Comedy Quest

Craig and Peter at Class Clowns 2005!

2005-03-24T14:58:00.000+11:00

Craig Fenney and Peter Ufnalski have teamed up with a girl named Teagan for Class Clowns. They successfully got through to the national final to be held at the Melbourne Town Hall on Thursday 31st March.

Australia’s funniest minors, drawn from 17 centres all over Australia, from Cairns to Caulfield North, face off in the National Grand Final, where one of them will win $3,000 cash for their school!

Word is their piece is slick and very very funny. The final is open to the public so see you there...

Crystal Foxall's gig at The Local

2005-01-05T16:24:00.000+11:00

Crystal Foxall has a gig at The Local 'Local Laughs' comedy night on Monday 24th Jan at around 8.30pm. The venue is one of or is THE place for professional comedians and emerging ones to strut their stuff in a casual and friendly atmosphere. The address is: 184 Carlisle St, St Kilda East. Come and see Crystal strut her stuff.

Comedy Quest on TV!!

2005-01-05T16:23:00.000+11:00

The great gang over at RMITV have put together a great edit of the final night and now it will be streaming over the airwaves (do we still have airwaves?!). Catch the show THIS Friday 7th Jan 2005 at 7pm on Channel 31: Melbourne and Geelong in Australia only. Let us know what you think by posting a comment...

Have a Look at the Next Big Things...

2005-01-03T17:33:00.000+11:00

Here are the pics of the participants and mentors:

Michael Chamberlin with Cameron Gates, Peter Ufnalski and Craig Fenney (l-r)

Justin Hamilton with Justin Catherine and Matthew Laliotis (l-r)

Denise Scott with Crystal Foxall

Christine Basil with Jason Leonard

Charlie Pickering with Peter Ufnalski

Final Show 6th November

2004-10-20T13:36:00.000+10:00

On Saturday 6th November at 6pm the final show of all the participants will be starting at 'The Venue', Memorial Drive, Noble Park. Rod Quantock, Nelly Thomas and Justin Hamilton will be MCing the night. The band, 'Stealing O'Neal' will be playing after the spots. The night is free and open to friends, family and anyone keen for a laugh. See you there!

Registration still open, and check out the comedians on board!

2004-10-11T13:37:00.000+10:00

Some local advertising has incorrectly listed the due date for registrations. The registrations are still open so contact Sutapa on 03 9792 1313 to confirm your interest. We have a great mix of comedians on board for mentoring:

Charlie Pickering (Triple J and Stagetime)
Denise Scott
Michael Chamberlain (skitHOUSE, Backberner, Rove Live, Triple J)
Christine Basil (Has supported internatinal acts Amazing Johnathon, David Strassman and Mark Curry)
Justin Hamilton (Triple J, Before the Game, Stand Up, Comedy Channel)
Terry Tsiakis (Rove Live, Triple J)

Tonight is the free (everything in this program is free!!!) tour to comedy venue:
The Local at 184 Carlisle Street, St Kilda. Turn up at the Visy Care center, 39A Clow Street, Dandenong by 6.30pm to start the night and we'll take you there and bring you back.

If you can't make the show tonight you still can come to the free workshop on Saturday. Just let us know.

Charlie Pickering shares the joke

2004-09-28T13:40:00.000+10:00

Charlie Pickering, known for his Triple J shows, is now confirmed as one of the mentors in this competition. Here is a sample of his vast knowledge to get you started:

'How to tell a Joke" by Charlie Pickering
I don't claim to be an expert in the black art of joke telling, but I can impart these simple rules that will begin you on the right path.
1. Get the details right. There's nothing worse than someone telling a joke, messing up the facts and then trying to cram them in at the end. Your joke shouldn't end up like this: 'Guy walks into a bar. Barman says, "Why the long face" Oh, come on! That's hilarious! Oops. Did I mention the guy was a horse?" I learned this rule from my father (Dad, my apologies if you're reading this).
2. Test it first. I recommend a small test audience of one close friend before attempting any grand unveilings. There is little more horrific than someone clinking a glass and calling for the attention of everyone at a bar before delivering a half-baked joke that would make a four-year-old yearn for something more highbrow. However, it is important that you don't test it on your mother, because she will just ask you why you haven't got a real job. (Mum, my apologies if you're reading this).
3. If you're telling a dirty joke, make it someone else's fault. I honestly believe it is possible for anyone to get away with any joke, no matter how dirty it is. My Grandma was the master. To begin with, she'd pretend to still be shocked at hearing the joke the first time. Secondly, she'd condemn whoever told it to her and how brazen it was to even sully her virgin ears with it. By this point even the most prudish person is chomping at the bit to hear the vulgar anecdote, regardless off the consequences. This is where the true genius of my grandmother would begin. She'd say that she could only tell the joke if you promised not to be offended. Once you promise, with a twinkle in her eye that reminds you that she was not only young once but it was during the depression when people needed to swear just to get by, she unleashes a tale that would offend sailors. But if you're offended, you've broken a promise to a sweet old lady. What kind of person are you? Checkmate! (Grandma, I apologise if you're reading this).
4. Comedy = Tragedy + Time. This is my only rule of timing. When something bad happens, wait a little while, and instead of crying, you can have a good laugh. I learned this when my first dog, Hudar, died while my mother was attempting to orchestrate a dinner party for her friends. To her credit she managed a successful three-course meal, the burial of a dog and keeping it a secret from her children. It wasn't until the next morning that my sister Suzie asked, "When did Hudar die?" To this day I still hoot with laughter with my mother's response, "Somewhere between entrée and main". (Suzie and Hudar, if you're reading this, I apologize for laughing.)
5. Know when to stop. If you're lucky enough to remember rules one to four and have a joke succeed, quit while you're ahead. Thank the audience, tell them to try the fish and walk away. It is a blessing to have any audience of any size (even a family dinner) find you amusing. It is criminal to abuse that privilege, prattle on and turn mild entheusiasm into malevolent disgust simply by cracking wise. I learned this one from myself. (Mum, Dad, Grandma, Suzie and Hudar, I apologize for the dinners ruined learning this the hard way).

This article originally appeared in The Age.

Registration due date extended

2004-09-20T13:48:00.000+10:00

We've extended the due date for the registration to October 11th. So don't panic if you've just found out about Comedy Quest and get your info to us. We'll be posting a registration form and a copy of the brochure here shortly.

Welcome

2004-09-01T14:10:00.000+10:00

This is a big welcome to the Comedy Quest.

Comedians Rod Quantock, Raymond J. Bartholomew (aka Brian Nankervis) and Nelly Thomas are hosting Dandenong’s first Comedy Quest. A search for local comic talent, the comedy quest will provide one-on-one mentoring with some of Australia’s most renowned comedians and will culminate in a live performance filmed by Channel 31 at the Muso Network on November 6th.

The call for entries has gone out to young men and women between the ages of 14 and 22.

The quest begins with the participants joining the three comic hosts on a bus tour to ‘The Local’ in St Kilda to commence their skill development by watching some of Melbourne’s best comic talent.

Rod, Raymond and Nelly will workshop participants to develop a routine and then a lucky group will be selected to work with the comic mentors over a three week period.

The final show will be judged by the three comedians and the winner will receive prizes and a chance to work up a routine with a mentor to perform at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2005.

The Comedy Quest is a project of Visy Cares and the University of Melbourne research project, Risky Business. Risky Business is a longitudinal research study investigating the role of the creative arts in providing young people with fun, risk and excitement, while inadvertently developing skills and increasing links to the community.

Registration form from the Visy Cares Centre, 39 Clow St Dandenong or call on 9792 1313 [a download will be available online soon]. Registration forms are due on October 4th and the bus tour, leaving from Visy Cares, takes place on Monday 11th October. Participants under the age of 18 will need to have their parent/guardian sign a permission form available at Visy Cares.

More details coming soon.