Try your hand at comedy in national comp

IF you’ve ever considered having a crack at telling jokes in front of an audience then you might want to consider RAW Comedy 2025 – a national open mic competition designed to unearth the latest batch of local comedic talent.

RAW Comedy alumni include Anne Edmonds, Ronny Chieng, Tom Ballard, Sam Campbell, Sarah Kendall, Georgie Carroll, Celia Pacquola, Josh Thomas, Hannah Gadsby, Aaron Chen, Rhys Nicholson, Becky Lucas and Joel Creasey.

The Bendigo heat takes place at The Piano Bar in Hargreaves Street on Friday 21 February, with the winner to progress to the state finals.

State winners will go on to the National Grand Final, to be held during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

According to the rules, entrants must not have earned more than $750 from performing live comedy, be at least 18 years old on the date of their heat and be a permanent Australian resident.

All forms of live comedy are welcomed including stand-up, music and sketch, and contestants’ spots must be original and five minutes or under.

MICF director Susan Provan said the competition is “the very best way to suss out the reality of performing live comedy.”

“Audiences are kind and enthusiastic, other competitors and the pros who are hosting are generous and supportive,” she said.

“If you’ve ever even vaguely thought ‘I could do that, I’ve got some stories,’ don’t be shy, put a toe in the water. It may be the start of something big.”

Register via the online entry form.