SeattleComedy.net News

End of SC.n coverage of SICC28.

2007-11-17T16:00:00.000-08:00

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

SICC: Semi-Finals Week--Scoring Analysis

2007-11-17T02:51:00.000-08:00

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

SICC: Semi-Finals Week--Night Five

2007-11-17T01:38:00.000-08:00

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

SICC: Semi-Finals Week--Night Four

2007-11-16T02:44:00.000-08:00

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.

(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

2007-11-16T02:30:00.000-08:00

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

SICC: Semi-Finals Week--Night Two

2007-11-15T02:26:00.000-08:00

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.

(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

SICC: Semi-Finals Week--Night One

2007-11-14T14:07:00.000-08:00

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

FLICKR CONTEST!!!

2007-11-13T04:18:00.000-08:00

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

NOTE ABOUT UPCOMING REPORTS

2007-11-13T04:12:00.000-08:00

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

Meet a SICC28 Semi-Finalist: Tony Boswell

2007-11-13T03:07:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

2007-11-13T02:14:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Meet a SICC28 Semi-Finalist: Marcus

2007-11-12T17:18:00.000-08:00

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!

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.

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.

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!

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

2007-11-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

--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.

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.

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.

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

2007-11-12T13:45:00.000-08:00

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

How long have you been doing comedy?
Four years.

Is comedy your full time job?
No.

What is it that you do?
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.

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.

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.

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

2007-11-12T02:31:00.000-08:00

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

SICC: Preliminary Week Two Scoring Analysis

2007-11-11T00:31:00.000-08:00

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...

SICC: Preliminary Week Two--Night Five

2007-11-11T00:18:00.000-08:00

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

Meet a SICC28 Semi-Finalist: Geoff Lott

2007-11-10T15:48:00.000-08:00

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?
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.

What is it that you do?
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.

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?

Writing for a hit sit-com or "hit-com," selling screenplays, and living off the royalties from my second best-selling comedy CD, tentatively titled "Has Anybody Seen Geoff Brousseau?" Book-signings. A few acting parts. Touring a few months a year for stand-up. Raising kids who are far too well-adjusted to think their dad is funny. Balcony-pissing. Teaching classes on financial planning to comics. Laughing at the crumbling, hastily-built condominiums on the floodplain of South Lake Union. Looking at my abs. Sleeping in. Showing people my "Celebrity Skeleton" collection's latest addition, Carson Daly. I feel inferior and therefore need to be constantly reminded that people can see me.

--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.

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

2007-11-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

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.

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

2007-11-10T01:46:00.000-08:00

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

Looking for more images from SICC28?

2007-11-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

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

Meet a SICC28 Semi-Finalist: Leif Skyving

2007-11-09T05:45:00.000-08:00

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.

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

2007-11-09T01:34:00.001-08:00

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

Meet a SICC28 Semi-Finalist: KYLE HARBERT

2007-11-08T14:46:00.000-08:00

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

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, Oregon

How long have you been doing comedy?

Steadily for 3 years.

Are you a full time comic?

No.

Then, what DO you do?

I’m an Electrical Engineer. I test motherboards.

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...?

Drunk and mouthing off on stage somewhere.

--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?

Being sick the whole fucking time... Oh, and bombing in front of Fox at the last prelim show at the Underground. I guess “industry night” meant “we only laugh at people we know” night. I always love doing Underground, but getting such a poor response was down right weird. By the way Peter, you should add to your blog that my set was so shitty that shutting down the noisy people on left was THE funniest part of it.

--the final question--
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

2007-11-08T02:51:00.000-08:00

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