A chance for national comedic fame will kick off tomorrow night in Historic Playmakers Theatre.
In collaboration with Rooftop Comedy and TBS, the Carolina Union Activities Board will host the first stage of the National College Comedy Competition.
Now in its fifth year, the competition brings together student comedians from 32 colleges across the country to find the funniest stand-up comedy team by May.
The national winner will be chosen by the public through online voting and will be given the chance to perform at the TBS Just For Laughs festival in Chicago .
Tomorrow’s show aims to put together UNC’s team of eight, which will compete against Duke’s team at a regional run-off on March 20th.
The evening will combine UNC’s student performances of stand-up comedy with two sets of comedy presented by host Tom Keller, an instructor at DSI Comedy Theater in Carrboro.
In order to find the best talent that UNC has to offer, all students are free to try out.
“Whoever wants to be on stage can be onstage; you will give 3 minutes of your funniest comedy”, said Vinny Tagliatela, comedy chair for CUAB.
Laura Furney-Howe, event planning consultant at Rooftop Comedy, said that Keller will be an important part of the night, also in order to encourage the audience’s awareness beforehand.
“He gets them laughing, if they’re not in the right mood,” she said.
Keller said he is looking forward to the show.
“My job is to make sure everyone looks great,” he said.
“Anybody who’s new to performing or has had experience before — the most important thing is to let go, enjoy the opportunity they have to be onstage themselves.”
After the show, the students in the audience will each pick their three favorites. The vote will determine the team that will compete against Duke’s team in March.
The next stage will see a committee made up of local bloggers, writers and comedians who will choose the four best comedians of each team. Clips of their performances will be uploaded onto the TBS website, giving students all over the country the chance to vote for their favorite team.
So far, 12 students have signed up to participate at tomorrow’s kick-off, but representatives of Rooftop Comedy and CUAB will be in the Pit tomorrow to recruit more interest.
Furney-Howe said that the aim would be to get more females to participate this year.
“Almost always there are students who’ve participated in the year before as well as some newbies,” she said.
“But it’s often all young men, so girls to come and try out is definitely encouraged”.
Many of this year’s competitors are returning to the contest.
Kyle Rainey, a communication studies major, said that last year’s team beat Duke in the online voting following the live show in Carrboro but lost at a later stage.
He said the possibility of national renown makes the contest most appealing.
“That’s what really makes an exciting opportunity, to see how far we can go,” he said.
The show’s focus is to give an opportunity to interested students, regardless of previous experience.
Keller said that the competition offers a great opportunity for student comedians.
“It’s great exposure and gives people the chance to shine,” he said.
After last year’s success, Tagliatela said he is not too worried about being challenged by Duke.
“I think the Duke comedians are great, but overall our comedians are better,” he said.
See the show tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in Historic Playmakers Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.
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