I got a call today from Canada saying that I got accepted into the Yuk Yuk’s Great Canadian Laugh Off. What that means is that I have two weeks to figure out how I’m going to get to Toronto and then hopefully make it to the finals and win $25,000. First I have to stay alive through various rounds of head to head competition against 63 other comedians. I honestly don’t have any idea what the calibre or experience level of those comedians will be. I just hope that I can compete with them.
The focus of a festival or competition for me is never about winning. I don’t think that is a helpful way to go into a contest situation. My first priority is networking. The line, “I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to win.” should, in my humble opinion, ever be used. Even if you win a competition your career only improves to the level of whatever connections you were able to make. Yeah, it would be nice to have the $25,000, but it would be even better to line up recurring gigs at different venues across the U.S. and Canada. Yuk Yuk’s has many locations across Canada and I think getting into those rooms would be a win for me.
Now, I’ve never been to this area of Canada. Actually my only Canada experience comes from the 5 hours I spent in Victoria, BC while I was on an Alaskan cruise. I have no idea how different Toronto will be from a city in the United States. If you have any pointers please let me know.
