing this competition, year after year...Ron Reid.
"I'd like to say thank you to Godfather's Pizza...for moving out of here and allowing us to have our show at this wonderful club."
Ron's job was to prep the audience for what they were about to witness...a night of the first of two preliminary weeks, where five comedians will earn the right to continue in the competition in the semi-finals and, as Ron explained, "after this week, eleven comedians will be sent home without even a t-shirt. We don't give 'em shit. They just go."
How very Anne Robinson of you, Ron. :)
Ron then took a moment to dedicate this competition to Laura Crocker--a dedication that is reprinted on the official Seattle International Comedy Competition website. Laura, in addition to being Ron's wife, helped create the very first Seattle comedy competition in 1980 and was influential in fostering a vibrant comedy scene in this area over the years. Laura recently passed away, far too soon...and this dedication is a fitting tribute to a very important person to everyone who enjoys comedy in Seattle.
It was also Ron and Laura's anniversary last night and I know that the night had to have been a bittersweet one for him...
Ron then brought our substitute host, David Testroet, to the stage. David is a hard working, classic road comic. He's played for every kind of audience in every scenario imaginable...and he does what he does, night after night in town after town. He's been everywhere, so he's got jokes about everywhere he goes.
"People always ask me. 'You've been to Seattle. Have you seen the hydroplane races?' I'm like, yeah...I've seen rush hour traffic."
After priming the pump with laughs in his warm-up set, it was time for David to start the competition proper. The order of the sixteen competitors was determined randomly. They would perform for five minutes--with penalties for going less than three minutes and more than seven--and try to impress the four judges, tonight, in the seven categories that those judges would be scoring them on. They were also working hard to impress the audience enough to earn the "terribly obvious encore point" that would add a full point to their score for the night.
The encore point is always the mystery factor in the competition...as the host determines who gets the point and who doesn't, based on his or her assessment of what constitutes the audience response necessary to earn it...and their willingness to suffer the slings and arrows that come from not giving it to the competitors.
David proved very early on...he was going into this battle like Achilles--unafraid of facing whatever might be thrown at him and demanding that the others prove themselves in battle.
In other words, people who might think that they should have been given the encore point were going to be disappointed--because unlike some hosts, David wasn't just giving them out to everyone.
Competitor Review-----
MIKE WALLY WALTER took the bullet by going first on this first night of the first week. Never an easy thing to do--but Mike Wally is the ultimate veteran comic...it's not like this would be something that he would fear...and certainly wasn't anything he couldn't handle.
Put that, way, there probably wasn't anyone better suited to going up first on this night...with one caveat.
Mike's style is similar to that of the host, David Testroet. Not the same...but they share a battle-tested road worthiness. It must have been a little odd for Mike to follow Dave directly.
Mike has a confident, professional air about him--and both in his voice and in his delivery, I hear a echoes of Bob Hope...although, Bob Hope probably wouldn't have pushed the envelope of the audience that Mike does.
Throughout his set, Mike was getting laughs--his stuff is too well-crafted and well delivered not to work at some level. He just wasn't getting the level of laughs that he might have liked.
Towards the end, when doing a chunk about Texas, Mike took on a bit of a Texas-y accent. Odd to hear Bob Hope with a Texas drawl.
However smooth and professional Mike is, on this night, he couldn't goose the audience into giving him enough laughter to convince David to give him the encore point
This made it very clear to the other comedians waiting to come up that they were going to have to earn those encore points...Dave wasn't handing out Halloween candy just because you knocked on the door.
ADAM NORWEST took the stage next, and it felt like he and the crowd were off rhythm with each other on his first couple of prepared jokes. Kind of like dancing with someone who is on the off-beat from you. However, after these first few jokes, Adam and the audience got in sync--as they started to understand his enjoyably warped perspective.
I do think that Adam dipped into the well once too often with jokes that included rhyming couplets. In a tight, short set...unless there's a call-back involved, probably not a good idea to have more than one joke with that distinct construction.
Still that's a nitpick in what was a very solid competition set--and many of the non-performing comedians in the back of the room, who came to watch the events unfold, commented on how much Adam has improved over the past year. He barely did over four minutes of material, but what he did was enough to earn him an encore point.
Next up, LUKAS SEELY. Lukas has done very well in other comedy competitions and this is his first chance to take on the Seattle International Comedy Competitions.
Lukas came to the stage, silently...allowing the audience to drink in his goofily stiff awkwardness. That might have been more effective if Adam, before him, wasn't also a little goofy and a little awkward.
Lukas plays off on his being Laotian and having originally been from Montana. His style is casual--he sacrifices being "crisp" for being real. Unfortunately, there were times when it seemed like he and the audience weren't quite on the same wavelength.
Still, his jokes about being forced to order the new Asian Salad at McDonald's and being invited to join the KKK in Montana (so they could get a discount on getting their sheets cleaned) found their mark. There just wasn't enough momentum to earn him the encore point.
After Lukas, David almost introduced skipped over GEOFF LOTT, the next performer, to introduce the performer AFTER Geoff. That must have been more than a little disconcerting--to be totally in your head and ready to claim that stage as your own, only to hear someone else being brought up...and then to have that reversed. Bound to put you off your game.
Not Geoff, though. Basically, Laughs is his home club and he seemed totally at home on stage there...and this is the third time for Geoff in the Seattle International Comedy Competition. Four years ago, he seemed on his way to the semi-finals...but tripped. Two years ago, his act was in transition. This year...he seems to have perfected his style...he's truly found his voice.
And that voice is smart, cynical and unafraid of considering the unpopular perspective. He'll make himself the target of his own jokes and he doesn't mind moments when the audience is uncomfortable.
Geoff had a great set going and, if his closing bit hadn't fallen rather flat, it would have been a consistent winner. As it was, he ended on a rather weak note--never a good situation when you're being judged.
Luckily, the audience had his back...and gave him the response he needed for the encore point.
After Geoff, it was time for the performer that David almost brought up instead of Geoff. Evidently, David has never seen RODGER LIZAOLA perform before...because David guessed that Rodger is Italian and made a joke about it.
Rodger is not Italian. Rodger is Mexican...and again, things like that can throw a performer, prepared for a tight competition set, off his game.
Rodger, though, has seen it all and his strong personality carries him through any challenge. Rodger carries that same strength into his material--which often simply, and boldly, states what everyone thinks on a topic.
"I saw a herpes commercial and a woman in the commercial said, 'Living with herpes is such a hassle.' No, it isn't. Losing your wallet. THAT'S a hassle."
His pride in seeing Edward James Olmos in "Battlestar Galactica" leads Rodger into fertile comedic territory about being happy that finally there's Mexicans in the future.
Rodger also doesn't hesitate to throw himself against the boundaries. A particularly edgy joke about rape and ethnic origins drew out some more sensitive audience reactions--to which, Rodger replied, "'Oooooh'??? 'Oooooh'???? You can't 'oooh' fact."
Which is just plain brilliant.
Rodger earned himself his encore point.
Taking the stage with a casual "'Sup?'", KEY LEWIS brought to the stage many of the same strengths as the performer immediately ahead of him--Rodger Lizaola. Only, Key isn't Mexican--he's black. At first. Later, he talks about being mixed race--black and white. And then still later, he talks about how his lady is Mexican.
Unfortunately, however strong his performance was, it paled compared to the strong focus and point of view that Rodger brought to his set immediately before him.
There are times when Key begins to take on a Katt Williams-y cadence. Key doesn't have that boldness of character, but he was doing perfectly fine early in his set--but, like so many Western Washington audiences, they shut down on a non-Mexican performer doing material about Mexicans (a recurring theme in previous years of this very competition--and usually, it's a California based performer learning THAT lesson the hard way.)
Nevertheless, Key got his encore point.
No one is ever going to compare the next performer, SCOTT MORAN, to Katt Williams. Compared to the boldness of both Key and Rodger, Scott's taking to the stage might best be described as "yawn-y".
Scott, one of the core members of the Peoples Republic of Komedy--the leaders of the alt-comedy scene here in Seattle--and his ability to twist every day moments in new ways, without seeming too safe or too surreal, is one of the reasons that PRoK shows can be so satisfying.
Free bicycle scissors, politically incorrect bear pepper spray, the concept of non-boner fighting...all of these make perfect sense when Scott discusses them on stage.
Less successful was a trip into the land of bird impressions...proving one of the lingering criticisms of some alt-comedy performers--an inability (or unwillingness) to edit one's self--AND one of its obvious strengths--the compulsion to try whatever you think might work.
But...this IS a competition and there are judges who may not share alt-comedy values. What they know is funny...and to my ears, Scott was definitely that.
His ending gambit--describing his every day attire as a Halloween costume, that he was "a winner of a coloring contest" lead to an inside joke about how countered what he'd just set up, in a Droopy-Dog voice, saying "I've never won ANYTHING before...judges..."
Scott cracked me up. Unfortunately, he didn't crack up enough of the audience to get the encore point--however, he was rather close to getting it.
Another veteran of the competition, LIZZY PILCHER was in position to make a serious try at making the semi-finals two years ago...but events (and Oak Harbor) conspired against her. She's back for another go.
I don't know if I need to point this out--but Lizzy is a female. She's a female comedian. She's the first female comedian of the night. I'm not sure that the fact that Lizzy is a female is so important and so unusual that I have to point it out as many times as I've just done...if at all. It just seems to be something that is done at comedy shows--to point out that she is, like many other comedians including a few others to perform later in this very show, a female. Evidently, audiences have to be asked if they're ready for a female comedian, and specifically for the first female comedian of the night.
I don't know...I think that's something that'd become obvious to the audience, without much prompting, when she comes on stage. I mean, ready or not...this particular female comedian is coming to the stage.
Lizzy's decided to do a set that she's done very well for some time now--her best tested material that she's developed over the past few years. Strategically, it makes some sense--but I've seen Lizzy do newer material recently...and she's done very well with it--and she seems to enjoy performing the newer material more...
That's just one of countless decisions that every comedian in this competition needs to make--to go with material that you know works or go with the material that inspires you now. There are reasons to doubt all of these decisions at nearly every step of this competition--and if you choose one, you never really know if things would be different if you'd chosen the other. It can mess with your head, believe me.
Lizzy seemed to be doing well with the competition set she'd chosen for tonight, until she went into a joke about going to Mexico for hard drugs. Perhaps it was the audience's sensitivity to the topic following Rodger and then Key...hard to say, but the bit--which I've seen do well for Lizzy--fell absolutely flat...killing whatever momentum she had going into it.
Still, the strength of her other material and her comfort on stage seemed to give her a good chance at getting the encore point. After the show was over, one of the judges expressed his surprise that, in fact, Lizzy did not get the encore point. It was close.
Events...or maybe decisions...conspired against her.
Again...it'll make your brain hurt if you think about it too much...ready or not.
Last year's competition was dominated by Canadians...and won by a Canadian. Thus, it makes sense to alert the audience to the first Canadian of the competition to take the stage--one of the most intriguing performers in the competition, DARREN FROST.
Darren's entry DVD was jawdropping...both because it was damn funny...but also because it took no prisoners, it killed countless sacred cows...and most of all, it didn't give a damn what you thought of it.
Of course, he had to be in this year's competition.
And the genteel nature and tranquil pool of Laughs in Kirkland was disturbed...some waves were made... Even in Darren's first joke, about being naked in a field, calling the 1-800 number on beer bottles "if you have questions" earned him more than a few whispered "Wow..."'s from an audience that suddenly realized that they should be holding on.
Darren is very short. Perhaps there's a little Napoleon in him. (Certainly couldn't be a big Napoleon--heyyyyyoooooo, try the veal!) He suffers no fools, gladly or not...and even when I realized he was trying to tone it down for tony Kirkland...it was still like being barked at by a terrier with the heart of a feral pit bull.
Or, as Darren would describe himself later in his set, "a dolphin on crack."
At one point, Darren warned the audience that if they don't start laughing, he'd bite his own arm off and ram it up their asses. That's a threat that I believe many in the audience felt him to be capable of...
He has a distinct cadence and a meter to how he says whatever he wants to say. Imagine, if you can, an angry and unfiltered John Pinette with no obsession with food...and you can kind of hear in your mind what Darren Frost sounds like.
Tacoma-based comedian Riggs, also known for not toning his style down, smiled as he listened to Darren's performance, saying "Oh, I SO wanna work with THIS guy!"
One word that I haven't mentioned yet in reviewing Darren's performance...is undeniable. Undeniably funny and his getting his encore point was undeniable.
After his set, when complimented on his set, Darren made it clear that these people have no idea what his set COULD have been...
To which I point out...the week is very young, yet.
As was the night... Sixteen comedians in a night are a lot to go through and with that many performers, and the order of performance determined randomly for each night, you're going to get some odd combinations. People whose acts really don't blend well together.
After Darren Frost came former middle school teacher, SHARON LACEY.
Sharon is a sweet person and very positive about comedy and how she approaches her opportunities in comedy. She recently did very well in the San Francisco Comedy Competition and was looking to extend her success there, here in the Seattle International Comedy Competition.
But, bringing her tales of dealing with crazy students...following the wild howling nightmare that is Darren Frost? A difficult position, to be sure.
Still, Sharon didn't seem intimidated...and, most importantly, she didn't try to match what Darren had done...that would have been foolish. Instead, she did what she does best...tales of how Bush's "No Child Left Behind" act kind of took the fun out of taking kids on field trips.
When she was telling crisp, economical jokes...the laughs came fast enough to give her a sense of momentum. When she went into an extended bit--an act out of a "nature show" focusing in on the wild animals that roam the hallways of a middle school--that momentum began to flag. It felt too bloated for the size of the laughs it was generating.
In the end, compared to some of the more adventurous material that was being presented on this show, much of what Sharon had to offer was a bit safe, a bit easy...too much "my damn job" type of material--which is very relatable, sure...but it hoes an already much tilled field.
Like Lizzy earlier, the audience response for Sharon certainly put her in the neighborhood of getting an encore point...but she didn't get escorted through that door. Much to the frustration of the fans she had in the audience, she did not get the encore point.
Maybe Kirkland really wasn't ready for female comedians?
Fresh from a flight from California, GREG REID earned his way into this competition by winning another competition. Greg had his keyboard on stage and came up to music--the only performer to arrange to do so. Unfortunately, there might have been some sort of a mix-up as the music he came to the stage to didn't immediately lead to a bit--and Greg indicated that it was the wrong song.
...except that just as Greg said that, he did a bit about the song that had played...a bit that pretty much lead into his material...so, who knows? (If he does the same set in other nights of the competition--then, we'll know.)
He did a fun parody version of Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" with new words and a dance that the audience cheered for... He brought out the keyboard to parody hypocritical R&B singers.
And he ended by changing the lyrics to James Blunt's "Beautiful" by imagining the song being sung to a woman suffering from STD's.
This is the kind of thing that many Seattle-area audiences eat up with a spoon and wash down with a latte...and the Kirkland crowd responded with one of the loudest cheers of the night--and it earned Greg an easily given encore point.
That love was definitely extended to the next performer, JAQI FURBACK.
Jaqi has worked very hard over the past few years to develop her distinct voice. She's had a surreal side that hasn't always connected with the audience. She's had a dark side that hasn't always lead to generating laughter--sometimes, it would dip into generating sympathy. And, she's always had an ability to be a compelling figure on stage...but she hasn't always been able to harness that and keep her surreal and dark sensibilities informing her comedy.
If tonight's set was any indication, she may have found the right balance at last. She gets away with being charming and dismissive at the same time--asking the crowd how it's going for them and immediately letting them know that she doesn't care. It's risky--like any tease--but it can certainly pay-off if you can get and keep the audience on your hook.
Jaqi's set began with a bizarre story about having her body fat measured...naked, in an alley way, while someone was taking pictures. Each detail points to the story being a silly made up tail, but Jaqi uses her words to paint vivid pictures and then maintains continuity so that every detail that she adds to her story makes it seem more real...and more ludicrous at the same time.
Many jokes add details that break the illusion--Jaqi maintains the illusion with each detail, which then reveals other details that she continues to release...again, like the audience is a fish being let out on a line while on the hook.
"I should probably Google my name when I get home. Might be some royalties due to me..." is a damn funny place to take that story--but it didn't end there...and unlike Sharon's nature show story, the laughs build...supporting the weight of the growing structure of the multilayered bit.
Another weapon in Jaqi's arsenal is that when she says something dark, like "About my mom. I want to hug the shit out of her face with a pillow."--she lets it sit for just a second before an absolutely charming and adorably giggly smile blossoms perfectly across her face. This might seem to break up the dark mood--which it does, but it only serves to seal the impression of Jaqi being someone who is amused at her own dark surreal thoughts.
That's very compelling...especially when her material is smart and well crafted.
She definitely got the loudest audience cheers at the end of her set for anyone during the night...a testimony to her hard work and her figuring out who she is, and how to best represent herself to others. Encore point well deserved, Jaqi.
In last year's competition, I predicted before the event began that Damonde Tschritter would win...and he did. The previous year, I predicted before the event that Lamont Ferguson would win...and he did. This year...understanding that there were some performers who I have never seen, so it is patently unfair for me to make such a prediction...my prediction would be going up right after Jaqi on this first night of the first preliminary week.
And next up on the bill was LEIF SKYVING. Leif's is a name (and an easily mispronounced one at that) and a face I've seen on countless comedy club walls...and he's had some success in competitions like this before. This competition eats up promising newcomers for breakfast--so, my prediction has something to do with being experienced but still capable of surprising people.
Coming on stage in shades and a jacket and then using the silence (much more effectively than Lukas Seely had tried to do earlier in the night) to add tension to the start of one's set (tension that punchlines can release--the essence of comedy) surprised me...as did the strength of his seemingly simple but devastatingly well crafted jokes would... Proved to me, at least, that my prediction was at least on the right track.
Leif has a nice balance of being the kind of a mildly dirty comedian that parents seem to like... It's not dirty for being dirty's sake or dirty for being shocking's sake, it's mildly dirty for being funny's sake...and it works throughout his set.
Lost my virginity to a girl who was special. Back then, we called her retarded...I guess, you call them special now.
Even when he whips out his harmonica (a tool of the comedy trade that host David Testroet makes good work out of when he's doing his full set...and one that Leif used to get an applause break just by playing without even having used it in its first joke yet) and does some blues lyrics jokes--his mindset is always there and always works.
Women, huh?
Every one I've ever been with...
Has herpes...
...now.
With the music giving him a chance to put in the perfect amount of space to make the joke work and not a smidgen more or less, the joke simply works. That's why people like him and that's why he's my "before I know anything" prediction.
Leif got the encore point, indeed, he did. A big one, too.
Here's a description that I have a hard time typing, much less defending--I have to simply ask you to trust me here.
Next up was the angry (ok), political (ok), and likable (wait...what?) KYLE HARBERT. There are plenty of comedians who use their anger to fuel their performances. There are a lot of performers who choose to take on issues in their material. There are certainly performers who combine those two elements--but rarely do they present those elements and still remain likable, even to audience members who might not share Kyle's point of view on the issues he talks about. That's both a gift and a skill and Kyle is to be commended for it.
Unlike many angry and political comics, Kyle maintains a very high laughs per minute ratio. He also manages to avoid getting bogged down in the details of a topic--another trap that many political comics fall into. He exudes positive energy, makes his points, gets his laughs and then moves on to his next target.
Kyle also manages to work in a liberal dosing of pop culture references...connecting two worlds that might not often get connected. That helps audience members who aren't as informed on current event issues to not be left behind.
Of course, this was one audience in a somewhat progressive part of town. There will be other audiences who might not be so tolerant of someone who doesn't share their views...and there are other towns that just don't seem to know any pop culture references. We'll see how Kyle's act does there as the competition moves forward...but on THIS night, in THIS town...Kyle did very well and got the encore point.
Here's another description that we both might stumble over.
Smart (ok), funny (good...), and deaf (wait...what?), STEPHEN O'KEEFE has two specific challenges inherent in taking the stage.
First question: Is he merely a novelty...a circus show...a "Hey, look what the deaf guy can do?" exhibition...or is he a real comic? My answer to that question, based on tonight, is that Stephen is a real comic. Obviously, he's going to have to deal with the elephant in the room--so, his material centers around being deaf. However, he rarely plays that card to pander or for sympathy...he plays it, as a real comic does, for laughs. His material works...and he comes across, in his stage presence, as strong as anyone else in the field. He works all sides of the room and he makes the connection with the audience. He certainly earns his place on stage, without qualifications or a sense of undeserved entitlement. Respect.
Second question: Do the physical challenges for a deaf comedian make it impossible for him to do what any comedian should be expected to do? The answer to this question is--it isn't at all "impossible" for Stephen, but there ARE challenges...and it is interesting to watch (and, have the luxury to hear) how he deals with them.
Stephen's voice and delivery ARE impacted by his hearing impairment. Certain words are not easy for him to pronounce. Stephen tries hard to make certain that he speaks as distinctly as he can, he slows his pace down to make certain that people can work out his meaning and there are times when he uses vital act-outs to help fill in any missing puzzle pieces in the audience's mind. There are, however, some times when his voice sounds, almost, robotic. I can imagine judges being forced to mark him down for delivery--if compared to the standard set by non-hearing impaired performers.
There is, however, a benefit for Stephen. Sensing the challenge that Stephen faces and the hard work that he's putting in to entertaining them, audiences seem willing to spend the energy to pay attention and work with him. That's taking a potential negative and making it a positive.
Some of Stephen's material is kind of obvious--but I found myself laughing very loudly at a few lines--not that Stephen would notice, of course. ...and think about THAT, for a second. Stephen can't easily adjust to how the audience is reacting to his performance as he goes on with his set. Those adjustments that non-hearing impaired performers take for granted, based on what we hear when a joke doesn't get laughs or when it gets groans...whatever...Stephen is forced to constantly scan the audience for visual clues to help him make those adjustments That must, at some level, be terrifying for a performer...and I give props to Stephen for facing that potential terror with great aplomb.
Solid set tonight...got the encore point.
Closing out the show strong, with attitude and a boundless imagination is ANDY HAYNES. Since returning to Seattle from some simmering time in the Washington DC scene, Andy's come back to install himself as one of the most solid performers in the alt-comedy scene--with a wicked ability to carve and slice up potential comedic scenarios...and a strong ability to ad lib and improv his way into deeper comedic waters.
He's not quite as physical as last year's Seattle International Comedy Competition semi-finalist, Rory Scovel--one of Andy's good friends and also a product of that Washington DC scene...and, there are times where Andy takes on some of the stylistic tics that Rory exhibited in the competition last year. (That's less something that an audience member would notice and more more something that only I'd notice--since I've seen both Andy and Rory a lot over the past two years.) I bring up Rory's name here because luckily, Andy also resembles Rory in being confident on stage and extremely funny.
Another point of contact for Andy is Daniel Tosh. Like Tosh, Andy often works on two levels at the same time...building and undercutting himself as a friend or foe of those who aren't quick enough to stay with him.
After a very long night of comedy, Andy kept the attention of the audience and drew blood consistently with strong material and a distinct attitude. Andy did very well and got one of the loudest cheers for an encore point of the night.
So, it's up to the judges to score each competitor in seven categories...and then the scores of those four judges are added up, divided, curved and the announced. This is the first time this year that these competitors will get actual, hard copy deterimants of how they stack up to their peers...and what their chances are over the next five shows.
After a lengthy weight for checking and rechecking the math in the back room, a card was handed to David Testroet with the information that everyone was waiting for.
Fifth place--Rodger Lizaola.
Fourth place--Leif Skyving.
Third place--Kyle Harbert.
Second place--Andy Haynes.
...and, the top performer for the night...
First place--Jaqi Furback.
(Back Row: Jaqi Furback, Andy Haynes. Front Row: David Testroet, Rodger Lizaola, Kyle Harbert, Leif Skyving)
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 1ST, Preliminary Week-Show Two takes place at Gordon's on the Green in Tukwila--show time, 8pm. Look for a report from THAT show posted late tonight and into tomorrow.
LINKS:
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION AT SEATTLECOMEDY.NET'S FLICKR
OR GO TO THE OFFICIAL SICC WEBSITE
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