This fall, Comedy Central is looking for the best new
stand-up talent in the country including Boston by holding “Up Next” A CC:
Certified Talent Search through the network’s Certified Clubs program. “Up
Next” A CC: Certified Talent Search will consist of comedians performing in
preliminary local showcases hosted by Johnny D’s Uptown in conjunction with Bill
Blumenreich Presents and 25 other participating Certified Clubs from September
3-23. The preliminary showcase for Johnny D’s Uptown in Somerville will take
place on September 6th.
So without further ado, we are pleased to announce your Comedy Central “Up
Next” preliminary round performers for Boston: Kyle Ploof, Tom Dustin, Ken Reid,
Ray Harrington, Shaun Bedgood, Jenny Z, Mehran, Orlando Baxter, Josh Gondelman,
and Danielle Soto. This was a collaborative effort with Comedy Central, The
Wilbur and area insiders to come up with this bill of very worthy comics to
represent Boston in the preliminary round!
Jonah Ray will be the MC for the four regional showcases
with 30+ semi-finalists from October 9-23 as well as the finals featuring eight
comedians to appear at The New York Comedy Festival’s annual “Comics to Watch”
show on Wednesday, November 6 at Carolines on Broadway. The final round will be
recorded to air on Comedy Central Radio on SiriusXM channel 95 and on cc.com/upnext.
The selection process for the comedians in the 26
preliminary local showcases and the four regional semi-final showcases is a
collaborative effort between Comedy Central and promoter who will work closely
together to identify the best new stand-up comedians.
There will be two winners chosen from each regional showcase
(8 total) who will be flown to perform at The New York Comedy Festival’s annual
“Comics to Watch” show on Wednesday, November 6. Each performance will be shot
and recorded live to tape which will air on Comedy Central Radio on SiriusXM
channel 95 and on cc.com/upnext during
November 11-15. Fans will have the opportunity to vote for the “UP NEXT Fan’s
Choice” on cc.com with the winner to be announced on Comedy Central in November
2013.
The grand prize winner will receive the following: a
performance in an upcoming Comedy Central college tour; guest DJ on Comedy
Central’s SiriusXM channel 95 (includes airing of their winning performance);
inclusion on cc.com/standup and CC: Stand-Up App; a Comedy Central Records
digital release; $2500 cash; and an appearance on a future Comedy Central stand-up
series (TBD).
Jonah Ray co-hosts with comedian Kumail Nanjiani The Meltdown
with Jonah and Kumail, which takes place in the back of Meltdown Comics on
Sunset Blvd. In June, Comedy Central announced it has ordered the new stand-up
series by the duo. Hosted by Ray and Nanjiani, each episode of “The Meltdown
with Jonah and Kumail,” as developed for COMEDY CENTRAL, will feature some of
the hottest stand-up comedians performing onstage and go behind-the-scenes with
them as they hang out in the greenroom with a veritable who’s who from the
comedy scene. In addition, Ray is one of Chris Hardwick's co-hosts of The
Nerdist Podcast which airs on BBC America. His half-hour stand-up special, Comedy
Central’s “The Half Hour” series aired in May 2013.
"Comics to Watch" is a show held annually by Comedy
Central and The New York Comedy Festival at Carolines on Broadway which
features a wide range of diversely talented young comedians. It was created to
launch the careers of the next generation of comedians by putting them in front
of industry executives and comedy fans. Comedians from past "Comics to
Watch" shows such as Michael Che, Chris Distefano, Emily Heller, Ben
Kronberg, Adam Newman, Kurt Braunohler and Sara Schaefer have gone on to making
stand-up appearances on Comedy Central shows including “The Half Hour,” "John
Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show" and "CC Stand-Up Live” from The
South Beach Comedy Festival.
Now in its tenth year, The New York Comedy Festival is
produced by Carolines on Broadway in association with COMEDY CENTRAL. The
festival has featured the country's top comedians, including Louis C.K., Bill
Maher, Ricky Gervais, Dane Cook, Kevin Hart, Sarah Silverman, Aziz Ansari, and
Wanda Sykes, to name a few. In 2007, the festival launched the “Stand-Up for
Heroes” event to benefit The Bob Woodruff Foundation, which has featured
performances by Robin Williams, Jon Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld, Lewis Black, Ricky
Gervais, Conan O'Brien, Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer and Roger Waters.
In 2013, Comedy Central launched the “Comedy Central
Certified Club” program which provides participating comedy clubs with the #1
brand in comedy’s certification and seal of approval, as well as many
additional promotional initiatives. Through the exclusive initiative, the
venues receive valuable, national promotion via Comedy Central’s linear and
digital platforms, including the ability to offer “certified” live, stand-up
shows and other Comedy Central-branded opportunities. Among the benefits, each
participating club is promoted by Comedy Central via an ongoing series of programming
stunts, commercials, national sweepstakes and included on comedycentral.com’s
dedicated “Live Touring” section, which incorporates show listings with direct
ticket-purchase links for the venues.
Please join me in congratulating your selected Boston
comedians on being chosen to battle it out!
