Are you looking for a career in comedy? “One of the most frequent questions I get asked as the Festival Director of the Jive Cape Town Funny Festival, is “How do I get onto the line-up and get to try my hand at comedy?” says Funny Festival’s Eddy Cassar. “Well, here is your opportunity to commence your journey to becoming the next Marc Lottering, Schalk Bezuidenhout or Nik Rabinowitz.”
Some of South Africa’s top laughter makers have been shot to stardom through searches like this. Here is your chance to become the next generation of superstars.
It’s called the Jive Funny Championship and it’s an initiative created by the Jive Cape Town Funny Festival and the City of Cape Town. It is brought to you by MTN and it calls everyone who thinks they are funny and dreams about being on the Funny Festival stage, to enter.
The search is organised by past comedy search winner, Yaaseen Barnes, who won the competition in 2014 and got to perform on the Funny Festival stage with a host of international artists and Trevor Noah!
“This competition is very close to my heart as it was the stepping stone for my own career, and now I get to be part of the opportunity for someone else. We’re not only looking for someone who is funny but also someone who has the potential to make a career out of stand-up comedy,” says Barnes.
“Cape Town is a city with an abundance of undiscovered talent in all facets of life. As an opportunity city, we always want to provide platforms for this talent to emerge and shine on a global stage.”
One of the objectives the City’s partnership with the Cape Town Funny Festival is to provide these up and coming comics with a platform where they can showcase their abilities with the hope that they can be the next big comedic star,” JP Smith, the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.
The timeline is such that the finals at which the winner will be selected, is the 4 June, two days before the Funny Festival opens for its month-long run at the Baxter Theatre. The call for entries runs for the full month of April. A short list of 50 aspirant comics will be screened on the 7 May and then placed in four semi- finals, all held at the Canal Walk Theatre.
The competition is judged by some of the city’s most prominent comedians and folk involved in the live entertainment business.
“There is nothing more rewarding for a sponsor to see the development of talent and the creation of careers and the fulfilment of dreams. The Jive Funny Championships does exactly that. It’s the nerve centre of our sponsorship” says Niyaaz Hendriks, marketing head at Jive.
All the sponsors, including Jive, Canal Walk, MTN and the Jive Cape Town Funny Festival, have offered some great prizes as follows:
- R5 000 from the Jive Cape Town Funny Festival
- An exclusive Jive hamper
- R2 500 gift card from Canal Walk
- A HP Core i3 11th Generation laptop with Mega 20GB valued at over R14 000 from MTN
- A nightly spot on the Jive Cape Town Funny Festival which takes place at the Baxter Theatre from 6 June – 3 July
“MTN is proud to be the presenting sponsor for the Funny Championships, as it provides a great springboard for emerging local talent. As a proudly South African brand, we pride ourselves in being able to be a part of supporting up and coming comedians live their dreams and passions on stage,” says Paul Newman, General Manager: MTN Western Cape.
To enter and possibly change the rest of your life, follow https://jivefunnychampionship.co.za/
