The San Francisco Comedy Competition (sometimes referred to as the San Francisco International Comedy Competition or The San Francisco International Stand-Up Comedy Competition) is a stand-up comedy contest held each September in San Francisco, California, and neighboring areas of Northern California.
History
The SFICC was originally conceived by Bay Area comedian Frank Kidder. However, it has been produced since its inception by Jon and Anne Fox, who now retain complete ownership after purchasing Kidder's share.The State Hornet, October 5, 2005: Comedians Compete For A $10,000 Prize
The competition has evolved from two nights of 20 comics performing, to its current multi-week format.
The competition Hundreds of comedians each year submit applications to enter the contest. Of these, 32 are chosen to perform in one of two week-long preliminary rounds. In these prelims, comedians perform sets of 5 to 7 minutes in length and the top five from each preliminary round move on to the semi-finals.
The semi-final round is another week of shows, with the 10 semi-finalists performing sets of 10 to 12 minutes. From this group, five finalists are chosen.
Finalists must prove themselves in yet another week of shows, this time performing sets ranging in length from 12 to 15 minutes.
Penalties are assessed for comedians who go over or under the time constraints.ThePress.net September 15, 2006: SF Comedy Event Comes To Antioch
The performances are judged on the following criteria: Material, Stage Presence, Delivery, Technique, Audience Response, Audience Rapport, and the judges' "Gut Feeling" about the performer. Typically, the judges, who are different at each event, are previous competitors, members of the media, talent agents/scouts and representatives from the performance venue. There is also an extra point awarded given by the audience through their applause after a comedian's performance. If the audience gives a ten-count of enthusiastic applause, the extra point is awarded.
Venues are varied and wide-ranged to ensure that the performers can play to all types of audience and have included bars, clubs, casinos, colleges, theatres and more.ThePress.net September 15, 2006: SF Comedy Event Comes To Antioch
Previous winners
Year Winner Runners-Up 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 1976Bill Farley Robin Williams Bob Sarlatte Mark Miller Mitch Krug 1977Dana Carvey Gil Christner A. Whitney Brown Bill Farley Mark McCollum 1978Mark McCollum Marty Cohen Jack Marion Mitch Krug Darryl Henriques 1979Marsha Warfield Mike Davis Dana Carvey Michael Winslow A. Whitney Brown 1980Michael Pritchard Denny Johnston James Wesley Jackson Bobby Slayton Jack Marion 1981Ronn Lucas Bob Dubac John Fox Barry Sobel Dr. Gonzo 1982Jim Samuels Kevin Pollak Jack Gallagher Will Durst Carrie Snow 1983Will Durst Leland Brown D. Alan Moss Dr. Gonzo Ray Hanna 1984Doug Ferrari Mark Pitta Paul Kelly Joe Alaskey D. Alan Moss 1985Sinbad Ellen DeGeneres Evan Davis Steve Kravitz Steven Pearl 1986Jake Johannsen Eddy Strange Rich Ceisler Milt Abel Dana Gould 1987Warren Thomas Rick Reynolds Rob Becker Tom Kenny Rob Schneider 1988Mike Dugan Brian Haley Billy Elmer Jeffrey Jena Tree 1989Dexter Madison Mark Curry Dan St. Paul Henry Cho Denny Johnston 1990Christopher Collins Nick DiPaolo Matt Weinhold Karin Babbitt Warren Spottswood 1991Don McMillan Tim Wiggins Barry Weintraub Rodney Johnson Louis C.K. 1992Johnny Steele Ngaio Bealum Maria Falzone Barry Weintraub T. Marni Vos 1993Carlos Alazraqui Marc Maron Stephen B. Rick Kerns Patton Oswalt 1994Jackie Flynn Rick Kerns Wild Willie Parsons Roger Rittenhouse Karlton Johnson 1995Doug Stanhope Dane Cook Dwight Slade Paul Nardizzi J.R. Brow 1996David Crowe Jerry Miner Milt Abel Mike Uryga John Alston 1997James Inman Chris McGuire Don Friesen Bobby Tessel James P. Connolly 1998Vinnie Favorito James P. Connolly Mickey Joseph Ralphie May Scott Silverman 1999Don Friesen Robert Duchaine Paul D'Angelo John Alston Daniel Packard 2000Danny Bevins Darryl Lennox Dave Russo Ron Osbourne Rick D'Elia 2001Bengt Washburn Auggie Smith Robert Mac Floyd J. Phillps Dave Burleigh 2002Gerry Dee Vargus Mason Dobie Maxwell Chris Mata Arlo Stone 2003Rob Pue Joe Klocek Darryl Lennox Lamont Ferguson Rob Little 2004Jim Short Eric Schwartz Nathan Trenholm Sadiki Fuller Tommy Savitt 2005Don Friesen Dave Burleigh Cain Lopez Kevin Avery Floyd J. Phillips 2006Jay Wendell Walker Leo Flowers Mo Mandel Mike E. Winfield Dylan Mandelsohn 2007Paul Ogata David Van Avermaete Mike Baldwin Dennis Gaxiola Kellen Erskine 2008Steve White Derek Lengwenus Tyler Boeh Brent Weinbach Leif Skyving 2009Tom Simmons Danny Bevins Maureen Langan Jarrod Harris Rodger Lizaola 2010Auggie Smith Tony Dijamco Sammy Obeid Kurt Swann Solomon Georgio 2011Sean Kent Alex Koll Sal Calanni John Hastings AJ Finney 2012 Tony Baker Mike Merryfield Prashanth Venkataramanujam The Greg Wilson Dave Williamson 2013 Samuel J. Comroe Brendan Lynch Drennon Davis Sterling Scott Matthew Broussard 2014 Kabir Singh Dan Gabriel Lars Callieou John McClellan Kurt Weitzmann 2015 Myles Weber Pat Burtscher Stuart Thompson Rodger Lizaola Ken Garr 2016 Alex Elkin Trenton Davis Mitch Burrow Ehsan Ahmad Chris Griffin 2017 Ellis Rodriguez Tyrone Hawkins Mark Smalls Matt McClowry Chris Bennett 2018 Dave Nihill Cristian Machado Dauood Naimyar Mike Baldwin Kris Tinkle 2019 Sterling Scott Gina Stahl-Haven Anthony K Pauline Yasuda Clay Newman 2020 No competition due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021 Ryan Goodcase James Hancock III Chelsea Bearce Orion Levine Ian Levy 2022 Chris Riggins Wyatt Cote Mario Hodge Max Eddy Joe Abousakher 2023 Gary Anderson Luca Cupani Marcus Williams Paco Romane Chad Opitz 2024 Frankie Marcos Shaheen Khal Marcus Howard Dvontre Coleman Dan Aguinaga 2025 Shawn Felipe CJ Koepp Jalisa Robinson Emo Majok Alisha Dhillon
Notable
Marsha Warfield, in 1979, became the competition's first African-American winner and its first female winner. She is also the only woman to win in the entire history of the SFICC.
Among the big names who entered, but did not advance to the semi-finals are Roseanne Barr, Janeane Garofalo, Bobcat Goldthwait, Christopher Titus and D.L. Hughley.
Don Friesen won in 1999 and again in 2005, making him the only person to have won the competition more than once.
Paul Ogata's win in 2007 was the first by an Asian-American comedian in 32 years of the competition.
After 44 years of holding the event annually, the competition did not run during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition returned in 2021.
References
External links Official website of the competition