Latest news
MENSCH, DAS WAR RICHTIG UEBER COOL!
This Friday we had a truly fantastic show at the New Players Theatre, with Dota Kehr (Die Kleingeldprinzessin) and Bodo Wartke (2004 winner of the Kleinkunstpreis, currently on a sell-out tour of Germany and Austria) playing at the inaugural 'Vorsprung durch Musik'. The show was the German Embassy's cultural highlight of the week and in Time Out's weekly newsletter as one of the top three events for Friday night! Was quite a gamble, bringing German artists over to London but it really worked so we'll definitely being having another of those in the future! To see photos of this show and all the other heats of the Awards add me on Facebook (Edward Chappel) or on Twitter see top-right link.
QUARTER-FINALS!
These Quarter-Finals are going to be more than awesome as we approach the final stages, click on the links to see who is performing and to get tickets:
QF 1, Feb 13th, Wilmington Arms, 69 Roseberry Avenue, London, EC1R 4RL, 1.30-4pm
Book tickets for the 13th here
QF 2, Feb 27th, Wilmington Arms, 69 Roseberry Avenue, London, EC1R 4RL, 1.30-4pm
Book tickets for the 27th here
TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR THE 2010 MUSICAL COMEDY AWARDS GRAND FINAL
Tickets are already selling fast for this year's final at the New Players Theatre on March 26th. Here's a link! www.newplayerstheatre.com
Here's also a short press release about the Awards and the Final:
Now in it's second year, the Musical Comedy Awards is an unique competition that celebrates the emerging musical comedy community in the UK and promotes the venerable art form of comedy songwriting as an independent genre.
Last December the UK’s top forty emerging musical comedians were selected by Time Out Comedy editor Tim Arthur and other judges from Avin a Larf’s dedicated musical comedy website www.musicalcomedy.co.uk to compete in a series of live heats at the Wilmington Arms from January through to March. Alongside the talented entrants, audiences are treated to headline performances from established musical comedians such as Earl Okin, Gavin Osborn, Jo Neary and Isy Suttie.
Now, having survived the public’s vote throughout the heats, the audience’s favourite five acts will come together for the Grand Final at the gorgeous New Players Theatre on March 26th to do battle for the crown of the 2010 Musical Comedy Awards! Judging the five competitors will be Tim Arthur of Time Out, musical genius and sex symbol Earl Okin and last year’s winners of the competition, Sarah Adams and Leisa Rea of Adams and Rea.
Supporting the UK’s hottest emerging musical comedy talent will be some of the nation’s finest established musical comedy acts:
Tom Basden (Winner of the 2007 IF Comedy Best Newcomer): “If you haven't fall in love with this intelligent man's sublime comedy yet then here's your perfect opportunity. Simply magical!” TIME OUT
Pippa Evans (Nominee for the 2008 IF Comedy Best Newcomer) - “The finest female character comic around”. TIME OUT
Ginger and Black (As seen on BBC 3’s Comedy Shuffle) - “Ginger and Black are a polished, circuit-ready act”. CHORTLE
Adams and Rea (Best Act 2009 Musical Comedy Awards) - "Much salacious booty-shaking..musically astute and gleefully non-PC, they deserve a bigger stage" - SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY
The show will be hosted by the founder of Avin a Larf, Ed Chappel. Come and celebrate the resurgence of music-based comedy!
FOURTH HEAT RESULTS AND QUARTER-FINALS
What a first round we've had. The fourth and final heat of the first round was again completely sold out and a fantastic show. Photos will soon be available via the such small portions website - I'll post the link here once they are up! Through to the Quarter-Finals are Max and Ivan, Jay Foreman, Sooz Kempner, Strong & Wrong and Kevin Davidson. Eustus had to pull out due to unforeseen circumstances, which meant that 5, not 6 artists were voted through. The remaining place is filled by the artist who had the most votes, despite not getting through their heat. That artist is Barnaby Griffin from heat three, who also progresses to the Quarter-Finals.
We're just finalising which artists will play in which heat, but through to the Quarter-Finals are the following acts : Rob Broderick, Carly Smallman, Tom McDonnell, Brigitte Aphrodite, Rebecca Hamway, Amateur Transplants, Rob Carter, Henry the Groover (Steve Aruni), Vikki Stone, The Amazing Tom and Ed Brothers, Horse and Louis, Antony Elvin, MC Cashback, Barnaby Griffin, Hannah Brackenbury, Kevin Davidson, Max and Ivan, Jay Foreman, Strong & Wrong, Sooz Kempner, Luke Meredith and Matt Tiller. Headlining the Quarter-Final heats will be Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer on Feb 13th and Sarah Adams from Adams and Rea on the 27th. For the Semi-Final we've got Martin White and the Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra coming along too! Will post the links up to the tickets and facebook pages as soon as they're ready!
THIRD HEAT TOTAL SELL-OUT AGAIN
Amazing show today with some incredible performances from the artists taking part. The standard was so high and it was very very close with the votes. Once the Awards are over, there will be a monthly showcase of the best musical comedy, so artists that don't progress to the next stages are 100% invited to come and play at future showcases which will be announced after the Awards! Through to the Quarter-Finals from heat three are Hannah Brackenbury, Antony Elvin, MC Cashback, The Amazing Tom and Ed Brothers, Horse & Louis and Vikki Stone. If you would like to book tickets for the final heat, book in advance to guarantee a place:
HEAT TWO, WOOHOO!
Another rocking show yesterday! Guy from Moonfish Rhumba and Antony Elvin were both ill so had to drop out of this heat and will perform in one of the other heats coming up. From the heat, three artists progress to the next round and they are Amateur Transplants, Sarah-Louise Young and Steve Aruni. Sarah-Louise Young has since had to pull out due to not being able to make either of the Quarter-FInals and is replaced by Rob Carter, who had the next highest amount of votes. In the next two heats, there will be six selected from eleven acts. Amazing performances from the artists who played yesterday, especially Gavin Osborn's set! His songs moved the audience to tears (alongside the bellows of laughter!) Next week we will have a headline slot from Jo Neary and the week after that we've got Isy Suttie!
FIRST HEAT ABSOLUTELY RAMMED
Complete sell-out crowd for the first heat of the 2010 Musical Comedy Awards! Through to the next stage are Tom McDonnell, Rob Broderick, Carly Smallman, Rebecca Hamway and Brigitte Aphrodite. Earl Okin was absolutely amazing too, what a show. These are exciting times, these Awards are literally going to be incredible!
You can view pictures of the first heat on the all new Such Small Portions website, photos taken by Alex Brenner: www.suchsmallportions.co.uk
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Here's wishing you all a very happy Christmas and New Year! May your figgy puddings and boughs of holly inspire you to many a brilliant comedy song and 2010 bring you lots of happiness, success and fun! Looking forward to seeing lots of you at the heats for the Awards in January!
VORSPRUNG DURCH MUSIK - THE BEST GERMAN ARTISTS
ZEITGEIST and AVIN A LARF proudly present VORSPRUNG DURCH MUSIK:
FEBRUARY 5TH, NEW PLAYERS THEATRE, 8 -11pm, £22/ concessions £17
Beer supplied by ROTHAUS, Airline Partner AIR BERLIN
The inaugural collaboration of London’s finest German pub ‘Zeitgeist’ and dedicated musical comedy promoters ‘Avin a Larf’ promises to be a very special night indeed - the best entertainment from Germany and authentic German ‘Rothaus’ beer! Performing on the evening at this EXCLUSIVE London Showcase will be two of Berlin’s most exciting artists working in comedy and music at the moment.
BODO WARTKE - Multi-award winning cabarettist, Bodo Wartke is one of Germany’s brightest and most hilarious musical comedians on the circuit. His multi-lingual love song ‘Liebeslied’ has close to one and a half million hits on Youtube. He is currently on a nationwide tour playing to sell-out audiences across Germany and Austria. More info at www.bodowartke.de
DIE KLEINGELDPRINZESSIN - Dota Kehr, aka ‘Die Kleingeldprinzessin’ is a uniquely talented singer song-writer whose gorgeously constructed songs offer a unique blend of jazz, bossanova and folk. Seamlessly weaving humour, poetry and satire into her hauntingly beautiful guitar-led songs, Dota is a reminder of the forgotten Woodstock spirit, where substance wins over style. More info at www.kleingeldprinzessin.de
Hosted by EWEN MCKINTOSH - TV star and UK comedian famous for his role playing ‘Keith’ in ‘The Office’, the massive BBC hit that has spawned imitations both in Germany and the USA.
An UNMISSABLE night for Germans living in London, enthusiasts of the culture and language and those who want to find out more about the hottest German artists of the moment!
Tickets available at www.ticketweb.co.uk
.TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR HEATS
Here is a more up to date list of the heats with links to tickets - as you can see there are some very strong line-ups. Tis going to be a mighty celebration of the genre! There is a direct link to wegottickets.com at the top right hand corner of the website. There is also a funny picture of me drawing all Tim's recommended entries from a box on Facebook (Edward Chappel) if you'd like to see the democratic process in action!
Heat 1: Olly Atkinson, Rob Broderick, Carly Smallman, Rebecca Hamway, Tom Mcdonnell, Brigitte Aphrodite, Sanity Valve, The London Quartet Tricity Vogue + EARL OKIN
To join the Facebook event page Click here
Heat 2: Daisy De Agostini, Antony Elvin, Moonfish Rhumba, Amateur Transplants, Cecilia Holmes, Kamikazi 64, Steve Aruni, Rob Carter, Sarah-Louise Young + SPECIAL GUEST.
To join the Facebook event page Click here
Heat 3: Kevin Davidson, Alexandra Clarke, MC Cashback, Horse & Louis, Tom & Ed, Hannah Brackenbury, Bay City Molars, Vikki Stone, Rayguns Look Real Enough, Barnaby Griffin + JO NEARY.
To join the Facebook event page Click here
Heat 4: Ben Glasstone, Helen Arney, Tom Adams, Sooz Kempner, Max and Ivan, Strong & Wrong, Eustus, Jay Foreman, George Prow, Danse Macabre + ISY SUTTIE.
To join the Facebook event page Click here
TIM ARTHUR'S TOP 40 - ARTISTS FOR THE 2010 MUSICAL COMEDY AWARDS
Here is the list for the 40 artists who will compete for the 2010 Musical Comedy Awards crown! There's going to be some serious musical comedy action hitting London next year. I had a very fun evening having my own World Cup draw, writing everyone's name on a piece of paper and then selecting them randomly out of a box and placing them in four different piles! Here is the list in no specific order.
Hannah Brackenbury
Max and Ivan
*Luke Meredith
*Matt Tiller
Antony Elvin
Ben Glasstone
Helen Arney
The Amazing Singing Dentists
Kamikazi 64
Cecilia Holmes
Sooz Kempner
Vikki Stone
Eustus
Barnaby Griffin
Moonfish Rhumba
Daisy De Agostini
MC Cashback
Tom McDonnell
Steve Aruni
The London Quartet
Midgetgems
Dame Hecate
Rob Carter
Olly Atkinson
Danse Macabre
Horse and Louis
George Prow
Tom and Ed
Amateur Transplants
Tricity Vogue
Rob Broderick (Abandoman)
Strong and Wrong
Tom Adams
Sarah-Louise Young
Sanity Valve
Brigitte Aphrodite
Kevin Davidson
Jay Foreman
Carly Smallman
Alexandra Clarke
*joint-winners of the Open-Mic competition on October 22nd have a bye to the Quarter-Finals
I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who's entered the Awards. For those who haven't been selected for the heats, after the Awards are finished there is going to be a new monthly musical comedy showcase taking place so there are going to be plenty of opportunities to perform in the future - so please don't hang up your musical comedy hat in a fit of rage!
HEATS
For the first round, half of you will be playing in groups of ten whilst the other half will be in groups of nine. If the date is not suitable, please let me know via email (ed@musicalcomedy.co.uk), but you are also responsible to find someone to swop slots with. You can contact the artists via their profile on the site and once you have agreed on a swop please send me the details.
Jan 9th - Olly Atkinson, Tom Adams, Cecilia Holmes, Carly Smallman, Tom Mcdonnell, Jay Foreman, Steve Aruni, The London Quartet, Tricity Vogue + EARL OKIN
Jan 16th - Vikki Stone, Daisy De Agostini, Antony Elvin, Moonfish Rhumba, Amateur Transplants, Rob Broderick, Kamikazi 64, Max and Ivan, Rob Carter + SPECIAL GUESTS
Jan 23rd - Kevin Davidson, MC Cashback, Alexandra Clarke, Horse and Louis, Tom and Ed, Hannah Brackenbury, Sarah-Louise Young, The Amazing Singing Dentists, Midgetgems, Barnaby Griffin + JO NEARY
Jan 30th - Sooz Kempner, Ben Glasstone, Sanity Valve, Helen Arney, Brigitte Aphrodite, George Prow, Danse Macabre, Strong & Wrong, Eustus, Dame Hecate + ISY SUTTIE
So those are the heats, Saturdays at the Wilmington Arms between 1.30 and 4pm!
TICKETS
Tickets for the heats will be sold at www.wegottickets.com for £7 - once tickets are on sale I'll post the links up here so that you can let your friends know and make sure they can come along to support you at your heat.
FACEBOOK EVENT
For each heat there'll also be a Facebook event - if we're not already friends on Facebook please add me (Edward Chappel) so that I can invite you to the show you're going to be in and make you an admin so that you can invite your friends. If you're not on Facebook don't worry, I'm sure you can find other ways to spread the word!
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
The Wilmington Arms has got a good technical set-up and there will be a sound technician at all of the heats, but if you have any unusual requirements/additional instruments please make sure that you bring all the necessary leads and equipment with you.
JUDGING AT SHOWS
Up until the final of the Musical Comedy Awards on March 26th, the audience will decide who goes through to the next stage. Each audience member will have a voting slip and choose their favourite five artists to go through.
So that's about it for now - as you can see, there are some really top artists taking part in the Awards, it's going to be an amazing few months! Hope to see lots of you at the shows and the link to buying tickets should be up on the website soon - make sure you let your friends know!
RECAP ON DATES AND DETAILS FOR HEATS
From the sixty-five entries, forty artists will be selected by Tim Arthur to take part in the first round heats. These will take place on Saturday January 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th between 1.30 and 4pm at the Wilmington Arms, London. Once I have received the list of 40 artists, I will publicise this list and then be in touch to assign artists with a slot. Ten artists will play in each heat, of which five will go through to the next round each time. The live audience will choose their favourite five artists through a voting slip. Tickets will be on sale soon....here are the dates altogether.
FIRST ROUND: Jan 9th - 10 ARTISTS + EARL OKIN
FIRST ROUND: Jan 16th - 10 ARTISTS + SPECIAL GUESTS
FIRST ROUND: Jan 23rd - 10 ARTISTS + JO NEARY
FIRST ROUND: Jan 30th - 10 ARTISTS + ISY SUTTIE
QUARTER FINAL: Feb 13th - 10 ARTISTS + SPECIAL GUESTS
QUARTER FINAL: Feb 27th - 10 ARTISTS + SARAH ADAMS
SEMI-FINAL: March 6th - 10 ARTISTS + SPECIAL GUESTS
FINAL (NEW PLAYERS THEATRE, 8pm): March 26th 5 FINALISTS + PIPPA EVANS, GINGER & BLACK, ADAMS AND REA + SPECIAL GUESTS
AND THE ENTRIES ARE IN!
The deadline to enter the 2010 Awards has now passed - if you submitted a video to the site within seven days before the deadline but forgot to add it to the Awards section, you have today (Sunday 13th December) to do so. Including the artists who took part in the live audition we now have 64 entries, of which 40 will be selected by Tim Arthur from TIME OUT to progress to the live heats. He will let me know within the next week which 40 have been selected and I will then publicise the list in this News section. After that we will allocate you with a slot for one of the heats on January 9th, 16th, 23rd or 30th. At the heats, the audience will have a voting slip where they can choose the five artists they would like to see go through to the next stage. Tickets for the heats will be available soon from wegottickets.com. We have some great entries and these Awards are going to be amazing! Very excited and a big thanks to all of you for being involved!
ONE WEEK TO ENTER THE AWARDS!
The deadline to enter the Awards is drawing closer! Artists have until midnight on December 12th to submit a video and add it to the Awards section. The artists who took part at the live audition at the Blue Posts (for those having technical/video issues were:
Sarah-Louise Young
Carly Smallman
Alexandra Clarke
Sanity Valve
Brigitte Aphrodite
Kevin Davidson
Atomic Penguins
Jay Foreman
Strong and Wrong
Tim Arthur was judging the entries and will consider the artists that performed alongside the online entries after the deadline has passed! Rock on and get your entries in soon! As mentioned before, if you entered last year and would like to submit an existing video, that is also fine. In the heats you will have eight minutes of action on stage, so plenty of time to show off new material.
AWARDS LEADING STORY ON TOP COMEDY WEBSITE
The website www.suchsmallportions.com has written a good article about the Awards and the live audition this Friday. You can read it here "Musical Comedy Open Audition".
ONE LIVE AUDITION IF TECHNOLOGY HAS BROKEN YOUR WILL TO LIVE
Some amazing new entries to the site! Very excited about the coming Awards! Quite a few people have contacted me about having a hard time finding access to a webcam or getting a video together, so we're going to have one live open audition for artists who really want to enter the Awards but have been defeated by the machines! It will take place from 8-9.30 next Friday, 4th of December, upstairs at the Blue Post pub, 28, Rupert St, London, W1D 6DJ. Artists can play a maximum of two songs in their slot and will be considered alongside the other online entries already on the site. If you'd like to audition, send me an email at ed@musicalcomedy.co.uk. If you have already entered and fancy coming along to watch and have a chat afterwards, do come on down and grab a drink!
NOW EASIER TO ENTER THE MUSICAL COMEDY AWARDS
If you entered the 2009 Awards with a video that is still on the site, you can also add that video to the 'Awards' section and enter the 2010 Awards. Because if you get selected through to the live heats, you'll have 8 minutes of stage-time, not just one video. Submitting a video is a sign of intent that you want to be considered, but you can also give links to audio content, for example on your myspace page, that contains recordings of your comedy songs which you are proud of. You can also upload a still image with the audio track of a song in the background. The 2010 Awards will be about live performance - so don't worry too much about making a world class video - if you can demonstrate talent and give links to more of your work that is of a high quality, you should be in with a good chance!
MUSICAL COMEDY COVER STORY ON THE GUARDIAN FRONT PAGE
I got a very happy surprise picking up today's Guardian - Brian Logan has written another brilliant article praising musical comedy and it was displayed at the top of the very front page! He mentions the Awards too, here's a link to the article "Musical Comedy finds the right pitch"
Hooray for the Guardian! If you haven't entered yet, there's about 5 weeks left, but the sooner the better!
LAUNCH THE MEGA ROCK OUT! PR MACHINE NOW IN ACTION
Thanks to all who came to the fantastic launch for the 2010 Awards. Some serious love in the room with the genre of musical comedy represented in all its beauty and diversity! Amazing performance from Jay Foreman, the earth moved for both men and women during Earl Okin's incredible set and some amazing sets from all the acts that took part in the Open-Mic competition. Matt Tiller and Luke Meredith were joint winners of the competition and both have a bye to the second round for the Awards! The PR Machine for the Awards is now on the move, get involved asap if you want to enter the Awards this year - the deadline is Dec 12th but it's best to get in there as soon as you can and get maximum coverage.
HERE WE GO!
Yes, the Awards have already begun and the entries have started to trickle in, but the Launch Party for the 2010 Musical Comedy Awards is going to the big celebration for all the madness on the way! Things will be kicking off on the 22nd at the Wilmington Arms around 7.45ish with a set from the hilarious Brass Band "Blow-Up! The Credit Crunch Musical" "Blow-Up! The Credit Crunch Musical" - there will also be performances from musical comedy legend and judge for the Awards, "Earl Okin", last year's Best Newcomer, "Jay Foreman" and some very special guests with a special announcement. THEN, there's also the open-mic competition with artists coming from all across the UK to take part, with the audience's favourite song based on the theme 'dream/nightmare launch party' going straight through to the second round! Be there, be a rhombus or if you can't make it and have a good reason then be excused this one time.
ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR ENTRY
If you have performed as a headline act to an audience of 400 or more people, you are not eligible to enter the Awards. If not, you are!
MADDEST FANBASE COMPETITION
Who's got the maddest fanbase?
For the 2009 awards artists were asked to mobilise their fanbase and get as many click and views as possible for their videos. Well this coming year, I thought we’d try something a little different! I’ve decided that it would be fun to reward the funniest fanbase. Regardless of whether your entry makes it into the top forty entries selected for the live heats, there will be a special prize for the artist whose entry attracts the most creative, mad and funny responses!
It may be that your friends write poems in your honour in the comments section under your video, or each write parts of a short story about you in individual fragments. They might even want to upload a video declaring their love for you/your entry! It’s basically a fun way to get your friends to support you in a creative manner and to create more buzz around your entry. So let everyone know that you have entered or are going to and get them involved!
The prize will be five free tickets to the final of the Awards on March 26th at New Players Theatre for you and/or your friends and the invitation to play a 10-15 minute set at a future Avin a Larf Musical Comedy Showcase (paid gig).
OPEN-MIC COMP AT LAUNCH ON 22ND
If you want to take part in the open-mic competition at the Launch of the 2010 Awards on the 22nd of October (perform an original song based on either your dream/nightmare launch party - best entry gets a bye to the second round of the Awards), drop me a line at ed@musicalcomedy.co.uk and I'll put you on the list! It's going to be a great night, hope to see as many of you there as possible! Starts at 7.30 and the open/mic madness will be starting from 9pm! Woop woop! Some great entries so far, keep them coming in!
FINAL CONFIRMED
The final for the 2010 Musical Comedy Awards will take place at 8pm on Friday 26th of March at the New Players Theatre very close to Embankment and Trafalgar Square. It's a really gorgeous venue...looking forward to seeing who all be playing! Also, Time Out Comedy Editor Tim Arthur and Leisa Rea from last year's winners, Adams and Rea, will be judges for the Awards (more judges tbc). Hope to see lots of you at the Launch Party on the 22nd! Some really funny entries in already, looking forward to seeing all the others too!
LAUNCH PARTY FOR THE AWARDS
If you are free on Thursday 22nd October, come to the launch party for the 2010 Musical Comedy Awards! It's going to be at the Wilmington Arms from 7.30 onwards, all the tables and chairs will be taken away so that it can accommodate the swarming crowds (I will occasionally get down on my hands and knees to form a human chair for you to relax on).
It will be a lovely opportunity to all get together and party, plus there will be an open-mic competition going on from 9 onwards, where artists are invited to get on stage and perform a song based on the two following options (creativity works best within boundaries man...)
1. My dream launch party
2. My nightmare launch party
At the end of the evening the funniest/best song will be decided by the audience (amazing transparent voting procedures such as the loudest cry of enthusiasm currently being deliberated over) and the winner will get a bye through to the second round of the Awards!
We are totally going to take over the Wilmo both in the hired space and the main bar, it's going to be a mega musical comedy shake-up and a mad night of fun! If you'd like to come and if you'd like to enter the open mic sing song (will also be ok to rock up on the evening), drop me an email at ed@musicalcomedy.co.uk! Apologies for it being a Thursday night, I think quite a few cases of Swine-Flu may be reported to employers across the land on Friday 23rd!
If you haven't entered the Awards yet, you've got till December 12th but it doesn't hurt to get yourself in there early!
Can't wait for the party and all the madness that will ensue! More to follow later...
Cash prize and dates for live heats booked!
Just to let you know the dates well in advance for the live heats...if you are one of the lucky forty to be selected from this year's entrants (judges will select their favourite forty acts based on artistic merit from the entries uploaded to the groups section, judges tbc) then these will be the heats:
First round
Saturday January 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th 2010, Wilmington Arms, London: 1.30-4pm. There will be four heats of ten artists doing a five minute slot to showcase their talent. From each heat of ten, five will progress to the next round on the basis of audience and judge votes.
Quarter-Finals
Saturday February 13th and 20th, Wilmington Arms, London, 1.30-4pm. There will be two heats of ten artists doing a five minute slot. Again, from each heat of ten, five artists will progress to the Semi-Finals on the basis of audience and judge votes.
Semi-Finals
Saturday February 27th, Wilmington Arms London, 1.30-4pm. Each of the ten artists will have a 8-10 minute slot. Five artists will progress to the Final on the basis of audience and judge votes.
I'm still waiting for confirmation of dates for the final at the Pleasance, Islington. I hope advance knowledge of those dates will be of use, make sure you get your entry in before December 12th, preferably a lot before if you can to help generate buzz for your entry. Also, as last year there will be a cash prize of £500, a beautiful trophy and a good deal of press coverage for the Awards. Get song-writing!
Entries for the Awards now accepted - upload to the Awards section
There are still a few things to move around and change over (e.g. terms and conditions need to be adapted for 2010), but if you've already got an entry you'd like to put forward for the 2010 Awards, please upload it as normal and then enter it to the Awards section of the site! It can be an entirely new video or one that you're proud of and have already uploaded to the site - go for your best work! I'm talking to venues about where to host the heats and fixing dates, should have that hopefully sorted out quite soon! Very much looking forward to seeing all the entries over the next few months from all of you and other unknown artists too!
Get ready for the Musical Comedy Awards 2010
Firstly, thanks to all who came down to the rocking show at Edinburgh! Really good to see so many of you there and the nine acts were superb...a truly spectacular showcase of musical comedy!
Although dates and venues haven't been finalised, here is the draft plan for the Musical Comedy Awards 2010. Artists wanting to enter must submit a video entry on this website by December (dates tbc). Judges will then select their favourite forty entries (subject to change), which will then progress to a series of live heats in London, taking place from January onwards and culiminating in a live final in the middle of March. The first round will have four live heats, with ten artists competing and five going through each time. These twenty will then compete in two more heats, again with five going through each time. These ten will again compete in a semi-final, with five going through. Then the remaining five will compete in a live final. The live heats will be judged by a combination of audience and judge votes. Rather than having a category for Best Act and Best Newcomer, the Awards will be aimed more at nurturing emerging talent. The heats and final will include guest performances from artists that are 'more established' on the circuit alongside the competitors, but we'd like to make the Awards more about showcasing artists that are currently breaking through onto the circuit. I'm looking at how best to present the content in the site in terms of reorganising the material to indicate which entries are from the 2009 Awards and which ones for the coming competition - more to follow soon. There will again be a cash prize and much kudos for the winners!
There'll be more details soon on dates, venues and other issues, but meanwhile keep December earmarked as a time to have your entries ready. As last year, you don't need to have a polished ten million dollar video, it's all about the art man (and having a friend who can film it for you/webcam). It's going to be amazing! I'm also planning another big showcase in October or November time and a big party to launch the Awards in London in December. If you have any queries or suggestions, feel free to contact me on ed@musicalcomedy.co.uk.
Press Release for Edinburgh Showcase
TUBORG MUSICAL COMEDY SHOWCASE
Pleasance Queen Dome: Wednesday, 19th August 2009 10pm. £12, £10 concession.
Following on from the success of this yearʼs inaugural Tuborg Musical Comedy Awards and the Time Out Critics Choice showcase at Madame Jo Joʼs, Avin a Larf has put together a tantalising showcase of our nationʼs finest musical comedians for one night.
Musical comedy is experiencing a renaissance in this country: a glance at the If.comedy award rosters of the past few years shows just how often musical comedians have walked away with the top prizes (notably David OʼDoherty, Tom Basden and Tim Minchin). Avin a Larf is a company that is dedicated to promoting the venerable art of musical comedy as an independent genre.
Featuring If.comedy nominee and rising star of the circuit Pippa Evans, winners of the Tuborg Musical Comedy Awards Adams and Rea, BBC Radio 2 star and Chortle Award Nominee Wilson Dixon and the hottest cabaret duo since pointy bras were invented, Frisky and Mannish, this is the best chance at the festival to catch a glimpse of the diversity and brilliance of this resurgent genre. If those four fine acts were not enough, BBC3 Comedy Shuffleʼs Ginger and Black will knock you for six with their deadpan double act, alongside stars of www.musicalcomedy.co.uk Brigitte Aphrodite, the inimitable singer-poet, Lazyhand, the finest Scottish purveyors of musical innuendo and hot new talent Kevin Davidson. Compere for the evening will be the fantastic Irish musical comedian (Irelandʼs self-proclaimed sixth best rapper), Rob Broderick.
"...this is a venerable artform in itself, thoroughly deserving of the attention focused on it by this new award. Hopefully, it'll silence the sceptics and drive a generation of wannabe Victoria Woods and Ivor Cutlers straight to their pianos and harmoniums. Stay tuned." The Guardian March 09
More information on the evenings acts:
Pippa Evans: (IF.Comedy Award Nominee 2008) - “She is fantastic” - TIME OUT
Wilson Dixon: (Star of BBC Radio 2ʼs The Wilson Dixon Line) - “Gutbustingly funny” - THE SCOTSMAN
Adams and Rea: (Best Act Winners of TMCA 2009) - "Much salacious booty shaking...Musically astute and gleefully un-PC, they deserve a bigger stage”. SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY
Frisky and Mannish: (Finalists of the TMCA 2009) “White-hot ones to watch” - Time Out Critic's Choice 2008/9
Ginger and Black: (As seen on BBC3ʼs Comedy Shuffle) - “Ginger and Black are a polished, circuit-ready act”. CHORTLE
Brigitte Aphrodite: (Shortlisted for Final of TMCA 2009) - "utterly eccentric masterpieces...... her talent is in abundance and there is literally no other like her." VOLT MAGAZINE
Lazyhand: (Shortlisted for Final of TMCA 2009) - Scotlandʼs naughtiest...”very original and very funny” - PURPLE COMEDY
MC ROB BRODERICK - “Very funny, fresh and endlessly creative… A star of- the-future” TIME OUT
For further information please contact Ed Chappel on 07791914383 or by email at ed@musicalcomedy.co.uk
Get tickets for the Showcase on August 19th, 10pm, Pleasance Queen Dome
Tickets now available for Edinburgh Tuborg Musical Comedy Showcase
With a Time Out Critics Choice under their belt from the last London showcase at Madame Jo Jo's, the organisers of the Tuborg Musical Comedy Awards bring together some of the finest musical comedians on the circuit under one roof for a night of genius. With performances from PIPPA EVANS, WILSON DIXON, ADAMS & REA, FRISKY AND MANNISH, GINGER & BLACK, BRIGITTE APHRODITE, LAZYHAND and MC ROB BRODERICK. Come to the gorgeous Queen Dome and witness the musical comedy renaissance for yourself!
Get tickets for the Showcase on August 19th, 10pm, Pleasance Queen Dome
Coming soon: gigs list and chance to advertise your shows! P.S Don't forget the map!
Soon we will be introducing the musical comedy calendar, giving artists the opportunity to post their gigs on this here dedicated musical comedy platform. You will also be able to link to ticket purchasing sites and your event page which should be helpful. So, if you've got gigs lined-up, be sure to let me know by sending an email to ed@musicalcomedy.co.uk - I'll put your shows on the calendar! With Edinburgh coming up, it's hard to make your flyer stand out. If you're performing at the festival and want to advertise your flyer prominently on this site (to get an idea, see the posters for the Musical Comedy Showcase on the right-hand side of the site) let me know and I can arrange that for a small fee, either for 2 weeks or for the whole of August. Also, if you haven't done already, drop me an email if you'd like to be on the musical comedy map! If you're up at Edinburgh on August 19th, come to the Musical Comedy Showcase at the Pleasance Queen Dome at 10pm - featuring Pippa Evans from Radio 4, Wilson Dixon from Radio 2, winners of the Awards Adams and Rea, BBC3's Ginger and Black, stars of the site Frisky and Mannish, Brigitte Aphrodite, Lazyhand and Kevin Davidson, hosted by compere Rob Broderick. Hell yeah!
Catch stars of the site and of the wider community this Sunday 5th July at the WIlmington Arms!
Check out the fine Line-up of musical comedians for you this Sunday:
Miaowsical Comedy: A Place For Cool Cats
Danny Hurst: Watch Danny's amazing song 'Everyone's Gay' www.musicalcomedy.co.uk/video/191/Danny-Hurst--Everyones-Gay!
Alexandra Clarke: This very talented musical comedian lady is in the semi-finals for the prestigious Amused Moose LaughOff '09
Sanity Valve: Da mega shizz: Two crazy rappers in the spirit of Missy B meets Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen - www.myspace.com/uksanityvalve
Ben Glasstone: part of the magical folk band that was 'Soup', Ben makes wonderful, erudite, satirical music for your delight. Listen to his brilliant 'Man at the Door' here: www.musicalcomedy.co.uk/video/226/Man-at-the-Door
Kevin Davidson: one part of the brilliant Ska band 'Oystar', performing here with his amazing solo material: Watch Oystar's top 25 hit 'I fought the Lloyds' here: www.musicalcomedy.co.uk/video/119/I-fought-the-Lloyds
Tickets are only £5. If you fancy popping along visit the Facebook event page and follow the link Click here
Win tickets to the showcase on July 16th
There's a competition to win tickets for the showcase on the Tuborg site! Just follow the link below and go for it dudes!
Showcase at Madame Jo Jo's on July 16th
It's going to be a very special night: here's the Press Release
Musical comedy is in rude health!
Tonight's showcase, presented by Avin A Larf, features a selection of the finalists and performers from April's Tuborg Musical Comedy Awards - some of the hottest musical comedy acts of the moment including the electrifying Frisky and Mannish; and is hosted by the darling of London cabaret, Des O'Connor. There will also be a special guest performance from the founder of the Free Fringe and musical comedy institution, Peter Buckley Hill.
That traditional old English genre, the comedy song, is alive and well in the post-modern world which, in recent years, has seen the emergence of such giants as Bill Bailey and Flight of the Conchords.
At one time perceived as a poor relation, neither comedy nor music, musical comedy is finally getting the recognition it deserves with a new appreciation for the venerable art and craft of comedy song writing. Musical comedy sits between standup and cabaret, says Avin A Larf's Ed Chappel, and his mission is to "promote musical comedy as a stand-alone genre and create an independent platform for emerging and established musical comedians".
This evening is perfect for those who like their comedy to be not just clever, but unashamedly silly. It promises to be a glorious celebration of absurdity, wit and musical comedy genius.
Tonight's lineup:
Isy Suttie
"Her songs were hypnotic: blending hilarity, lyrical brilliance and pathos so adeptly" - Chortle.
Peter Buckley Hill
"A titan". The Scotsman
Frisky and Mannish
“White-hot ones to watch” - Time Out Critic's Choice 2008/9.
Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer
"Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer's 'chap-hop' ("reconnecting rap with the Queen's English") was note-perfect" - The Telegraph.
MC Des O' Connor
The night will be hosted by the fabulous, shocking, charming and entertaining darling of London cabaret, Des O' Connor: "A high degree of musical wit and lyricism … a thrill to watch" - The Guardian.
Book tickets in advance at www.wegottickets.com/event/51657
Musical Comedy Map!
Hey all, as you might have noticed on the About page, there's now a Musical Comedy map! The idea is for all the artists of the site to put themselves on the map and show just how many musical comedians there are dotted around the UK! Due to the huge demand from artists on the site looking to perform at musical comedy shows, I'm hoping that the map will be a useful tool for you to get in touch with those near you and perhaps put on something together. It should be up and running soon once a few technical issues have been sorted. I'm currently fleshing out the details on how Avin a Larf could support other shows organised by artists from the site and how it would all work. If you'd be interested in playing an organisational role in putting on shows with other artists from the site, get in touch! Would be amazing to have lots of really top draw Musical Comedy Showcases going on all across the country organised by artists from the site. I'll write more once all the details are all sorted, meanwhile, see the About section for details on how to put yourself on the map! There's also a link to the Facebook group, Twitter and wegottickets - type in Tuborg Musical Comedy Showcase to see details for the show on June 11th!
Monthly Showcases - lots of interest!
I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who responded to my mail, it's really good to know so many of you want to perform! That gives me a lot of encouragement to organise the monthly shows, knowing that so many of you great artists want to play! The shows in June and July are all booked up, but I'll be planning a lot more, I hope in the near future to be able to book lots of paid gigs for the artists of the site!
Tickets available for the first Tuborg Musical Comedy Showcase PLUS a show at Madame Jo Jo's in July!
You can now get tickets for the first big show after the Awards: Click here for details on the line up
For those who don't use Facebook, type in Tuborg Musical Comedy Showcase from this link to We Got Tickets
There is going to be another showcase on July 23rd at the amazing Madame Jo Jo's! Just getting the brilliant Mel (see friends of Avin a Larf in the About section) to design some artwork for the flyer, but will fill you in with the details soon!
Line up for first Musical Comedy Showcase
Hey all! Hope you're enjoying the sun and running naked in slow-motion through fields to your own perfect soundtrack, at least in your minds...Alongside plans for the occasional big show at the Pleasance, I'm still looking into sorting venues for fixed monthly showcases for the artists of the site. In the meantime I've organised a big night for June 11th at the groovy Wilmington Arms. The first show after the Awards will have a very strong line-up, MC'd by the fantastic Mr Rob Broderick (MixtNutz on this site!), including:
Adams and Rea
Moonfish Rhumba
Sarah Louise Young
Brigitte Aphrodite
Jay Foreman
Carly Smallman
These monthly shows are gonna rock and hopefully over time, all of those who want to will get a chance to play! Come along and mix with the brethren! There'll be more details about this night and others to follow soon, until then let's keep parping on the tugboat of dreams xxx
Next Steps
First things first, here is a great review from the London Word: Tuborg Musical Comedy Awards.
The fact that it was a complete sell-out and the great feedback I've had from friends and complete strangers shows has been really encouraging, the concept does work and people really loved it! The plan now is to have the Awards each year, every now and then some more big shows at the Pleasance but also organise monthly shows to showcase the talent of the site. That way there'll be more chances for lots of you who've uploaded on to this site and made it what it is to come and play gigs. I'm currently talking to a number of great venues about these monthly plans and will keep you all updated! x
Winners announced!
Thanks to all who came to the show last night, it was such an awesome night! Really great to meet so many of the artists on the site, we'll have to get together more often, I'm sure there's lots of projects we can come up with in a musical comedy vein! For those of you who weren't there, the winner for this year's Best Act was Adams and Rea and the winner for the Best Newcomer was Jay Foreman. Congratulations to the winners and to all of the finalists! I hope you enjoyed the prizes and amazing trophies designed by Mel Sheppard! Reviews of the night and more to follow soon, but until then, happy Easter! xxx
Great review in the Guardian!
A really top report by Brian Logan from the Guardian for you all to read! Musical Comedy hits the right note.
Summary of the amazing night ahead and benefits for all artists of the site
To see more on the knock-out line-up for the big night see the Facebook event group.
All the artists who entered the competition are also entitled to two concessionary tickets and invited to come mingle at the Tuborg VIP reception for artists, members of the press and comedy industry. If you want to come to the reception drop me an email and I'll contact the Box Office to make sure you get an artist's pass. If you're an artist from the site who has already purchased and received a full-price ticket, you can take it to the Pleasance theatre and get a refund and replace it with a concessionary ticket. If it's on the way in the post, you can call up the theatre and get it refunded over the phone and get concessionary tickets sent instead. See you there, so soon now!
Finalists for the Tuborg Musical Comedy Awards
From the shortlist of twenty, the judges selected the following five finalists to compete for the Best Act category:
Adams and Rea
Duncan Oakley
Frisky and Mannish
Howard Read
Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer
The Best Newcomer will be announced on the night (but we'll let the winner know before, don't want them sitting in the bath listening to Radio 4). Congratulations to the finalists! For the artists on the shortlist, don't forget that we're hoping to set up bi-monthly paid gigs to showcase the best artists from the site and the wider musical comedy community, so it would be great to have all the shortlisted acts play at some point!
(Deep trailer voice, with bits of discounted Wispa egg on my chin) This Easter, who will win the Tuborg Musical Comedy Awards? See you on the 11th!
FINAL SHORTLIST
In alphabetical order, here is the judges' final shortlist for the Tuborg Musical Comedy Awards:
Adams and Rea
Aliens Ate My Schnitzel
Ben Glasstone
Brigitte Aphrodite
Carly Smallman
Danny Hurst
Duncan Oakley
Frisky & Mannish
Hereldeduke
Howard Read
Jay Foreman
Jimmy
Lazy Hand
Moonfish Rhumba
More Silage
Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer
Oystar
Tillerpop
Vontergarten
Warburton
The five finalists will be announced this coming Tuesday!
So, all the entries are in!
Thanks so much to everyone who's entered the Awards, the response has been brilliant! The number of entries and the level of quality demonstrate how strong and diverse the emerging musical comedy scene is and how overdue we are for a celebration of the genre. The judges will have a veritable feast of gems to select from!
Due to tickets selling at a fast rate, I've decided to bring the naming of the final shortlist of twenty entries forward a bit to next weekend, as it would be pretty rubbish to get to the final and then for there to be not enough tickets left to invite your friends to come and support you! Don't worry if you've only recently entered, the five judges will be compiling their shortlist of twenty based not only on views, average rating and the number of times your song has been favourited, but also on editorial discretion - that means if you didn't accrue such a huge fanbase but have created a song that they deem to be of a very high quality, you can still progress to the next stage.
The five finalists for the Best Act Category will be announced soon after the shortlist has been published on this news page. The Best Newcomer will be selected from the final shortlist by the judges and announced on the night. Meanwhile, feel free to keep uploading new songs and promote your material on the site - although anything uploaded now won't be eligible for this year's Awards there will be a number of paid gigs to organise throughout the year based around the mad stuff you put up here. Keep an eye out for further announcements!
Tuborg Musical Comedy Awards
We've got sponsorship from Tuborg for the Awards! Let us all go forth and hug the Danish people! This is really great news and will raise the profile and credibility of the awards a good deal. Ideally, after the awards I'm hoping to have a set up in place, where there will be monthly showcases of the talent on the site and from the wider musical comedy community. This site is not just here for the Awards, we're going to be able to organise lots of gigs from the brilliant array of talent on the site, so keep uploading new songs and trying new things out. The plan is to have a big show each month, without the element of competition, where emerging and established stars perform a big old night of musical comedy together and demonstrate the talent and diversity of the genre. I'll know more about these plans after the Awards, but just to let you know that things are afoot!
There's also a facebook event up now, just type in Tuborg Musical Comedy Awards. Tickets are selling fast so get them while you can!
Don't forget the final deadline for entries is March 14th! After March 28th I'll sit down with the other judges and we'll select the five that will go through to the final. It's all getting closer now, really excited!
Rules changed to make it fairer
I've decided to change the second £500 prize from 'Online Public Vote' to 'Best Newcomer'. On reflection, awarding someone with £500 for having the most views doesn't seem fair on emerging musical comedy acts with less established fanbases. So the two prizes (both £500) are now 'Best Act', which will be the winner of the five finalists, decided by the jury on the night and the 'Best Newcomer', which will be the jury's favourite newcomer from the final shortlist of twenty acts. That way, both the best established and emerging musical comedians will be democratically selected by the human jury, not just clicks.
P.S. In order to qualify for the 'Best Newcomer' category, entrants don't need to be 'brand new' but must be unsigned and without agency representation.
Tickets on sale!
Tickets are now on sale for the Musical Comedy Awards at the Pleasance, London on April 11th. Alongside the five finalists, there will also be special guest performances from established greats such as Earl Oakin, Isy Suttie, Joanna Neary, London cabaret star Des O' Connor and Doctor Coca Cola Mcdonalds. Book early to avoid disappointment
P.S If you have a ticket and then get through to the final, your ticket will be refunded.
So far so good
We're really delighted with the entries we've had so far, some absolutely hilarious songs! The Awards is going to be a cracking night and we're hoping to organise lots of other paid spin-off gigs throughout the year based on the comedy songs that you upload here. We need to show some love to the groups section - the idea is that we can work together to create mad medleys of songs based around different themes and then take the best of the material to a good venue and perform it. If you have an idea for a funny theme that you think will resonate with everyone else, start a group and invite other members or your friends to come and join in and write some songs with you!
