How To Apply to the San Francisco Comedy Competition

Competition Information

The San Francisco Comedy Competition is an elimination style contest. It differs from many other competitions in prestige and time commitment. This event runs over a four week timeline during the month of September. If you are invited to participate, you will be required to participate for at least one week of shows (your Preliminary Week) and, if you advance to the Semifinals or the Finals, your commitment could be two, three or even four weeks total.

The timeframe is from the first week to the fourth week of September. 

The San Francisco Comedy Competition attracts hundreds of qualified comedians from around the world.  Only 32 comedians will be chosen. If you are interested in being one of the applicants being considered for one of these events, you must make the best possible impression with your application.

Once a performer is chosen, they are expected to perform in either the first or second week of Preliminaries. We do our best to allow you to choose which week works best for you.

  • Preliminary Week One – 16 comics – First Week of September – five comedians advance to Semifinals
  • Preliminary Week Two – 16 comics – Second Week of September – five comedians advance to Semifinals
  • Semifinals Week – 10 comics – Third Week of September – 5 advance to Finals
  • Finals Week – 5 comics – Fourth Week of September – 1 is crowned champ

Application Rules

  • Applicants must be at least 21 years of age at the start of the competition. (Many of our event venues are 21+)
  • We only allow solo acts to participate.
  • There is a $15 application fee.
  • Your application must be received before the deadline to be considered.

The Application Form

The application form asks you some basic information as well as specific information we need from each performer.

  • SHORT COMEDY BIOGRAPHY: On the Application Form, we would like to read no more than five sentences (or about 100 words) of information about your comedy achievements.  Your bio might include:  how long you’ve been performing comedy, where you have performed comedy, comedians you’ve worked with, other competitions or festivals you’ve participated in, television appearances, etc.  (NOTE:  We do NOT want your press bio.  Skip the boilerplate and just share your highlights with us.  if you have less than five sentences worth of highlights, that’s ok.  Don’t feel like you need to pad your bio.)
  • VIDEO – This is the most important part of your application. On the Application Form, please list the URL to a video of you performing your original comedy for an audience.  We would like to see around ten consecutive minutes of you at your best, where you can clearly be seen and heard.  (NOTE:  We would like to see around 15 minutes, but definitely no less than 10 minutes. Note: Finalists will perform for 15 minutes.

Questions?

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