Todd Sawyer is a former winner of the Seattle International Comedy Competition. He just wrapped up a 3 year tour with Ron White on his “Moral Compass” tour. Sawyer is currently co-hosting the podcast, “My Picker is Broken” and writing for The Huffington Post.

Sawyer won the prestigious Seattle Stand-up Comedy Competition and made his first television appearance on a local show, “Standing Room Only”. Since then Todd has made people laugh on a variety of television shows from multiple appearances on CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” to National Lampoon’s “Funny Money”, or cracking jokes on CMT’s “Country Music’s 20 Sexiest Women”. He performed on Paramount Television’s “The World Stands Up”, which aired in Australia, the UK and on BBC America. Sawyer also appeared on Entertainment Studios newest show, “ComedyTV.com” and “Man Up/Stand Up”.

For more information, visit: http://www.auburnwa.gov/community/arts_entertainment/auburn_avenue_theater.asp

Admiral Theatre – Bremerton

Jim Short, Andy Haynes, Xung Lam and more!
Comedy! Comedy! Comedy! Laugh until it hurts, cry when it’s over—the best of the Seattle Comedy Underground always delivers a spectacular New Year’s extravaganza. Enjoy a champagne toast at midnight, then get down and DANCE on the Admiral’s stage to the tunes of happening after hours DJ!
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Comedy Underground – Seattle

Marcus on December 30 and Theo Von New Years Eve.
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Comedy Underground – Tacoma

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Champion of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition: MIKE BALDWIN

On the other hand–this competition allows us all to see excellent comedians every night…and we get to hang out with really great people as we have adventures all over Western Washington.  And that’s awesome!  Why would anyone want that to end?

…and, when you consider that some of us have been racing at full speed on making certain this event was as good as it could be since before June of this year…there’s that sense of “well, now what?”

Well, now…we get to celebrate one more time the excellent performers in this year’s competition…as our five finalists gathered one more time in the friendly confines of the home club of the Seattle International Comedy Competition for Finals Week-Night Five of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition to perform in front of a sold out club crowd to determine who would be this year’s champion.

Now, if you’ve been following along with the competition with these nightly updates, I think you had a pretty good idea who that champion was going to be…and you wouldn’t have been wrong…but, to their credit, all five performers gave it everything they had on this final night (and, as ever, Rodney Sherwood gave even more than that) to make certain that they showed everyone exactly why they’d earned their way into the finals of this highly competitive competition year to begin with…

And the results from the judges scores for this night’s performances, the Fifth and Final night of the Finals Week of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition, from the Comedy Underground, Seattle are as follows:

1. Mike Baldwin (Kansas City)
2. Mrs Hughes (Pismo Beach)
3. Rick Kunkler (Seattle/Los Angeles)
4. Rodney Sherwood (Seattle)
5. Patrick Keane (Los Angeles)

…and those results had some interesting implications for the final standings for the week (and the entire competition.)

Did Mrs Hughes, with an excellent performance in a club setting–something that she’d admitted she had some concerns about, as she feels she does much better in a theater setting (and proved that she does very well in theaters in the Semi-Finals and Finals weeks)–do enough to pull her past the very consistent Patrick Keane or the mercurial Rick Kunkler?

Could Rick’s “everything including the kitchen sink (and improv fake-out and ventriloquist bit and guitar stuff)” approach allow him to climb one more spot to push Rodney Sherwood’s totally energetic presentation of local references and knowing meta-comedy out of 2nd place?

In a word?  No.  Nope.  The Weekly Standings didn’t change due to this show.

Here then are the Official Final Results from the Finals of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition:

• 5)  Mrs Hughes (Pismo Beach)  An extraordinary result for a performer who wouldn’t have moved on from her Preliminary Week (despite having done very well in that week) if not for a performer dropping out of the Semi-Finals.  She made her way through the Semi-Finals without a drop score and charmed audiences throughout Western Washington!  Excellent work Mrs Hughes!
• 4)  Patrick Keane (Los Angeles)  The quiet confidence shown by Patrick earned so much respect and so many new fans throughout this competition.  For a performer of his obvious talent and skill, he was invited to participate in this competition surprisingly late in the process–and I was happily surprised, myself, that he was still available to come join us.  His fearlessness in performing his style every night, regardless of the circumstances, will not soon be forgotten.
• 3)  Rick Kunkler (Seattle/Los Angeles)  I’ve known Rick for many years and I’ve known that he’s a personality that fills any room he’s in.  He entered this competition with a concern that he wouldn’t live up to the standard he set the last time he’d competed in this event–when he placed 2nd.  When he realized that no matter what happened this year, no one could ever take that away from him…he was able to become the strong, confident and fearless performer that he truly is…and to see Rick Kunkler at his best was a special treat for all of us who had the chance to see him over the past few weeks.  Rarely does a comedian show off SO MANY SKILLS in the course of short set like we give our performers, but Rick displayed his mastery of everything that makes a comedian truly an entertainer.  (I half expected him to end his final night of finals set with a Gene Kelly-esque tap dance…and I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him nail it perfectly if he had.)
• 2)  Rodney Sherwood (Seattle)  One night in August, I saw that Rodney Sherwood was available for Facebook Chat and I sent him the following message:   You know what would make your comedy comeback complete? Competing in the Seattle International Comedy Competition.  I didn’t really think that Rodney would actually say “yes” to my invitation–after all, what else did Rodney have to prove?  He’d made the finals of this event in 1990!  He’s one of my local comedy inspirations!  But, he DID say “yes”–as part of his comeback from having retired from comedy for five years…and he did it the way he’s done everything–by giving EVERYTHING HE HAD and NOT EXPECTING ANYTHING TO BE HANDED TO HIM.  This is a man, after all, who could have sat back and waited to be given back his local headliner status–but he came back WORKING…he came back to do open mics, he came back to feature on Tribbleruns…and he signed on to try his hand in the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition.  And all he did was inspire a whole new group of comedians…  All he did was entertain audiences every night he performed.  All he did was earn his way through the Preliminary Week, hold on through the highly competitive Semi-Finals and made a charge towards the top placements in the Finals Week.  He hasn’t lost a step…and he’s gained new respect.  Are you serious?  COME ON!
• 1)  Mike Baldwin (Kansas City)  Two years ago, Mike Baldwin competed in the 30th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition–the year after he’d made the Finals in the San Francisco Comedy Competition–and Mike didn’t make it out of his preliminary week.  He’d been counting on at least making the Semi-Finals that year, and he didn’t have enough money to drive back to Kansas City–he had to scramble to get enough paid gigs to earn his way back home.  It wouldn’t have surprised me if Mike had never wanted to come back to the Pacific Northwest, but Mike stayed in touch with me…always asking about the competition and letting me know that he was looking forward to when he was eligible to give it another shot.  He got his shot this year…and he made the most of it.  In what was an extremely competitive field, Mike Baldwin simply went out night after night and delivered top notch comedy.  His style is instantly likable, entirely personal and it highlights his attention to detail.  His material is crisp and perfectly efficient and he supplements that material with subtle but perfect facial expressions and vocal inflections.  His dominance in this competition is best expressed this way:  He won three of the six nights of his preliminary week.  He won five of the six nights of the Semi-Finals (and barely missed winning that sixth Semi-Final show, too.)  He won four of the five nights of the Finals (and the one night that the judges didn’t have him winning, the audience booed the decision and chanted his name.)  And, despite his dominance, the other competitors this year couldn’t even be mad at him…not only because Mike is simply really nice but also because Mike is simply really funny. 

Mike Baldwin earned himself a check for $5000 cash.  He’ll be offered a $1000 advance towards a recording contract with Uproar Entertainment.  He’ll come back to the Comedy Underground in Seattle to headline the weekend of December 9th through the 11th.

And he’ll always be known as the Champion of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition.

It’s been an amazing year…and obviously, thanks are due to Executive Producer Jonathan Fox, without whom there would not be a Seattle International Comedy Competition.  Thanks too go to Webmaster Wally Glenn and Judge Coordinator Lizzy Pilcher.  Thanks to our production assistants:  Danny Felts, Renee Perrault, Brittney Leonard, Jake Fox, Maria Heinegg, Barbara Holm, David Tveite, Douglas Gale, CJ Alexander,  Ken Arnold and Jen Seaman.  Thanks also to Larry Carson, without whose computer help we wouldn’t have been able to print scores from the Skagit Valley Casino show on…

Thanks to all of our comedian competitors this year:  Seth Lazear, Adam Cozens, Jay Washington, Rhiannon Archer, Carlos Valencia, Rylee Newton, Adam Pateman, Shanti Charan, Douglas Gale, Mike Cummings, Emmett Montgomery, Kristine Levine, Heather Thomson, Blake Wexler, Scott Moran, Manny Martin, Don Frost, Brett Hamil, Jono Zalay, Ian Karmel, Mark Normand, John Beuhler, David Tveite, Will Weldon, Eric Krug, Xung Lam, Sam Demaris, Mrs Hughes, Patrick Keane, Rick Kunkler, Rodney Sherwood and…certainly not least, this year’s champion of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition…Mike Baldwin.

Thanks to our hosts, this year:  Billy Wayne Davis, Ralph Porter, Jim Short, Don Frost and Duane Goad.  Thanks to our special guest performers:  Greg Wingo, Reese Waters, Darrin Rose, Mike Drucker, Billy Wayne Davis and David Crowe.

Thanks to the dozens of judges, the helpful staffers at all of the venues we visited this year, thanks to Emmett Montgomery for helping to find lodging for many of our participants this year, thanks to everyone who retweeted and Google Plus +1′d and liked updates on Facebook and commented on Flickr.  Thanks to you for following along here on the SeattleComedyCompetition.com website!

Deep breath.

And now, the hard work towards the 33rd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition begins. 

Respectfully submitted,

Peter Greyy–Director of Talent (etc. etc. etc.)

PS–One more time, give it up for our new champion:  MIKE BALDWIN!!!

Don Frost (Host) and Finals Night Four Winner Mike Baldwin

That said, it is also a venue that has some provided some unexpected and unnecessary drama for the competition over the past few years–as the judges and the audience have not always seen things eye-to-eye…  (Let’s just put it this way–Vashon Theatre, this year, has nothing on the past couple of years in Bremerton.)

It can be anti-climactic to have put on a good show for a great audience and then have the audience unhappy with who is announced as getting the best score–so, I’d hoped that we’d managed to put together a group of judges that would be representative of the audience and take their jobs seriously (last year, one of the judges picked by the venue itself, got so drunk and rowdy that they were kicked out of the venue during intermission!)

This year’s excellent group of finalists deserved a good set of judges and a order-of-finish announcement at the end of the night where the audience’s reaction is that of appreciation for a great show.

And all five comedians definitely put on a great show.

Rodney Sherwood started things off and took his high energy, local referencing act to the big Admiral Theatre stage.  Whenever Rodney pointed out that they “love (him) in the balcony”–the balcony roared with approval and agreement, time and time again.  At the end of Rodney’s set, there were those in the crowd standing and applauding a job very well done.  At the end, Rodney gave this show on this night everything he had to give…and the audience rewarded him for his efforts.

Mike Baldwin’s calm style couldn’t have been more different than Rodney’s…but he took a room buzzing with energy and channeled that energy into his well-crafted jokes and his easy going personality…making them his own.  The “wall of laughter” that Rodney had earned continued just as strong through Mike’s set.

Mrs Hughes continued the run of great sets in the first half of the show.  Her self-deprecating jokes and observations on parenting and aging definitely struck a chord with a large segment of the audience…and the audience gave her just as strong of an encore point cheer as they’d given Mike Baldwin.

Patrick Keane took the stage after a brief intermission–and it took some time for the crowd to get back to the comedic fever pitch that they’d been at before the break…but Patrick got them there and held the audience enraptured all the way through to the close of his excellent set.

And Rick Kunkler, with an act seemingly built for a room like this…with a music bit, a ventriloquist bit and an improv section, both challenged this audience to handle his energy, attitude and willingness to play with their favor–as he’d say something outrageous to shock them and then win them back with the next thing he’d present to them–brought the show home in style.

…that left it up to the judges.  And all that entails.

Before host Don Frost announced the nightly order of finish, I actually took to the mike to make certain that the audience knew that whatever the judges decided, that they’d seen a great night of comedy and five excellent performers–and the audience roared with approval.

Here, then, is the order of finish for Night Four of the Finals Week of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition, as it was held at the Admiral Theatre in Bremerton.

1. Mike Baldwin (Kansas City)
2. Rodney Sherwood (Seattle)
3. Rick Kunkler (Seattle/Los Angeles)
4. Mrs Hughes (Pismo Beach)
5. Patrick Keane (Los Angeles)

And I held my breath a little at the roar that Rodney Sherwood received when he was announced as the 2nd place finisher for the night–because it was loud enough to make me think that the audience had made Rodney their choice…and that they’d be disappointed again.

Those fears disappeared when the roar for Mike Baldwin being announced as the winner proved to be even louder than the one for Rodney just a moment earlier–and for the first time in years, the judges and the audience were in synch in Bremerton.

And that means that only one show remains in this year’s competition.  One show, back at the competition’s home club–The Comedy Underground in Seattle–where a new champion will be crowned and an excellent run of shows will come to an end.

As crazy as it sounds, despite 23 shows over 26 nights, hundreds of miles driven…not to mention the months of preparation, showcases, reviewing audition tapes, making impossible decisions about who would get the opportunity to compete…I’ll be sad when this whole thing ends.

But end it will…tonight!

Finals Night Three Winner Mike Baldwin with Don Frost (Host)

Night Three of Finals Week brought us back up to Bellingham for our third competition show there this year–the first time in my memory that we were able to bring our finals week show there.  This Friday night show would take place in the Walton Theater at the Mt Baker Theatre–which played a comfortable and intimate host to our five candidates.

I wouldn’t be surprised, if Bellingham enjoyed last night’s show as much as it sounded like they did, if we don’t eventually move into the mainstage at the Mt Baker Theatre one of these years–that is one gorgeously ornate 1500+ seat theater that would be an amazing place to perform comedy in…  BUT, as it was, we had standing room only in the smaller Walton Theater–and, as I said, it certainly sounded throughout the night that everyone there that night truly enjoyed the show.

With a day off to think about things, some of our brave finalists chose to make some changes to their sets–minor tweaks for some, serious reorganization for others.  Everyone is trying to find the perfect combination to get them the scores that they need to stake their claim on the championship.

Our host for this show was Don Frost–a name you might remember from his having been a contestant in this year’s competition.  Evidently Don had done such a wonderful job hosting a show in Medford, Oregon for the San Francisco Comedy Competition that Executive Producer Jonathan Fox snagged him to do this show in Bellingham and the Saturday night show in Bremerton.

Once again, everyone had strong sets on this night–including Mrs Hughes, who went up first on this night.  Rick Kunkler, the Night Two nightly winner, went up second–and, despite having an excellent set, came up just a little short on this night…literally.  He incurred a time penalty when not making it to the minimum amount of time for a finals length set–a penalty that dropped him two spots in the nightly order of finish.  Rodney Sherwood went up third and delivered another uality effort–taking full advantage of the close proximity of the performers.

Patrick Keane had his strongest set of the week going up fourth, and it looked like it might be possible that Patrick would earn his first nightly win since his Preliminary Week on this night.  It looked that way until Mike Baldwin went up to close out the show.  Mike made some changes, added some material, moved other material around–but the result was the same, in that the audience and (this time) the judges truly responded to what he did.

Here, then, is the order of finish for Finals Week-Night Three of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition, from the Mt Tabor Theatre in Bellingham.

1. Mike Baldwin (Kansas City)
2. Patrick Keane (Los Angeles)
3. Rodney Sherwood (Seattle)
4. Mrs Hughes (Pismo Beach)
5. Rick Kunkler (Seattle/Los Angeles)

The scores for the week, which will determine this year’s winner, are very close at this point–just over one point separating first from last place.  There are two shows left in this year’s competition…Saturday night at the Admiral Theatre in Bremerton and the finale on Sunday at the Comedy Underground in Seattle.  With as close as the weekly standings are, whoever wins this thing is going to need good scores on both nights to seal things up.

At this point–everyone is still very much in it!

Finals Night Two Winner Rick Kunkler and Duane Goad (Host) in front of one of the Vashon Theatre murals

What was exceptional on this night was the strange way the show ended–not how the comedy ended, because all five of our finalists managed to put forth their best efforts yet again for an appreciative crowd…and host Duane Goad made hay with some local police blotter stories that really whipped up the crowd to kick things off…and a good time was had by all.

What was strange was during the announcement of the order of finish, as determined by the judges–when Mrs Hughes was announced as the third place finisher, everyone–even Rick Kunkler, who himself was yet to be called to the stage–thought that it would be another nightly win for Kansas City’s Mike Baldwin, who had yet another incredibly strong set.  Rick, who had an excellent set himself, to be sure, was even on his way towards the stairs to the stage, as he expected his name to be called as the 2nd place finisher of the night…but had to veer off, in shock and surprise, when Mike Baldwin’s name was announced in that position instead.

The audience, however, was not necessarily in agreement with the decision–and Mike’s being announced in second place was met with loud “Boo’s”.  It wasn’t so much that they were booing Rick Kunkler–for they did really enjoy his performance–but they were trying to give Mike the recognition that they thought he deserved–and that continued when Rick was brought to the stage…and some in the crowd started chanting “BALD-WIN!  BALD-WIN!”

To say that this is not the way that Rick Kunkler wanted to celebrate his first nightly win in this year’s competition would be an understatement.  On the other hand, the cheers and the chanting for Mike Baldwin were nice–but he’d rather have had the 11.00 score that a nightly win earns you…something that Rick got for his efforts tonight.

So, a little bit of drama on the night before Thanksgiving…

Let’s see the exact order of finish for Night Two of the Finals of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition.

1. Rick Kunkler (Seattle/Los Angeles)
2. Mike Baldwin (Kansas City)
3. Mrs Hughes (Pismo Beach)
4. Patrick Keane (Los Angeles)
5. Rodney Sherwood (Seattle)

The competition takes Thanksgiving Night off–enjoy your Turkey or Tofurky everybody!–but will return to action on Friday night at the Mt. Baker Theater in Bellingham.  (Tickets still available!)

There are only three shows left–Friday in Bellingham, Saturday at the Admiral Theatre in Bremerton (which I hear is close to selling out!) and Sunday at the Comedy Underground in Seattle, where a new champion will be crowned.

Hope to see you at one of these excellent (and, sometimes, rather dramatic) comedy shows!