Last week, the four finalists in CMT’s Next Big Comic (namely Lance Weiss, Chris Pennie, Andy Beningo, and Adam Norwest) performed at the legendary Stardome Comedy Club in Birmingham, Alabama. Hundreds of people came out to see these guys at the sold-out event and they did great. Rooftop was there to film the whole thing and we’ll be posting clips from the show soon (stay tuned). In the meantime, we’re in the home stretch of the contest and these comics need your votes! Watch each of them make their case for why they deserve the title of Next Big Comic. We’ll announce the big winner on March 12. In the meantime, vote early & often. Let us know who has your vote in the comments and on Twitter (#NextBigComic).

Andy Beningo

Lance Weiss

Adam Norwest

Chris Pennie

Posted: March 7th, 2012 under contests, HOMEPAGE, News'n'stuff, Shows, Video.
Comments: none

We’re proud to announce the start of this year’s Next Big Comic, a yearly competition we’re producing with CMT. The search is on this year as 12 very comics face off. Check out all the clips over on the CMT site and be sure to share your favorites. Show your support and you can vote as many times for as many comics as you wish. The comics with the most votes will advance each week and the four finalists will perform at the famous Stardome in Birmingham, Alabama. Who are these 12 contestants exactly? You’ve seen them headline clubs all over the country and they’re some of our favorite comics:

Andy Beningo

Shane Mauss

Steve Gillespie

Tom Simmons

Andy Pitz

Felicia Gillespie

Kelly Collette

Lance Weiss

Chris Pennie

Adam Norwest

Dave Stone

Tim Wilkins

Be sure to keep up with the action on Twitter (#NextBigComic) and spread the word! We want to know who you’re supporting. Next week, the eight comics with the most votes will move on and we’ll have new clips for you to consider.

Posted: February 6th, 2012 under contests, Cool stuff from Rooftop Comedy, HOMEPAGE, News'n'stuff, Video.
Comments: 1

The third annual Magners Comedy Festival is upon us! If you’re in the Boston area, you must check out these great comedy shows, starting tonight and going through Sunday. Marc Maron will be in town performing and recording a live episode of his WTF podcast. Colin Quinn will perform his popular one-man show, Long Story Short. Rounding out the packed weekend is a ton of stand-up shows, including the Comic Stand-Off. You voted on Facebook and now these 10 comics are heading to Boston to face off against each other:

Trenton Davis

Linda Aarons

Kat Radley

Will Noonan

Lance Weiss

Matt D

Erik Levi

Brian Mitchell

Sean Wilkinson

Raj Sivaraman

The semi-final rounds get underway tomorrow night at Nick’s Comedy Stop (TICKETS) and continue Friday night at Mottley’s (TICKETS). Local celebrity judges will decide who moves on to the final showdown at Nick’s Comedy Stop on Friday, Jan 27 (TICKETS). Come support these comics and treat yourself to what is sure to be a great weekend of comedy.

Semi-Final Round 1

Thursday, Jan 26, 8:30pm, Nick’s Comedy Stop

Semi-Final Round 2

Friday, Jan 27, 8pm, Mottley’s

Final Round

Saturday, Jan 28, 8:30pm, Nick’s Comedy Stop

Be sure to keep up with all the Magners Comedy action on Facebook and Twitter. Tickets for most shows are still available, but they’re going fast.

Posted: January 25th, 2012 under contests, HOMEPAGE, News'n'stuff, Shows.
Comments: 1

After some heated Facebook voting, the Magners Comedy Festival moves on with the top 10 comics. Thousands of “pints” later, the all-knowing Facebook told us who should move on to win the contest.  In January, the ten finalists will face-off in person in Boston for a great weekend of comedy that’s not to be missed. One lucky comic from that bunch will fly to Scotland to perform in the renowned Glasgow International Comedy Festival. In no particular order, here are Top 10 comics moving on in the Magners Comedy Festival:

Trenton Davis

Linda Aarons

Brian Mitchell

Kat Radley

Raj Sivaraman

Will Noonan

Matt Donaher

Sean Wilkinson

Lance Weiss

M Dickson

You can catch these comics in Boston for the semi-final rounds (Jan 26 at Nick’s Comedy Stop and Jan 27 at Mottley’s) and the final round (Jan 28 at Nick’s Comedy Stop). Thank you so much to all who voted and please visit the festival’s site for more info.

Posted: December 16th, 2011 under contests, HOMEPAGE, News'n'stuff.
Comments: none

Big thanks to all of the comics who submitted for this year’s Magners Comedy Festival. We had a great response from comedians from all over and it wasn’t easy narrowing the pool down to 25. Now, Rooftop is proud to announce the Top 25 comics who will move onto the next stage of the competition:

Mark Normand

Sean Wilkinson

Adam Newman

Matt D

Lisa Landry

Nato Green

Vincent Gulino

Jenny Zigrino

M Dickson

Mike Cronin

Ken Reid

Giulia Rozzi

Kelly MacFarland

Kelly Taylor

Trenton Davis 

Linda Aarons 

Raj Sivaraman

Will Noonan

Erik Levi

Nick Peine

Brian Mitchell

Mike Shelton

Lance Weiss

Aaron Kominos-Smith

Kat Radley

The competition continues over on Magners Facebook page. Vote now for your favorite comic, on a 1-3 pints scale. Voting is open now through November 30th. The 10 comics with the most pints will face off this January in Boston for the festival. Now get out the vote already!

Posted: November 8th, 2011 under contests, HOMEPAGE, News'n'stuff.
Comments: none

The Women in Comedy Festival 2012 is accepting submissions for its annual event. Comedians can send submissions online in the categories of improv, musical comedy, sketch, stand up, and storytelling.

The deadlines for show submissions are Tuesday, November 1, 2011 with $30 submission fee and Tuesday, November 8, 2011 with $40 submission fee (extended deadline). Instructor deadlines are Tuesday, October 18, 2011 with $10 submission fee and Tuesday, October 25, 2011 with $15 submission fee (extended deadline). All deadlines are at 11:59pm ET.

The 4th annual Women in Comedy Festival will take place March 21-25, 2012 in Boston.

Visit the WICF 2012 site to apply. Good luck!

Posted: October 13th, 2011 under contests, Cool stuff from Rooftop Comedy, News'n'stuff.
Comments: none

Today is the last day to submit for The Laughing Skull Comedy Festival! Come be a part of this nationally-renowned festival, a great way to get seen by club managers, talent agents, and major industry execs (Comedy Central, Chelsea Lately, Fox, and Letterman, to name a few). Now in its third year, The Laughing Skull Comedy Festival brings together top notch talent, including past headliners like Margaret Cho, Christopher Titus, and Gary Gulman. There’s cash prizes and months of club work for the taking, so don’t miss today’s deadline.

After they play a sold-out show, participating comics can enjoy festival parties, a poker tournament, and a Civil War-themed kick ball game. Want even more incentive? The Laughing Skull Comedy Festival has some serious reach, partnering with Comcast and Sirius XM. All comics who make it to the festival are also eligible to be a part of a “Best Of” album.

Rooftop is thrilled to once again partner with The Laughing Skull Comedy Festival. Get your best 3-10 min worth of material and submit now! More festival info here or contact info(at)skullfestival.com.

Posted: September 1st, 2011 under contests, Press Releases, Shows.
Comments: 17

Dozens of comedians will have a chance to square off against each other for their own TV special and over $80,000 worth of cash and prizes in Comcast’s “Trial By Laughter” comedy competition. Taping Tuesday, November 8th through Saturday, November 13th at Morty’s in Indianapolis, Trial By Laughter features three rounds of fierce competition. All three rounds will be taped and aired on Comcast, and all three rounds will be sent to Sirius/XM. Submit an audition clip on the Trial By Laughter website.
Good luck!

Posted: August 24th, 2011 under contests, Cool stuff from Rooftop Comedy.
Comments: 11

San Francisco, you’re in for a treat. Greg Barris is bringing the deviant hilarity of the Heart Of Darkness from NYC to SF’s Café Du Nord on Sunday, August 7th!

Backed by live band The Forgiveness, the psychedelic stand-­-up show is a visceral experience, featuring cutting-­-edge comedy, mind-­-expanding music, and a scientifically based spiritual ceremony. ‘Whoa’ is right. In the midst of a five-­-month residency at Brooklyn’s Union Hall, where the likes of Reggie Watts, Jim Gaffigan and Janeane Garofalo have performed on the show to sold-­-out crowds, Barris and his bi-­-coastal community of performing misfits are coming to unite San Francisco audiences on a transcendental trip that combines original music and ridiculous insight into the human experience.

Watch the Heart of Darkness trailer:

This Heart Of Darkness will feature the extraordinary comedic talents of Chris Garcia, Emily Heller and Karl Hess. Heart Of Darkness also features appearances by accomplished thinkers to enlighten the audience on topics ranging from transhumanism to the cosmos, and this show’s featured presenter is Columbia University Ethnomusicologist and composer Alexandre Tannous, who will invite the audience in to the world of microtones through an immersive sound ceremony.

Artist and musician Dima Drjuchin (Avrodesign.com/dima/) heads up the house band, which seduces the audiences into the unique show experience. The Forgiveness is a choreographed element that sets the Heart Of Darkness apart from other shows featuring stand-­-up comedy. Instead of appearing solo, each performer becomes a part of the group sound when they join the band on stage. The band backs each comedian up to add color tot heir stories with original music, thus making the Heart Of Darkness one big seamless collaborative party that leaves the freedom for inspired instances of improvisation as the artists involved weave their work together. As the creator, host and curator, Greg Barris invites audiences to open themselves up to expand their minds and appreciate the absurd and hilarious communal experience.

Visit our facebook page this week and enter the Heart of Darkness ticket giveaway for a chance to win two free tickets to the show.

RSVP to the show on the Heart of Darkness Facebook Page

Buy tickets on Ticket Web

Visit Greg Barris’ Website

Posted: August 1st, 2011 under contests, Cool stuff from Rooftop Comedy, Press Releases.
Comments: 14

In Long Story Short, Colin Quinn focuses his “articulate brand of comedy” on the demise of empires, including our own. More than standup comedy, Long Story Short is a hilarious blend of incisive observation, sharp commentary, and Colin’s channeling of the personalities of the past. From Socrates to Snooki, Quinn is at his satirical best, taking on the attitudes, appetites and bad habits that toppled the world’s most powerful nations. Long Story Short proves that throughout human history, the joke has always been on us.

Help us caption the Jersey Shore photo on our Facebook wall and you could win two tickets to the show!

Here’s the Fine Print:
-Winner receives voucher good for two tickets
-Voucher can be redeemed for any performance in December
-Deadline for caption submissions: November 26
-Fans can submit 1 caption entry per week (contest runs for 3 weeks)
-Winner determined by Rooftop Comedy staff
-Shows are at the Helen Hayes Theatre (240 W. 44th St • New York, NY)
-For more information on the show, please click here
-Contest question? Please contact jono(at)rooftopcomedy.com

Watch an interview with Colin and Jerry Seinfeld below!

Posted: November 10th, 2010 under contests, Press Releases.
Comments: 25