Ultimate Comic Challenge (post 1 of 2)

Idiot Box is my favorite comedy venue in Greensboro. It's downtown and nestled comfortably between five bars. Plus it is one of the few places where you can get paid to do shows.

FUN FACT: Comedians love alcohol and money!

Every year, Idiot Box hosts the Ultimate Comic Challenge. Comics compete in a tournament to be the Ultimate Comic. The final round takes place in the Carolina Theater (which is pretty dope) and the winner gets $1000 dollars.

That is so many dollars!

In the rounds leading up to the final round, the comic who gets the most votes not only goes on to the next round- they get $50.

"12 comics compete to make you laugh... and
then you decide their fate like some sort
of depraved emperor!"

FUN FACT: $50 dollars in Comedian World is, like, $200 dollars! (We are notoriously bad with money, you guys!).

Last year, I only made it past the first round. I had only been doing comedy for six months so I counted it as a victory.

This year, I made it to the semi-finals which was a great experience... and an even greater victory.

The comics in this year's competition were much better than last year. All of the shows were great because all of the comics were great.

If I had been competing against this year's line-up last year- I wouldn't have even made it past the first round.

My set was notably better than last year as well.

It's nice to have moments where you see that you are moving forward. There are more fails than successes on stage. Progress is hard to measure and aggravatingly slow. So it is incredibly refreshing have tangible evidence that you are getting better (and that all the horrible/awkward moments on stage are worth it).

Unfortunately for everyone, the day before the UCC Semi-finals, I had way too much time on my hands and flooded Facebook with UCC posters I made on Paint.

(Paint. Not MS Paint or even a cheap knock-off of Photoshop- Paint. It is free to download and it crashes if you try anything fancy- hence the incredibly pedestrian look of all the posters are sporting.)

Alas, I did not make it past the semi-finals but I ain't fussed! The audience was packed and the show was awesome from start to finish.

(And if I continue on my current trajectory, I'm going to smoke the competition next year.)

The finals will be at the Carolina Theater on January 25th.