2007 Seattle International Comedy Competition

2008 Competition Preliminary Dates & Info

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:17:44 -0800

The 2008 29th Annual Seattle International Stand-Up Comedy Competition will run November 5-30 2008.
Schedule as of 9/19/08:

Preliminary Round 1
Wednesday Nov 5 - Laffhole at ReBar
Thursday Nov 6 Laughs Comedy Spot, Kirkland
Friday Nov 7 The Knitting Factory, Spokane WA
Saturday Nov 8 Historic Everett Theater, Everett WA
Sunday Nov 9 Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar, Bellingham WA
Monday Nov 10 Comedy Underground Seattle

Preliminary Round 2
Tuesday Nov 11 - Comedy Underground Seattle
Wednesday Nov 12 TBA
Thursday Nov 13 Laughs Comedy Spot Kirkland
Friday Nov 14 Admiral Theater West Seattle
Saturday Nov 15 Columbia Theater for the Performing Arts, Longview WA
Sunday November 16 Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar, Bellingham WA

Semi Finals
Tuesday Nov 18 - Edmonds Center for the Arts
Wednesday Nov 19 - Liberty Theater, Puyallup WA
Thursday Nov 20 - Laughs, Kirkland WA
Friday Nov 21 - Skagit Casino Resort, Bow, WA
Saturday Nov 22 - Lucky Eagle Casino, Rochester WA
Sunday Nov 23 Marson's, Everett WA

Finals
Tuesday Nov 25 - Washington Athletic Club
Wednesday Nov 26 - Vashon Theater, Vashon WA
Friday Nov 28 - Kirkland Performance Center, Kirkland Wa
Saturday Nov 29 - Admiral Theater, Bremerton WA
Sunday Nov 30 - Comedy Underground Seattle

Thanks to Everyone for the Best Comp Ever

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:05:49 -0800

This was definitely the best Seattle Comedy Competition ever - over 6000 people came to the shows, all of which rocked. Also the first year in history with media sponsors. Our thanks to KMTT 103.7 The Mountain and The Marty Riemer Show, home of the 7:20 Funnies, and the Seattle Weekly; to staff members Wally Glenn, Peter Greyy, Rosalie Gale, and Pavel Simsa; to our long-standing venues Kirkland Performance Center, Comedy Underground, Admiral Theatre, Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Lucky Eagle Casino, Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar, Liberty Theater, New Everett Theater, Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, Washington Athletic Club, Whitman College and Vashon Theater, and to this year's new venues Admiral (Cinema) Theater, Laughs Comedy Spot, Paradise Village, Edmonds Center for the Arts, Chop Suey, and Gordon's on the Green.
And of course to the comedians who participated and gave their all to entertain, and to the former champs who lent their expertise to hosting the show.
Thanks also to the press for their coverage of the 28th Annual Seattle International Stand Up Comedy Competiton (see "Press" link to the left - we hope to have the Horizon Air Magazine article posted soon as well; we had to manually scan it).
Look for "Best of the Comedy Competition" shows at our partner venues on New Year's Eve, and Valentine's Day, plus a couple of shows in March and September.

Seattle comedy contest has winner

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:40:36 -0800

The 28th annual Seattle International Stand Up Comedy Competition is over, and a Salt Lake City performer who goes by the single name Marcus is getting the last laugh. He took first place in the nearly monthlong competition, winning $5,000 and a Dec. 6-8 gig at Seattle's Comedy Underground.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2004036125_musicbriefs27.html

We have a Winner!

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:01:15 -0800

(L-R Key Lewis, Geoff Lott, guest host 2001 winner Dwight Slade, Marcus, Leif Skyving, Tony Boswell)
Photo by Peter Greyy

Salt Lake City resident Marcus (or The Artist Formerly Known as "Marcus the Man of 1000 Voices") has won the 28th Annual Seattle International Stand Up Comedy Competition. A perpetual motion machine of a performer, the former rock musician integrated vocal impressions, singing and dance into his shows, which pleased both audiences and judges night after night.

Sunday night at Seattle's Comedy Underground, Following the very last of the 23 shows that make up the Competition, Marcus was awarded the crown. He wins $5000 cash, and a headline appearance at The Comedy Underground in Seattle December 6-8 2007. Shows are at 8:30 nightly, with late shows Friday and Saturday at 10:30 PM. Thursday tickets are $6; Friday $12, and Saturday $15, and are available at www.ticketweb.com. Information on all Comedy Underground Shows can be found at www.comedyunderground.com, or by calling (206)628-0303.

As usual, the contest was a close affair, with less than half a point separating Marcus from 2nd place finisher Tony Boswell of Chicago, who took home $2000.

First place for the evening went to Sweden native Leif Skyving, currently residing in Boise, but it was only enough to pull him up into 3rd for the contest ($1500).

Fourth place and $1300 went to Key Lewis, a recent emigre to the Northwest from Sacramento, and Kirkland resident Geoff Lott took 5th and a check for $1200.

Over 6000 audience members were entertained in this year's competition, which began October 31 and toured the state, presenting shows at 19 different venues.

Detailed information on the Seattle Comedy Competition, including a daily blog, pictures and bios of the performers, can be found at http://www.seattlecomedycompetition.com.

Photographer Peter Greyy's collection of Seattle Comedy Competition photos is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seattlecomedynet/collections

Multiple "attaboys" go to this year's competiton staff: Rosalie Gale, Wally Glenn, Peter Greyy, & Pavel Simsa.

And we salute our venue partners Laughs Comedy Spot, Gordon's On the Green, The Edmonds Center for The Arts, The Columbia Theater for the Performing Arts, Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar, The Comedy Underground, Chop Suey, Paradise Village Bowl and Lounge, West Seattle's Admiral Theater, The New Everett Theatre, Whitman College, The Liberty Theatre, The Skagit Valley Casino Resort, The Lucky Eagle Casino, the Wshington Athletic Club, the Vashon Theatre, the Kirkland Performance Center, and the Admiral Theatre in Bremerton.

Pipe the Admiral aboard. . .

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 11:00:31 -0800

OK, I wrote this up and then accidentally deleted the file. . .so this is the condensed version: Admiral Theatre, Bremerton, sold out, 800-ish people. 2001 winner Dwight Slade hosted, took him about 90 seconds to warm up the crowd. Like a giant comedy club with great acoustics. Even some drunk people.
Everybody killed. Quote of the night, "You want your picture taken with the mermaids?"
Here's how the judges saw it:
1. Marcus 2. Geoff Lott 3. Leif Skyving 4. Key Lewis 5. Tony Boswell

Marcus/Marquee. Photo by Peter Greyy

Show # 21 - Kirkland Performance Center

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 10:25:19 -0800

The Seattle Comedy Competition has been coming to the Kirkland Performance Center since the first year it was open. It's always a favorite venue of the Competition performers and producers; the configuration is perfect for stand-up comedy and the audiences are fantastic. The place holds 400 people. There are comedy clubs around the country bigger. But I doubt they have the amenities - follow spot, dressing rooms, close-circuit viewing of the show backstage, and like that.
From the second host Dwight Slade (winner, 2001) opened his mouth to the moment he said goodnight, the crowd was literally roaring with laughter. Of course, the comics can take some credit for that too. Once again, the judges were mixed in their opinions, but when the totals were added here's how they saw it:
1. Marcus 2. Leif Skyving 3. Tony Boswell 4. Geoff Lott 5. Key Lewis
Speaking of judges, it was nice to have the very first Seattle Comedy Competition winner David Silverman (1980!) among the distinguished panel.

(L-R Key Lewis, Geoff Lott, Dwight Slade, Tony Boswell, Marcus, Leif Skyving, some fingers, and the KPC crowd)
Photo by Peter Greyy. For the complete collection of 2007 Seattle Comedy Competition photos Go Here:

Finals Night 2 - Celebrities on the Island

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:37:50 -0800

I love Vashon Island. So close and yet so far. This was our third year at the
Vashon Theatre, and the second Thanksgiving Eve show - and it was a joyous
experience. The Vashon Theatre is a '40's vintage movie theater that is being
lovingly restored (and beyond) by owners Eileen and Gordon Wolcott. It is
gorgeous, and its beauty was enhanced last night by flowers on the stage and
live pre-show piano music by Dan Brown (I don't think he's the Da Vinci Code guy,
but around here you never know).
They do a fair business at the bar on
comedy night - in '06 we actually had to kick out a drunk guy - probably the
only time ever in the history of the theater. Fortunately, history did not repeat itself.
For the 2nd night in a row, we were honored to have this year's San Francisco
Comedy Competition winner Paul Ogata hosting the show. Paul has a great
casual manner combined with broad appeal, which means it doesn't take him
'bout a minute to warm up the crowd. It's been a pleasure working with him.
It was our night for celebrity judges, too. Helping us out in that department
were part-time Vashon Islanders Alex Borstein - she's the voice of Lois on "Family Guy,"
and MAD-TV's "Ms. Swan" - and hubby Jackson Douglas ("Jackson" on "The Gilmore Girls").
The packed house seemed to have a great time, giving all 5 finalists their full attention. And how did the judges see it? Like this:

(L-R): Tony Boswell (2nd Place), Leif Skyving (3rd Place), Key Lewis (4th Place), Paul Ogata (Host), Marcus (1st Place), Geoff Lott (5th Place).

Photo by Peter Greyy. For all Peter's Comedy Competition pix on Flickr, click here:
seattlecomedy.net photo collection

Finals - Opening Night

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 09:51:36 -0800

There was no limo.
Other than that, our opening night could have not been more deluxe - a members-only event at the swanky Washington Athletic Club, followed by cocktails and canapés at the "W." Although we've done shows at the WAC before, this was the first time for the Finals, and Mouni Amrous and her staff went to great lengths to make sure it was a complete package for everyone concerned, audience, entertainers and staff. From the custom-designed backdrop to the Archie McPhee novelties on the tables, it was certainly one of the most luxurious evenings of stand-up the Competition has seen.
All this care and attention to detail, combined with the very best talent this year's Competition had to offer, reflected in the show; host Paul Ogata, fresh off his win in the San Francisco Comedy Competition, got the crowd laughing with his opening words and the show took off from there. Everybody killed. Total point spread from 5th to 1st - 9/10ths of a point!
1. Key Lewis 2. Marcus 3. (tie) Tony Boswell & Geoff Lott 5. Leif Skyving
PS Special thanks to Killorn O'Neill for the little after party. . .

Tonight's winner Key Lewis. Artsy monochrome photo by Peter Greyy

The funniest of the funny go for the grand comedy prize

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800

After a grueling three weeks and 18 shows, five finalists have been chosen for the 28th annual Seattle International Standup Comedy Competition. One of them will walk away with the grand prize of $5,000 at the finals Sunday at 8:30 p.m. at the Comedy Underground. Tickets are $20.

This year's finalists come from Chicago, Sacramento, Salt Lake City and Boise, as well as Kirkland.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/ae/340611_comedy23.html

And Here are Your Finalists. . .

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:54:44 -0800

This is the way to finish - another sold -out show. 800 people at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, WA. Where's Rochester? 12 miles south of Olympia, 10 miles west of Centralia, and 40 miles east of Aberdeen. Does that help?
It was our 11th consecutive year at the Lucky Eagle; we figured that out because the first time we did it, host John McClellan, the 1996 winner, was in the contest.
This is the first time, however, that we
A. Did the show on a Saturday; and
B. Ended the semi-final round there
Both smart moves on our part. What a way to close out the semis!
Allyson Smith, up 2nd, tore the roof off the joint. Would it be enough to push her up into the top 5? Kyle Harbert, who has been commuting from Portland daily and suffering from a pretty bad cold, was up 10th and ditto; this was, as Paul Simon once wrote, his "shot at redemption."
Tony Boswell did all new material. Killed.
The audience loved everyone. If you are a performer and have never heard 800 people roaring with laughter and applause, we highly recommend the experience.
Here's how the judges saw it for the night:
1. Allyson Smith 2. (tie) Kyle Harbert & Tony Boswell 3. Leif Skyving 4. Key Lewis 5. Marcus

Missing from the list were some comics who were placing all week. . .would we have a repeat of the "perfect storm" that vaulted Andy Haynes from 12th to the semis in his opening round?

But it was not to be.

Here are the results of the semi-final round:
In 10th place, winning $500: Andy Haynes
9th Kyle Harbert $600
8th Allyson Smith $700
7th Ruben Barron $800
6th Andy Peters $900

And moving on to the finals (in alphabetical order since the scores go back to zero) and still in the running for the $5000 first prize:
Tony Boswell, Key Lewis, Geoff Lott, Marcus, Leif Skyving!

First open-to-the-public show is Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving at the Vashon Theater on Vashon Island; then Friday at the Kirkland Performance Center; Saturday at the Admiral in Bremerton, and closes out Sunday November 25 at the Comedy Underground in Seattle.
Some tickets are available for all shows.

(L-R Key Lewis, Marcus, Leif Skyving, John McClellan, Tony Boswell, Geoff Lott

Semi Finals Show #5

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:47:05 -0800

After the production staff telling the comedians that East Side audiences tend to be somewhat reserved, we were made liars by the whoopers and talkers who packed Laughs Comedy Spot on Friday night. It was beyond sold out, and club owners Dave and Angela had to borrow chairs from the Liquid Lime across the parking lot.
While the audiences pretty much liked everybody, the judges were very judgmental, either lovin' or hatin', with some minor exception.
This is how it came out, just for the night:
1. Geoff Lott 2. Marcus 3. Key Lewis 4. Tony Boswell and 5. Leif Skyving

Double Header at the Skagit Casino

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 22:03:00 -0800

Another first for the Seattle Comedy Competition - two shows on the same night in the same venue.
The Pacific Showroom at the Skagit Valley Casino Resort has been one of our favorite venues since we began working with them. First class hospitality, sold-out shows. In fact, it is because this show sells out a month in advance annually that we considered adding the second show.

The host for the evening, 1996 Competition winner John McClellan, with shaved head and motorcycle jacket, seems an unlikely match for this older audience. In fact, it takes them a few minutes of staring to get into it. But wonder of wonders, they let go and get into it and we are off and running.

The semi-finals is always what separates, metaphorically of course, the men from the boys. And speaking of metaphors - or cliches - it takes a big umbrella to cover the wide variety of audiences that a entertainer needs to please in in order to really be successful. That's part of what this competition is all about.

So here's who was carrying that umbrella tonight:
First show:
1. Andy Peters 2. Marcus 3. Tony Boswell 4. Key Lewis & Ruben Barron (tie) 5. Leif Skyving

Second show - same comics, different order:
1. Marcus 2. Tony Boswell & Andy Peters (tie) 3. Key Lewis 4. Leif Skyving 5. Ruben Barron

These comedians have made giant steps toward the Finals - but the scores are all very close, no one is out of the running, and the list is likely to look very different after Friday's show at Laughs in the upscale suburb of Kirkland. I guess we'll all find out in a few hours.

(L-R: John McClellan, Ruben Barron, Andy Peters, Key Lewis, Marcus, Leif Skyving, Tony Boswell.)

Playing Ketchup - Semi Finals Nights 1 & 2

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 09:02:16 -0800

The Seattle Comedy Competition seems to have been sticking closer to home this year - at least until we got to the semi-final week. On paper (or Google Maps) it doesn't seem like that much travel; opening night at Whitman College in Walla Walla - our only venture across the Cascades this year - then everything else up and down the I-5 corridor.
Well, in reality, it turns out to be a bit of a bear. 4 1/2 hours to Walla Walla, stay overnight, 4 1/2 hours back to Seattle, then to Puyallup in the rush hour, back home, then north 70 miles to the Skagit Valley. A brief respite on Friday when we play close-in Kirkland, then a couple of hours south to the round's closing night in beautiful Rochester WA.
Can you say "nap time?"
Anyway, Faithful Readers, that's why we're just getting around to posting 3 days into the round.
NIGHT 1 WHITMAN COLLEGE
At 7:50 PM there was no one in the Reid Student Center performance space. At 8 PM there were 300 college kids ready for some entertainment.
Oddly, at least to us, a handful of audience members would leave after every comedian. When asked why, every single one said "gotta study" or "I have a paper due tomorrow."
That I guess sums up Whitman; it's a fairly exclusive private university down in the southeastern corner of Washington state, in a town that has been transformed into the capital of Wine Country - the Napa of the North.
Thanks to host comedian John McClellan, we drank some good wine (and some wack bourbon).
1. Marcus 2. Allyson Smith 3. Tony Boswell 4. Ruben Barron 5. Andy Peters

Photo by Peter Greyy
NIGHT 2 LIBERTY THEATER PUYALLUP
If any of our Faithful Readers have followed along in previous years, you know that we have done a number of shows at the Liberty Theater in downtown Puyallup. If the phrase "downtown Puyallup" itself seems amusing to you, please know that this once rural town has become an upscale bedroom suburb; the Liberty may be the poster child for that development. Built in 1924, it served as the only movie theater for many years. It has been lovingly restored and remodeled by Tom Neumann into Pierce County's most in-demand event venue. And this, our only Tacoma-area show, was gratifyingly SOLD OUT. YES, I'M SHOUTING.
1. Marcus 2. Tony Boswell 3. Geoff Lott (went up last) 4. Key Lewis 5. Andy Peters (went up first!)

Photo by Peter Greyy

Seattle Comedy Competition returns to campus

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800

How often do you walk by Reid Ballroom on a Tuesday night and overhear, “Water, go suck on it, bitch!” “Fuck teeth, what other part of your body do you have to clean twice a day or it will fall off?” or “Don’t drink and drive, go home and smoke pot!”

http://whitmanpioneer.com/ae/2007/11/15/seattle-comedy-competition-returns-to-campus

Week 2 Night 6 - 5 more Semifinalists

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 10:38:14 -0800

Thanks perhaps to the Veterans' Day holiday, the Fairhaven Pub & Martini bar was PACKED to the walls. I mean standing room only, son. Probably somewhere around 200 people. Not only that, they were a hot audience (in so many ways); a great way to finish the week. Even the "snap sets" were funny. Well, to us.There was a tie for 1st place for the night between Tony Boswell and Randy Liedtke; Ruben Barron took a much needed 2nd place; Kevin Richard reached for the stars with a 3rd place finish; Marcus, in the one-hole, was 4th, and Martha Marion's high-larious, high energy set had her in 5th.
But in the long run, Randy, Kevin and Martha couldn't quite knock off Ruben, or Allyson Smith, who had the crowd howling but just enough love from the judges to withstand the charge.

Here are your semi-finalists from week 2, in alphabetical order: Ruben Barron, Tony Boswell, Marcus, Andy Peters, and Allyson Smith. They win a minimum of $500 and join Kyle Harbert, Andy Haynes, Key Lewis, Geoff Lott, and Leif Skyving for a week of Semis starting Tuesday.
The producers want to say congratulations and thanks to a great group of performers. We enjoyed working with all of them, and are looking forward to 2 more weeks of excellent comedy.

(FOR THE NIGHT L-R: Gabriel Rutledge, Kevin Richards, Martha Marion, Randy Liedtke, Marcus, Tony Boswell, Ruben Barron.)

(MAKING THE SEMI FINALS: L-R: Gabriel Rutledge, Allyson Smith, Ruben Barron, Andy Peters, Tony Boswell, Marcus.)