New Comedian

New Comedian of the Year 2012 will be the fourth year of the new act competition co-produced by Leicester Square Theatre, Get Happy Comedy and AlleyKat Productions, 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 2012 competition will open on 1^st May. 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: via email to newcomedian@leicestersquaretheatre.com from 1^st May.

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 2012

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)

Sun 2nd September 5.45 & 8pm

Mon 3rd September 6.45 & 9pm

Tues 4th September 6.45 & 9pm

Wed 5th September 6.45 & 9pm

Thurs 6th September 6.45 & 9pm

Fri 7th September 6.45 & 9pm

Sun 9th September 3.30 & 5.45 & 8pm

Mon 10th September 6.45 & 9pm

Tues 11th September 6.45 & 9pm

Wed 12th September 6.45 & 9pm

Thurs 13th September 6.45 & 9pm

Fri 14th September 6.45 & 9pm

QUARTER FINALS (3 go through from each QF, 8 wild cards across all QFs)

Mon 8th October 6.45 & 9pm

Tues 9th October 6.45 & 9pm

Sat 13th October 6.45 & 9pm

Sun 14th October 5.45 & 8pm

SEMI FINALS (2 go through from each SF, 4 wild cards across all SFs)

Mon 12th November 6.45 & 9pm

Tues 13th November 6.45 & 9pm

FINAL

Sunday 25^th 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 2011 competition included judges from BBC, PIAS, Time Out, Londonisfunny, Chortle, PBJ Management, The PR Office, 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, spot on an industry comedy night, New Comedian of the Year trophy.

Runner Up - £500 cash, spot on an industry comedy night

2nd Runner Up - £250 cash, spot on an industry comedy night

PAST WINNERS

2011

Winner– Matt Rees

Runner Up– Richard Todd

2^nd Runner Up– Adam Hess

2010

Winner – Tim Shishodia

Runner Up – Mark Stephenson

2^nd Runner Up – Ian Smith