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Contest Rules

  1. Contestants must be 18 or older to enter. Any guests you bring must be 21 or older.

  2. Each qualifying round (August 24th, September 21st, and October 19th) will have 10 to 12 contestants depending on community engagement.

  3. Each contestant is allowed to bring up to 2 guests to each show they compete in. We Must have the names of your guests in advance of the show. If you need to make changes to your guest list before the show, please send an email to admin@twinportscomedy.com. 

  4. For the qualifying rounds, you will be given 3 minutes to perform. You will be given your first light at 2 minutes, and your second light at 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Performances that last under 2 minutes and 30 seconds or go over 3 minutes and 10 seconds will be docked points.

  5. Contestants will be judged on the following criteria:

    1. Stage Presence

    2. Writing Quality

    3. Originality (both of writing and performance)

    4. Audience Reaction

    5. Time

  6. The highest 2 scoring comedians in each round will move on to the finals, which will be held on December 14th. If the highest scoring contestants are unable to compete on that date, another finalist will be selected based on the next highest score between all 3 qualifying rounds.

  7. For the finals, each performer will be given 6 minutes. You will be given your first light at 5 minutes, and your second light at 5 minutes and 45 seconds. Performances that last under five minutes or longer than 6 minutes and 15 seconds will be docked points. The scoring criteria are otherwise identical to the qualifying rounds.

  8. If you’ve been paid to perform comedy before, you are still eligible to participate in this contest. However, preference will be given to contestants that have not performed comedy professionally. Likewise, though we will give preference to comedians from near the Twin Ports, we encourage comics from all areas to sign up. This contest is designed to showcase up and coming local talent, but we also strive to be as inclusive as possible, and put on the best show that we can.

  9. The winner of the contest will receive a cash prize and be guaranteed a spot in one of our Twin Ports Comedy showcases in 2025.

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