L-R: Patrick Keane (4th), Mike Baldwin (1st), Mrs Hughes (3rd), Rick Kunkler (2nd), Jim Short (Host) NOT PICTURED: Rodney Sherwood (5th)
We’ve been blessed with decent weather for most of this year’s Seattle International Comedy Competition. Yes, there was the Winter Storm Warning on Preliminary Week One-Night One back on November 2nd. And yes, it’s been a bit chilly (although, frankly, it IS November…not sure what else you’d expect.) But, generally, it’s been rather uneventful–which is unusual for this event…as we are often faced with near-Biblical levels of rain, some spot flooding, last year we even had a nasty ice-storm.
Last night, we got a taste of what we’re used to–as heavy rains made the drive down to Olympia for Night Three of the Semi-Finals of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition rather adventurous. That rain didn’t help the always challenging traffic between Seattle and the State Capitol.
Luckily, waiting for us in Olympia was the beautiful Washington Center for the Performing Arts–and my worries that the move from their “Box” cabaret-style room to the Mainstage there (an amazing four-level, 976-seat theater that totally reminds me of the opera house from “Citizen Kane”) would pose any problems for our having another great night of comedy in this amazing Semi-Finals week proved unfounded. The good people of Olympia certainly came out to check out the show–filling the main level and extending up into the balconies.
Now, the audience seemed to love the entire show–and they showered every Semi-Finalist with strong encore points–the judges, on the other hand, scored everyone tough. And that’s good! That’s why we have judges, after all–they must look critically at everyone that performs and what they do. As much as we’d love it to happen, we really can’t afford to have a ten-way tie for first place…
And even with tough judges, coming out on top AGAIN is Kansas City’s Mike Baldwin. Three nights of the Semi-Finals, three nightly wins for Mike–he’s really got it dialed in right now.
Still, we’re only at the halfway point of this week–and anything can happen. Still, it’s got to feel good if you’re Mike Baldwin…or Rick Kunkler or Patrick Keane who have each made the Nightly Top 5 every show this week, so far. And even though Mrs Hughes has the disadvantage of not being able to drop her lowest score (as a result of being a late repacement), she too has to feel good about her two Top 5 finishes.
Here’s the Nightly Top 5 from Semi-Finals Week-Night Three at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, Olympia:
Rodney Sherwood makes his first Top 5 for the week. Just missing the Top 5 tonight were Austin’s Eric Krug, as well as both David Tveite and Xung Lam from Seattle.
On the way home from the show in Olympia, the heavy rain turned to what verged on snow flurries…but that couldn’t dampen the good vibes from a great show in an excellent venue.
…a feeling that should carry over to tonight (whatever the weather forecast) as we head North, now…to the Skagit Valley Casino & Resort. Once again, well over a month before the show, they’ve sold out the 600+ seat Pacific Showroom. It’s another big room show…and this year’s Semi-Finalists have had to figure out how to translate their act for these big stages and big crowds.
I think they’re all doing a great job…and I’m looking forward to tonight’s show (not to mention the buffet!)–but I also know that pretty soon, the numbers are going to crunch and we’ll get a clearer picture of who might be this year’s five finalists.
L-R: Patrick Keane (4th), Sam Demaris (5th), Jim Short (Host), Mrs Hughes (2nd), Rick Kunkler (3rd), Mike Baldwin (1st)
Night Two of the Semi-Finals Week of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition brought us to the beautiful Edmonds Center for the Arts in Edmonds–a venue which has been an excellent host for the competition for years now. The crowds just seem to get better and better here and the staff is ALWAYS most gracious and accommodating–they really make certain that their audience gets the best possible show from everyone involved.
And “everyone involved” on this night included two people who began the day with no idea that they’d be called upon to re-enter this year’s competition. As both John Beuhler (Vancouver) and Mark Normand (New York) were unable to continue with this year’s competition due to previously unforeseen circumstances, Seattle’s David Tveite and Pismo Beach’s Mrs Hughes were invited to take their place in the Semi-Finals. They do so knowing that because they did not perform on Night One of the Semi-Finals, they will not have the luxury of a “drop score” (as performers who perform on all six nights of the Semi-Finals drop their lowest nightly score, as we compare the sum total of their five best nightly scores…David Tveite and Mrs Hughes will have to take all five of their actual performances to make up their weekly total.)
They were each excellent performers in their Preliminary Week and we are all proud to welcome them back into the competition and in the Semi-Finals.
They were also welcomed by the crowd at the Edmonds Center for the Arts, which responded to most of tonight’s comedians with a “wall of sound” (as Rodney Sherwood described it.) Sam Demaris said that both the stage and the audience were definitely “hot.”
At the intermission, I overheard one audience member say that the comedian who performed just before the break “was great” and his friend responded with “They’re all great!”
We think so, too…but we do ask judges to give us their opinions with specific numbers…and, in doing so, someone very familiar with success in this year’s competition took top honors: Mike Baldwin adds another Nightly Win to his already impressive performance in this year’s event–he’d won three nights in his Preliminary Week and two nights, now, in the Semi-Finals–that’s 5 wins in 8 shows!
Rick Kunkler would have taken second place tonight, had he not received a penalty for going over his time. Rick came precariously close to being disqualified for going significantly over his time–one more second and his entire score for the night would have been wiped out. As it was, and with the time penalty, he took third.
So, into second place for this night–and someone who truly connected with both judges and audience members alike on this night–was Mrs Hughes. From out of the competition to a podium finish in a few hours–what a rollercoaster ride for her!
Here’s a look at the Top 5 finish for Semi-Finals Week-Night Two from the Edmonds Center for the Arts:
In sixth place, and heartbreakingly close to making tonight’s Top 5, was Seattle’s Xung Lam…while fellow Seattle comics Rodney Sherwood and David Tveite were right there 7th and 8th places, respectively.
The competition continues with a show at the gorgeous Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia tonight, Thursday November 17th, for a 7:30pm show. This is a massive 976 seat venue (split on FOUR levels!)–and I understand tickets for this wonderful show are still available. If you’re in the area, I would definitely recommend coming out tonight to see this show–top to bottom, one of the best comedy shows this competition has ever presented.
L-R: Jim Short (Host), Patrick Keane (5th), Eric Krug (4th), Rick Kunkler (3rd), Will Weldon (2nd), Mike Baldwin (1st)
The best comedian contestants from Preliminary Week One and the best comedian contestants from Preliminary Week Two meet up in the Semi-Finals of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition–which began last night at the Comedy Underground in Seattle.
This night was also being recorded by Uproar Entertainment for possible release as a compilation CD–as if our brave contestants didn’t have ENOUGH pressure on them.
Thankfully, they all rose to the occasion–and, as David Schmader of The Stranger reported “(L)ast night’s semi-finals of the 32nd annual Seattle International Comedy Competition at the Comedy Underground was seriously one of the most consistently funny things I’ve ever seen in a comedy club.”
The night was not without some drama…as Mark Normand of New York was unable to make the first night. (UPDATE: Due to unforseen circumstances, Mark has had to drop out of the competition entirely. He will be replaced by David Tveite of Seattle.)
But, the nine comedians who did perform…as well as the always hilarious Jim Short, our host for this entire week, did not disappoint any who attended last night’s show. The audience, as well as our five judges for this evening, were well impressed. The judges, however, did not always agree with each other on who had done the best of those who had all done so well.
However, most in attendance agreed that the nightly top five did represent the best of a very good night. So, let’s take a look at the Top 5 from Semi-Finals Week-Night One, from the Comedy Underground, Seattle:
The Semi-Finals continues on Wednesday night with a show at the beautiful Edmonds Center for the Arts in Edmonds.
The following performers are moving on from Preliminary Week Two to the Semi-Finals Week, which begins on November 15th at the Comedy Underground, Seattle.
L-R: Eric Krug (2nd), Rick Kunkler (3rd), Will Weldon (4th), Xung Lam (5th), Mike Baldwin (1st), Ralph Porter (Host)
L-R: Mrs Hughes (4th), Will Weldon (2nd), Brett Hamil (5th), Adam Pateman (3rd), Mike Baldwin (1st), Ralph Porter (Host)
It was a wild night in Bellingham. You wouldn’t have believed that it was the sixth and final night of Preliminary Week Two of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition and that these comedians were fighting for their last opportunity to earn a score that might push them into the Top 5 for the week–which would mean making the Semi-Finals. You’d think that everyone would be tense and nervous, but this show, at the marvelous Underground Nightclub in Bellingham, was loose and hilarious (with moments of partial nudity.)
If you weren’t there, you’ll live with the regret the rest of your life…because it was definitely a night to remember.
All the complicated math that this competition uses said that there were eight comedians still in contention for those five spots–and that could have meant a nightmarish trainwreck…but all sixteen comedians on this night committed to making this a fun night for a growing audience…(and did I mention the partial nudity yet?)
Of those still in the chase, Scott Moran felt the bite of the “Go Up First Curse”–where the performer to go up first on a night has failed to make a Nightly Top 5 this entire year, so far–something that I don’t ever remember happening before. Rick Kunkler had another excellent set–but got thrown off track during his planned closing joke due to a funny and unexpected crowd interaction. Eric Krug was loose and silly–but he went a little too far, time-wise.
Speaking of going “a little too far”, have I mentioned the partial nudity yet?
Mrs Hughes had an excellent set–and any concerns of her not being able to connect with a younger audience were unfounded, as this audience LOVED her. Mike Baldwin was also loved–even though he devoted some of his set to selling his merchandise (unheard of in a competition set–and, I understand he even sold two t-shirts at the end of the night.)
Xung Lam put up a solid set–he went into this night in 5th place and hoped to hold off Mrs Hughes who wanted to climb over him and grab it. Will Weldon, too, very solid…as he hoped to hold onto 4th place and watch Xung Lam and Mrs Hughes wrestle each other beneath him. And Brett Hamil, who went up second to last also had a solid set–completely recovering from an unexpectedly disappointing set in Tacoma the night before.
It should be noted that Heather Thomson had another excellent set, Adam Pateman returned from missing the Tacoma show with a well received effort, Blake Wexler’s set was fun (and have I mentioned the partial nudity yet?) as was Mike Cumming’s (again, I feel like I should be mentioning the partial nudity…)
And Seth Lazear had his best received set of the week…and Shanti Charan closed everything off with a devil-may-care attitude that found favor with this crowd.
When it came to the scores–they were, across the board, very high–which was both good and bad. Good, because big scores are good…but bad, because some people had to depend on others tripping up a bit for them to move forward.
Blake Wexler and Shanti Charan both just missed the Nightly Top 5, which looked like this, for Preliminary Week Two-Night Six at The Underground Nightclub, Bellingham
Mike Baldwin’s win locked up the first place for the entire week–having won three of this week’s six nights. Will Weldon’s second place finish allowed him to hold onto 4th Place. Since Mrs Hughes finished ahead of Brett Hamil tonight, it would be up to the Pismo Beach comedienne to challenge Xung Lam for that 5th and final spot.
In the end, it was as close as FIVE HUNDREDTHS OF A POINT for that 5th and final spot–astonishing, considering that it took six shows to get to that sliver of difference.
Here, then, are the Top 5 from Preliminary Week Two of the 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition…and they become the second group of five comedians to make this year’s Semi-Finals.
Heartbreakingly close, but Xung Lam holds off Mrs Hughes and hangs on to that fifth and final spot. Mrs Hughes ends the week in sixth place, Brett Hamil took seventh, Scott Moran eighth, Blake Wexler ninth and Heather Thomson finished in the tenth spot.
This means these five comedians join the five comedians who made it through Preliminary Week One…and these your 32nd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition Semi-Finalists are:
The Semi-Finals begin, with these ten comedians and host Jim Short, on Tuesday, November 15th at the Comedy Underground, Seattle at 8pm. Tickets are still available.
Now it really gets interesting. The five best contestants from preliminary round one will square off against the five best from preliminary round two when the semi-finals of the 32nd Annual Seattle Stand-Up Comedy Competition begin Tuesday night at the Comedy Underground in Pioneer Square.
Uproar Entertainment will have their technicians on hand for the first ever recording of the event. The Seattle Times is sending a reviewer to determine for herself if these acts are as good as the producers say they are. It should be a hilariously memorable night.
Then it will on to shows in Edmonds, Olympia, Skagit, Kelso and, finally, Tacoma, where this year’s finalists will be announced Sunday at Theatre on the Square.
“This has been an amazing year so far,” comments executive producer Jonathan B. Fox, “My only regret is that we have had to say good-by to some very deserving talent who went to a lot of time and expense to come to the northwest and compete, only to be denied. There are comics who are now gone who would have advanced most any other year. I’ll try to figure out how to do right by them once this is all over.”
Which is to say the remaining group of ten will be putting on shows this week that just should not be missed by anyone who really likes (or needs) to laugh.
Performing in the Semi-Finals:
 Mike Baldwin |
 John Beuhler |
 Sam Demaris |
 Patrick Keane |
 Rick Kunkler |
 Eric Krug |
 Xung Lam |
 Mark Normand |
 Rodney Sherwood |
 Will Weldon |
It all kicks off this week in Seattle at the Comedy Underground. Don’t miss it!
