And this is supposed to be funny?
I'm venting today.
It seems we have our very own version of the scam known as "Last Comic Standing" right here in Dallas, in the form of the Improv's "Funniest Comic in Texas". I have a few problems with this, and I'll tell you why. (I wouldn't dare write about this on my Examiner page, for fear of being alienated by, um, people who don't pay any attention to me anyway, but I figure it's safe here as my readership is a bit lower!) I'm not participating in the contest, as I believe it's bullshit, and I don't need a contest to tell me I'm funny. The audiences who've seen and loved me tell me that. So here are my issues:
1. How can you have a "Funniest Comic in Texas" contest that only encompasses the D/FW area and Houston? And Houston, by the way, is hosting one whopping single show in the group of 30-plus shows that are coming up over the next several months. At the very least, they could have called it "Funniest Comic in North Texas", or something more fitting. What about Austin? San Antonio? Corpus? I know there are some damn funny people there! (It should be noted that South Texas has it's own version, dubbed, get this, "Funniest Person in South Texas". They get it, why can't we?) . I would do it differently. But they didn't ask me. Maybe the Improv could get together nationally and host something, and bring people from each state where they have a club in for a big, final competition. They have tons of clubs, and could work with other clubs in cities where they don't have a presence. I'm just sayin'.
2. I have heard from no less than 5 comics about their performance dates being changed, once for some, more than once for others. I'm sure they weren't the only ones. When you're trying to get people to come see you, it's difficult if they keep changing your date! Especially if you, as one friend of mine did, get bumped 3 months down the road. They are ridiculously unorganized. I put on a "Funniest Person in Dallas" contest in 2005, pretty much single-handedly, and there was no confusion, no drama, no moving people around unless they were ill or had an emergency. It went smoothly. Granted, I was only dealing with about 75-80 comics, compared to the 250+ that are in this one, but it's really not that hard to organize something like this if you know what you're doing. Apparently, they don't.
3. There are far too many 'heavy hitters' in this contest - i.e. professionals. Not that they should be excluded completely, but a newbie going up against a seasoned pro is like a high school football player trying to beat an NFL star. It ain't gonna be pretty. There should be different levels - amateur, semi-pro, and pro, and each gets a title. It's really not fair to put these new kids up against touring headliners.
4. I have this info from several credible sources - last year's contest was fixed. That's right, I said it. Fixed. I certainly don't begrudge the winner, because everyone in the Dallas comedy scene knows that Paul is funny, and we all love him. He's a good guy. But he received fewer votes to move forward than a lesser known comic, according to my sources, and the club manager made that go away. That's not right. I'm not saying the winner had any knowledge of this, but it's quite obvious that the Improv plays favorites, and that's just flat out unfair to all these comics who actually think they have a shot at winning this thing. Fuck that.
5. I contacted the Improv before the contest started, asking if they would support me in my coverage of the contest for The Examiner. No response. And not surprising.
To their credit, the voting process at the Improv is not what I thought it was going to be. Instead of everyone in the audience getting a vote, they are choosing random people who get the ballots. That way, if you stack the room with 20 people on your performance night, not all 20 are going to get a vote. That's actually much more fair than I expected.
But in the end, the Improv will choose their favorite, and it has little or nothing to do with how talented you are, or how funny you are. Apparently, it's all about who they like and who can kiss the most ass.
It seems we have our very own version of the scam known as "Last Comic Standing" right here in Dallas, in the form of the Improv's "Funniest Comic in Texas". I have a few problems with this, and I'll tell you why. (I wouldn't dare write about this on my Examiner page, for fear of being alienated by, um, people who don't pay any attention to me anyway, but I figure it's safe here as my readership is a bit lower!) I'm not participating in the contest, as I believe it's bullshit, and I don't need a contest to tell me I'm funny. The audiences who've seen and loved me tell me that. So here are my issues:
1. How can you have a "Funniest Comic in Texas" contest that only encompasses the D/FW area and Houston? And Houston, by the way, is hosting one whopping single show in the group of 30-plus shows that are coming up over the next several months. At the very least, they could have called it "Funniest Comic in North Texas", or something more fitting. What about Austin? San Antonio? Corpus? I know there are some damn funny people there! (It should be noted that South Texas has it's own version, dubbed, get this, "Funniest Person in South Texas". They get it, why can't we?) . I would do it differently. But they didn't ask me. Maybe the Improv could get together nationally and host something, and bring people from each state where they have a club in for a big, final competition. They have tons of clubs, and could work with other clubs in cities where they don't have a presence. I'm just sayin'.
2. I have heard from no less than 5 comics about their performance dates being changed, once for some, more than once for others. I'm sure they weren't the only ones. When you're trying to get people to come see you, it's difficult if they keep changing your date! Especially if you, as one friend of mine did, get bumped 3 months down the road. They are ridiculously unorganized. I put on a "Funniest Person in Dallas" contest in 2005, pretty much single-handedly, and there was no confusion, no drama, no moving people around unless they were ill or had an emergency. It went smoothly. Granted, I was only dealing with about 75-80 comics, compared to the 250+ that are in this one, but it's really not that hard to organize something like this if you know what you're doing. Apparently, they don't.
3. There are far too many 'heavy hitters' in this contest - i.e. professionals. Not that they should be excluded completely, but a newbie going up against a seasoned pro is like a high school football player trying to beat an NFL star. It ain't gonna be pretty. There should be different levels - amateur, semi-pro, and pro, and each gets a title. It's really not fair to put these new kids up against touring headliners.
4. I have this info from several credible sources - last year's contest was fixed. That's right, I said it. Fixed. I certainly don't begrudge the winner, because everyone in the Dallas comedy scene knows that Paul is funny, and we all love him. He's a good guy. But he received fewer votes to move forward than a lesser known comic, according to my sources, and the club manager made that go away. That's not right. I'm not saying the winner had any knowledge of this, but it's quite obvious that the Improv plays favorites, and that's just flat out unfair to all these comics who actually think they have a shot at winning this thing. Fuck that.
5. I contacted the Improv before the contest started, asking if they would support me in my coverage of the contest for The Examiner. No response. And not surprising.
To their credit, the voting process at the Improv is not what I thought it was going to be. Instead of everyone in the audience getting a vote, they are choosing random people who get the ballots. That way, if you stack the room with 20 people on your performance night, not all 20 are going to get a vote. That's actually much more fair than I expected.
But in the end, the Improv will choose their favorite, and it has little or nothing to do with how talented you are, or how funny you are. Apparently, it's all about who they like and who can kiss the most ass.
posted by Jenn at
8:21 AM
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