PORT TOWNSEND — Sixteen professional comedians are headed for The Upstage to go joke for joke in the Seattle International Comedy Competition’s preliminary round this Wednesday night.
Starting at 8 p.m., comedians from throughout the nation will offer five- to seven-minute sets; a panel of judges will grade each on technique, stage presence, audience rapport “and their own gut feeling,” said Steve Strout of Olympic Peninsula Comedy.
The crowd will play an important role,” he added, with the intensity of its applause: If the cheering is loud enough, the comedian comes back for an encore and earns an extra point with the judges.
The competitors at The Upstage include Vietnam-born Xung (pronounced “sung”) Lam, who won the Olympic Peninsula Comedy Competition earlier this year.
Lam was a shy child, and studious. He has degrees in physics, astronomy and graphic design — but in 2007 he defied all that to start a stand-up career.
He now tours the Northwest doing stand-up comedy that’s both “silly and sincere,” according to his biography at Seattle
ComedyCompetition.com.
Another competitor is the Utah-born Emmett Montgomery. In addition to roaming the land telling jokes, he hosts a weekly open-mic night at the Crescent, a karaoke bar in Seattle.
Also on the bill Wednesday are Heather Thomson from Los Angeles, Darrin Rose from Toronto and Carlos Valencia from Atlanta.
“All in all, it makes for one of the most enjoyable nights of comedy imaginable,” Strout said.
The winners of Wednesday’s contest will go on to the semifinals in Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia nightclubs next week.
The competition finals then take place the week of Nov. 22-27 at clubs including Seattle’s Comedy Underground.
Admission to the Port Townsend night of comedy is $12 for all ages “with discretion,” Strout added.
To reserve seats, phone The Upstage at 360-385-2216. The club, also a restaurant with a full dinner menu, is at 923 Washington St. in downtown Port Townsend.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at diane.urbani@
peninsuladailynews.com.
