New Comedian

New Comedian

 

New Comedian of the Year 2013 will be the fifth year of the new act competition co-produced
by Leicester Square Theatre and Get Happy Comedy with places for 300 acts. The competition is
based at the theatre and runs throughout the Autumn season in the Lounge theatre, culminating in the
final in the Main House on the last weekend of November.
Places are assigned on a first come first served basis, and entries for the 2013 competition will
open on 1st June. Slots are strictly 5 minutes long, you may vary material from one round to the next;
equally you may perform the same 5 minutes of material in every round of the competition.
 
HOW TO ENTER
 
ENTRIES: OPEN FOR ENTRIES. Please email
 
newcomedian@leicestersquaretheatre.com
 
Please include the following information in the format below:
 
Full Name
 
Act Name (if different)
 
Mobile
 
Address
 
Number of years doing comedy
 
Availability (please include all dates you are unavailable for all of the rounds of the competition, and
keep us updated, as you cannot swap places once assigned)
 
Supporting material: video/quotes/recommendations/press/other competitions/gigs booked or past
gigs. This is not compulsory if you are very new.
 
ELIGIBILITY
 
  • You have 5 years or less experience of performing on the comedy circuit internationally
  • You are not a professional comic (ie you don’t make your living solely from live gigs or TV
  • appearances as a paid comic). Supplementing income through paid gigs is fine.
  • All types of comedy acts can apply: stand-up, sketch, character, variety, musical acts etc all welcome
  • You must have at least 5 minutes of original material
  • You cannot have been in a past final of this competition (finalists from alternative competitions are allowed)
  • Acts who did not make the final in previous years and who are still eligible are encouraged to reapply.
 
COMPETITION DATES 2013
 
All rounds take place in the Lounge Studio, except the final which will be in the Main House.
 
HEATS (3 go through from each heat, 21 additional wildcards across all heats)
 
Sunday 22nd Sept – 9pm
 
Monday 23rd Sept – 7pm & 9pm
 
Tuesday 24th Sept – 7pm & 9pm
 
Wednesday 25th Sept – 7pm & 9pm
 
Sunday 29th Sept – 7pm & 9pm
 
Monday 30th Sept – 7pm & 9pm
 
Tuesday 1st Oct – 7pm & 9pm
 
Sunday 6th Oct – 7pm & 9pm
 
Monday 7th Oct – 7pm & 9pm
 
Tuesday 8th Oct – 7pm & 9pm
 
Sunday 13th Oct – 7pm & 9pm
 
Monday 14th Oct – 7pm & 9pm
 
Tuesday 15th Oct – 7pm & 9pm
 
QUARTER FINALS (3 go through from each QF, 8 wild cards across all QFs)
 
Sunday 20th Oct – 7pm & 9pm
 
Monday 21st Oct – 7pm & 9pm
 
Sunday 28th Oct – 7pm & 9pm
 
Monday 29th Oct – 7pm & 9pm
 
SEMI FINALS (2 go through from each SF, 4 wild cards across all SFs)
 
Sunday 10th Nov – 7pm & 9pm
Monday 11th Nov – 7pm & 9pm
 
FINAL
 
Sunday 24th November 7.30pm
 
JUDGING
 
Each round is judged by three judges. One is made up of the combined audience vote and the
other two are independent industry judges. Judges change from round to round. Typically, these are
comedy bookers, press, promotors or programmers from the venue.
 
The 2012 competition included judges from BBC, PIAS, Londonisfunny, Chortle, PBJ Management,
James Grant Management, Something for the Weekend, Get Happy Comedy, AlleyKat Productions
and Leicester Square Theatre.
 
All rounds are filmed and used for reference when assigning wildcards. All footage is owned by the
competition.
 
PRIZES
Winner - £1000 cash, a spot on an industry comedy night and the New Comedian of the Year trophy.
Runner Up - £500 cash and a spot on an industry comedy night
2nd Runner Up - £250 cash and a spot on an industry comedy night
 
PAST WINNERS
 
2012
Winner – Funmbi Omotayo
Runner Up – Phil O’Shea
2nd Runner Up – Sofie Hagen
 
2011
Winner– Matt Rees
Runner Up– Richard Todd
2nd Runner Up– Adam Hess
 
2010
Winner – Tim Shishodia
Runner Up – Mark Stephenson
2nd Runner Up – Ian Smith
 
2009
Winner- Rob Beckett
Runner Up- Jim Campbell
2nd Runner Up - Tania Edwards & Sally Tatum