Seattle International Comedy Competition

Last updated
Seattle International Comedy Competition
Genre Stand-up comedy
Date of premiere1980
Location Seattle, WA, U.S.
Official website

The Seattle International Comedy Competition is a month-long stand-up comedy competition held at various venues throughout Washington State. It has been held every year since 1980 [1] until 2020, when the competition was not run due to pandemic restrictions.

Contents

Format

Contestants are scored by a panel of judges, not by audience vote. 32 contestants are divided into two week-long heats. The 5 top-rated performers from each heat meet for a week of semi-final performances, and the top five of those compete in the finals week. [2]

Competitors

Many well-known comedians and actors have competed, including 1997 winner Mitch Hedberg, Aisha Tyler, Christopher Titus, Ron Funches, Arj Barker, Sean Kent, radio host Bill Radke, Dwight Slade, Dax Jordan, Auggie Smith, Tom Cotter, Joe Klocek, Jeff Dye, Josh Gondelman, Anne Edmonds, Ria Lina, and Rory Scovel.

The winner of the 2016 Seattle International Comedy Competition was Preacher Lawson.

The winner of the 2019 Seattle International Comedy Competition was Nancy Norton, who became the second of only two (2) women to ever win the Seattle International Comedy Competition, following the late Peggy Platt, who won in 1985. The 2021 Champion, Danny Martinello, also becomes the second of only two (2) Canadian citizens to ever win the competition, following Damonde Tschritter in 2006.

The 2022 champion, Ari Matti from Estonia, became the first performer hailing from outside of North America to ever win the Seattle International Comedy Competition.

Previous winners

YearWinnerRunners-Up
2nd3rd4th5th
1980David SilvermanDave ParsonsPeter AndersonColin CampbellGary Larson
1981Evan DavisPeggy Platt Rick Ducommun Arnold MukaiJan Barrett
1982Gary LarsonChris AlpineArnold MukaiW.D. Hall Ross Shafer
1983 Ross Shafer Peggy PlattArnold MukaiSteve SmithDale Irvin
1984Billy JayePeggy PlattRod LongRobert JenkinsEarl Burks
1985Peggy PlattMike "Boats" Johnson Tom McTigue John JohnsonJames Stephens III
1986Chris Alpine Jebb Fink Monty HoffmanRobert JenkinsJames Stephens III
1987Rod Long Christopher Titus James Stephens IIIBrad UptonJebb Fink
1988Steve StajichBrad UptonMike FerrucciDean OlesonMike Wally Walter
1989 Matt Weinhold Dave WehnerDwight SladeLouis Johnson Jr.Alpha Trivette
1990Elliot MaxxGreg WingoRodney SherwoodAndre CovingtonJohnny Ray
1991Kermet ApioDean OlesonStephen B Ngaio Bealum Rushion McDonald
1992 Bill Radke Darryl Lenox Dan AlmontEarl BurksTracy Tuffs
1993Todd SawyerDerrick ColemanMike Wally WalterEarl BurksPaul Lyons
1994 Tom Cotter Kenny C David Crowe Arj Barker Steven Allen Green
1995 David Crowe Floyd J PhillipsJames InmanRandy Thompson Aisha Tyler
1996John McClellanFloyd J Phillips Don Friesen Dave FultonKerry Talmage
1997 Mitch Hedberg Auggie Smith Duane Goad Costaki Economopoulos Heneghen
1998Ron Osborne & Joe Vespaziani (tied)n/aTracy TuffsBengt WashburnArlo Stone
1999 Darryl Lenox Tanyalee Davis Damonde TschritterRick KunklerHeneghen
2000Floyd J PhillipsBryan KellenHeneghenJohn Beuhler Megan Mooney
2001Dwight Slade Dan Cummins Ron Vaudry Rob Little Bradley Lewis
2002Harrold GomezRob PueHorace HB SandersDavid TestroetPJ Walsh
2003Drake WithamKevin WilliamsPatrick MalihaPaul BaeTommy Savitt
2004Gabriel RutledgeJen KoberTony BoswellJoe KlocekVic Lippucci
2005Lamont FergusonHeneghen Graham Clark Sadiki FullerAndy Peters
2006Damonde TschritterPaul Myrehaug Rory Scovel Tyler BoehDylan Mandlsohn
2007 Marcus Tony BoswellLeif SkyvingKey LewisGeoff Lott
2008Tommy SavittNate JacksonTodd JohnsonJustin RuppleLars Callieou
2009 Sean Kent Paul HooperTravis SimmonsJose SarduyRodger Lizaola
2010 Auggie Smith Billy Wayne Davis Dax Jordan Drew BarthEddie Pence
2011Mike BaldwinRodney SherwoodRick KunklerPatrick KeaneMrs. Hughes
2012Michael MaloneJoe KlocekTyrone HawkinsLandryElliot Maxx
2013 Zoltan Kaszas Graham Kay Trenton Davis Dave Merheje Rodger Lizaola
2014Nathan BrannonKyle Bottom Sterling Scott Matt DonaherCory Michaelis
2015Dino ArchieMitch BurrowKortney Shane WilliamsAl ParkHans Kim
2016 Preacher Lawson Mayce Galoni Pat Burtscher Ricarlo Flanagan Billy Anderson
2017Matt DonaherAlex FalconeNick HartMyles AndersonTaylor Clark
2018Drew DunnPhillip KopczynskiLandryBo JohnsonHarry J Riley
2019Nancy NortonJames Hancock IIIAdam PasiAndrew RiversAndrew Packer
2021Danny MartinelloSam MillerTre TutsonMatty LitwackWyatt Cote
2022Ari MattiChase DuRousseauTimmy BoothRodger LizaolaMike Eshaq
2023Brent LowreyBenny NwokeabiaMary Lou GambaBirungi BirungiJaci Terjeson

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melodifestivalen</span> Swedish Eurovision Song Contest preselection

Melodifestivalen is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959. In the early 2000s, the competition was the most popular television program in Sweden; it is also broadcast on radio and the Internet. In 2012, the heats averaged 3.3 million viewers, and over an estimated four million people in Sweden watched the final, almost half of the Swedish population.

<i>Last Comic Standing</i> American reality television talent show

Last Comic Standing is an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, and again in 2014 and 2015. Each season a comedian from an initially large group of hopefuls was picked as a winner. For the first seven seasons, the winner received a cash prize and a television special; for season eight in 2014, the winner won a cash prize, a talent deal with NBC, and a half-hour scripted project developed by Universal Television.

<i>Star Search</i> American television series

Star Search is an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versions of the show, contestants competed in several genres of entertainment. The show was originally filmed at the Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood; it was later filmed at the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida.

<i>Superstars</i> (British TV programme) British television series

Superstars is a TV sports competition in which elite athletes from a variety of sports compete against each other in a number of events, resembling a decathlon. The athletes must not compete in the sport for which they practice as their profession. Points are awarded for the position in which the competitor places in each event. The competitor with the most points at the end of all ten events is declared the champion.

<i>Brain of Britain</i> British radio quiz show (since 1953)

Brain of Britain is a BBC radio general knowledge quiz, broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand final</span> Final match of a championship which determines the ultimate winner

Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals series. Synonymous with a championship game in North American sports, grand finals have become a significant part of Australian culture. The earliest leagues to feature a grand final were in Australian rules football, followed soon after by rugby league. Currently the largest grand finals are in the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL). Their popularity influenced other competitions such as soccer's A-League Men and A-League Women, the National Basketball League, Suncorp Super Netball and European rugby league's Super League to adopt grand finals as well. Most grand finals involve a prestigious award for the player voted best on field.

Miss England is a national beauty pageant in England.

Melodifestivalen is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959.

The San Francisco Comedy Competition is a stand-up comedy contest held each September in San Francisco, California, and neighboring areas of Northern California.

<i>Total Wipeout</i> British game show

Total Wipeout is a British game show hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram which first aired on the BBC on 3 January 2009. In each episode, contestants competed in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges were based in large pools of water or mud and generally involved large assault courses that contestants had to cross. These were gradually eliminated over four rounds until one contestant remained, who won a £10,000 cash prize, except for the “Celebrity Specials,” in which the money was donated to the winner’s chosen charity.

<i>Worst Cooks in America</i> American reality television series

Worst Cooks in America is an American reality television series that premiered on January 3, 2010, on Food Network. The show takes 12 to 16 contestants with very poor cooking skills through a culinary boot camp, to earn a cash prize of $25,000 and a Food Network cooking set. In the celebrity edition of the show, the winning celebrity gets a $50,000 prize to donate to the charity of their choice. The recruits are trained on the various basic cooking techniques including baking, knife skills, temperature, seasoning and preparation. The final challenge is to cook a restaurant-quality, three-course meal for three food critics.

The second series of the Australian cookery game show MasterChef Australia premiered on 19 April 2010 on Network Ten, concluding on 25 July 2010 when Adam Liaw was named the winner.

Sweden participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Euphoria" written by Thomas G:son and Peter Boström. The song was performed by Loreen. The Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) organised the national final Melodifestivalen 2012 in order to select the Swedish entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. After a six-week-long competition consisting of four heats, a Second Chance round and a final, "Euphoria" performed by Loreen emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from eleven international jury groups and a public vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics</span> 2016 Summer Olympics Athletics

Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics were held during the last 10 days of the games, from 12 to 21 August 2016, at the Olympic Stadium. The sport of athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics was made into three distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweet Adelines International competition</span> Annual womens barbershop singing competition

The Sweet Adelines International Competitions are the annual global championships for women's barbershop harmony a cappella singing – in quartets and choruses – for members of Sweet Adelines International (SAI) and have been held annually between September and November since 1947. They are now the largest women's singing competition in the world with over 8000 participants at the 2014 convention. There are two competitions for choruses, and two competitions for quartets. Currently, the first three of these competitions are held together and form the Sweet Adelines International Convention. Over the course of competition history, the most successful chorus has been Melodeers Chorus from Chicago with seven championship titles, and the most successful quartet singer was Connie Noble who won with four separate quartets. Lustre Quartet from Baltimore holds the record for highest quartet score, and Rönninge Show Chorus from Stockholm for highest ever chorus score.

<i>The Challenge XXX: Dirty 30</i> 30th season of the reality television series

The Challenge XXX: Dirty 30 is the thirtieth season of the MTV reality competition series, The Challenge. It was filmed in Colombia during May and June 2017, with alumni from The Real World, Road Rules, The Challenge, and Are You the One? competing. Jonathan Murray, Gil Goldschein, Scott Freeman, and Fred Birckhead were the executive producers, with Ryan Smith and Danny Wascou serving as co-executive producers.

Israel participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The Israeli broadcaster Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan) collaborated with the commercial broadcaster Keshet and Tedy Productions, which organised the reality singing competition HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion to select the singer. The winner of the Israeli national selection was Netta Barzilai, and a committee of the Israeli broadcaster internally selected the song "Toy" for her.

<i>The Challenge: Vendettas</i> 31st season of the reality television series

The Challenge: Vendettas is the thirty-first season of MTV reality competition series, The Challenge. The official trailer was shown during the special mini-series Champs vs. Stars. For the first time, this season featured alumni from the US version of Big Brother, and the UK TV shows Ex on the Beach and Geordie Shore, competing with alumni from the regular shows of The Real World, Road Rules, The Challenge, and Are You the One?. For the first time ever, there was only one winner.

<i>Comicstaan</i> Indian television series

Comicstaan is an Indian stand-up comedy competition television series created by Only Much Louder for Amazon Prime Video. The show brings together budding Indian comedians to find the next big name in stand-up comedy.

References

  1. Jeff Albertson. "The 35th Seattle International Comedy Competition starts Nov. 5". Seattle Times.
  2. "There's something funny going on around here". Seattle Times. November 21, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2015.