CalgaryComedy.ca just received a press release from Derek Sweet, the producer of Going To Hell Sundays, about an upcoming comedy contest to find Calgary’s darkest and dirtiest comedian. Here’s what he sent:
Calgary’s Dark and Dirty Comedy Contest 2011 Details
Alright Calgary comedians, here’s the info you’ve been waiting for: The details for *Calgary’s Dark and Dirty Comedy Contest 2011*! As you can probably infer from the title, we will be awarding one comedian in Calgary the title of Calgary’s Darkest and Dirtiest! Not only will they get a trophy for their efforts, but they will also win the grand prize of $222.00! (Why $222.00? Because we couldn’t afford $666.00).
The contest will run through the entire month of April, with 3 preliminary rounds and one final round. Each preliminary round will have 6 comedians and the top 2 from each of those will move on to the finals. In order to participate in this contest you must be a resident of Calgary, not just passing through or in town for the month.
There are a number of problems that plague comedy contests and we believe that the rules set up for this one avoids them as much as possible. Here is the scheduling for each show:
Preliminary Rounds – Shows 1, 2, and 3 – April 3, 10, and 17
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MC (10-15 min)
Professional Opener (10-15 min)
Contestants 1-6 (30-45 min)
Professional Headliner (30 min)
Final Round – Show 4 – April 24
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MC (10-15 min)
Professional Opener (10-15 min)
Contestants 1-6 (60 min)
Headliner (20 min)
As you can see, no contestant is forced to take the bullet. A professional opener and MC will be present to warm up the crowd so that every person in the contest has roughly the same chances of receiving a hot audience.
Each preliminary round contestant will be asked to do 5-7 minutes of material, and then for the final round they will each have to do 7-10 minutes. There is no penalty for going under or over time, but your mic will be cut at the maximum indicated. This is purely to keep the show moving and to prevent the crowd from getting laughed out for later contestants. For the final round you must do at least 7 minutes or you will be disqualified.
Another major problem with most contests is judge bias. It’s nearly impossible to find someone capable of judging comedy that doesn’t know some of the contestants, so the best way we came up with to address this problem is to have a balanced selection of judges from the various agencies in the Calgary comedy scene. Derek Sweet will also be a judge.
Finally, it seems unfair to be rating comedians as you are watching them, simply because you need to see what else is on offer for the entire night before you can really say that one person was funnier, darker, or dirtier than the next. For this reason we will be implementing *relative scoring*. Judges will be encouraged to take notes for themselves on what material the comedians covered, but they will not be given their score sheets until all contestants have performed.
Each comedian will be given a Dark rating, and a Dirty rating, as well as an Overall Performance rating. The sum of the 3 scores will be taken to produce their final score, so you can’t win this contest by just being dark or dirty, you must touch on both.
In order to enter this contest you must send Derek Sweet an email at derek@gthsundays.com on or before March 30. Please include your name, phone number, and which of the 3 preliminary rounds is your preference, or if there are any nights you can’t make, and I will try to accommodate as much as possible. The entire lineup for each night will be posted on the Facebook group on March 31.
We’re very excited about putting on this contest to celebrate our one year anniversary bringing Calgary its only dark and dirty comedy room! It should be a great time so hope to see you all down there!
