There will be 10 contestants on Monday evening; some will be desperate to stick a feather in their comic cap, but, the smarter ones not so much so. Yes, there will be raw talent a plenty, but the smart money is placed on completed comic confections, and, in all honesty, I don’t fit at either end of the Spoofers’ Spectrum; I am, at best, but a half baked buffoon!
Then why throw my cap into the ring? Well, because it is great fun; but, the point of a Comedy contest, when looked at with a dispassionate eye, is to neither have fun, nor to pick a winner, it’s something altogether more elemental. A comedy show stands on three points, and, while I don’t want to denigrate my team, comedians don’t form the most important point.
You must have a venue, a place where comics and an appreciative audience can be brought together; you won’t find comedy in a closet, nor audiences for that matter, with the one possible exception of Frat House, ‘Peep Shows’! We have, at Beilys’, a great venue with an excellent stage, lighting and sound system, and, just as important, exceptional bartenders and servers. So, the comics and the venue are in place, the last element is still lacking.
That, of course, is an enthusiastic audience! We do have good, regular audiences at Beilys’, but they run from 60 to 100 people in a room that will hold upwards of 250. Don’t get me wrong, we appreciate them, but, for laughter to be at its’ most infectious, two last criteria must be established. The audience must feel that they are part of a communal experience, and, for that to happen best, they must be squeezed into fairly close proximity; a room with people sitting separately at random tables, remains, no matter what you do, a roomful of individuals!
At the same time, you have to maintain an environment where people, while aware they are part of a large group, can retain a sense of their individuality as well as their individual privacy. For that to happen, you need to mute the lighting, and eliminate as many distractions as possible. Finally, the groups attention is directed to the, ‘Centre of Attention’, the stage; again this is achieved with three essential elements, great lighting, a good sound system, and finally, a good comedian – the inadequacy of any one of these three last, will botch any show.
Put it all together and I admit, it does sound a little, ‘control freakish’, and it would be just that, ...if it were being foisted upon a disinterested group! But, in a Comedy Show, this is not the case; people have paid good money to experience the room filling roar of hearty laughter ...it’s our responsibility not to let them down!
When all three, ‘points’ come together you have a Comedy Show! The owners of the venue are happy because they will make a profit. The audience is happy because they are entertained. And the comics, well ...comics are a bitchy bunch, and never happy, but it does give us an opportunity to have our comedic endeavours appreciated to their full potential ...and that, is music to our ears!
There are a couple other reasons to have a contest; first, it gets people interested, and gives them an opportunity to stand on a comedy stage. That allows you to find more talent, and you can never have too much talent. Second, the money engendered by the show allow prizes that will draw talent from farther afield than you might normally get; again, you can never have too much talent.
So, yes, I’ll be there with bells on; and also, for the first time ever, some of Julies’ and my friends will be attending! This ups the ante just a little, as its one thing to disappoint a group of strangers, but, friends ...well, you have to see and talk with these people long after the lights go down!
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