COLLEGE COMEDY CHAMPIONSHIP:
Update: 2/8/08
Today, OSTN-TV aired the first of seven hour-long episodes from the 2007 College Comedy Championships. These 7 episodes are being telecast to OSTN-TV's cable network of over 250 colleges in the USA. They will also be telecast to Canada and Great Britain. All the times listed for each episode's airings are the same time period in each time zone. For example, if an episode is listed as airing at 1pm, then it will air 1pm EST, 1pm CST, and so on. OSTN-TV's webmasters are currently working to post the 7 episodes on their web-site. We will announce when they are posted. Here's the complete schedule of the 7 episodes and their OSTN-TV air dates/times. Quarterfinals 1:
Quarterfinals 2:
Quarterfinals 3:
Quarterfinals 4:
Semi-Finals 1:
Semi-Finals 2:
Finals:
Update: 2/1/08
If you have a college improv or sketch team and you would like to participate in the 2008 College Comedy Championship, it's easy to send in a submission. There are no submission fees and no registrations fee. It's free for your team to participate! To submit, you'll need to post a 10 minute video of your team performing. You can post the tape on I-Films, Myspace, Youtube, or on your website. Your live performance must be shot with one camera and have no edits. Then send an email to CIF Productions' Executive Director Jonathan Pitts. In the email please include your name, contact information, team name, college affiliation, what style of comedy you do, and a link to your posted video. When your entry is received, you will get an email confirmation notice.
Update: 1/7/08
College Comedy Championship 2007's Opening Montage Get the Flash Player to see this player. College Comedy Championship 2007's Weather Reports (from all 7 episodes) Get the Flash Player to see this player. College Comedy Championship (c) Jonathan Pitts, 2007, All Rights Reserved College Comedy Championship 2007 (c) Chicago Improv Festival Productions, 2007, All Rights Reserved
Update: 11/5/07
Old Tom Jar, The Titanic Players Resident Team from Northwestern University, won the 1st annual College Comedy Championship national title, the College Comedy trophy cup, $1,500 from OSTN-TV, and a performance slot in the 2008 Chicago Improv Festival. The three-person team are all seniors and theatre majors at Northwestern University. The champion team members are Dan Foster, Britney Lower, and Katherine Palardy. They have been playing together for the last four years under the guidance of their director/coach Mike Abdelsayed. Palardy said shortly after winning, "This was one of the greatest weekends of my life!" Georgia Perry, a member of the 2nd place finishing Awkward Silence from Indiana University said, "The weekend was fantastic and Awkward Silence had a blast performing. We feel really lucky to have been a part of the tournament!" The Improv Mafia's Keith Habersberger said about the tournament, "We all really had a blast and are psyched to be a part of all the divisions planned for next year. We learned a lot and are transferring that knowledge to our other members. It was awesome!" The Final 2007 Tournament Standings: 1st Place: Old Tom Jar from Northwestern University
Quarter-Final Teams: Barren Mind from Arizona State University; Mock Turtle Soup from Clemson University; Off-Off Campus from The University of Chicago; Seriously Bent from Suffolk University. Tournament founder Jonathan Pitts said "This was a great tournament! We saw wonderful improv created by the comedy stars of tomorrow. The tournament was so good in its first year that it was thrilling".
The three judges for Saturday and Sunday's rounds were Jeff Griggs, Niki Lindgren and Nick Johne. Except for one match when they split their votes, every other match through four rounds of tournament play the judges' votes were unanimous (including Friday's first round with alternate judge Katherine Gotsick). That still didn't mean their decisions were easy. Said Niki Lindgren, "That was tough. There were severals times I wanted to vote for both groups." Nick Johne agreed, "That was hard! Often times it was only a matter of small degrees separating the two teams. That is why I love and hate judging". Just before showing his vote in the finals Jeff Griggs said, "I would pay to see both of these two teams play".
Taping seven hour-long shows in two days with the feed from six cameras being mixed together live-to-tape would be a daunting task for seasoned television professionals, but the Columbia College Chicago TV Department crew of 20 students, under the guidance of faculty member/director Chris West and faculty member/floor manager Ed Ferrara, were completely up to the task. "They did an amazing job!" said CIF Productions' Executive Director Jonathan Pitts. "Columbia's television department has a national reputation as one of the best in the country and I can see why. They all were great, and they were great to work with too. They made it easy." said Pitts. Update: 11/2/07
The crew of Columbia College Chicago's TV Department are putting on the final touches in getting the tv studio stage ready for tomorrow and Sunday's taping of the College Comedy Championship. Today, the first round of play-offs begins at Loyola University Chicago begins tonight at 6pm! Update: 11/1/07
Arun Kumar, CEO of OSTN-TV, today confirmed that they have added more money to the cash prizes for the CCC, which starts tomorrow. The 1st Place Team will receive $1,500, the 2nd Place Team will receive $500, and the 3rd and 4th Place Teams will receive $250 each. This represents an additional $1,000 in prize money from OSTN-TV. Jonathan Pitts, the Executive Director of Chicago Improv Festival Productions says, "This is really great and generous of Arun and OSTN-TV! Now being in the Final Four really means something even more!" Mike Abdelsayed, director of The Titanic Players said, "Man, this is exciting!"
Update: 10/31/07
In this week's current issue of Time Out Chicago, comedy beat writer Steve Heisler wrote a blurb about this weekend's upcoming comedy tournament. There is also a photo printed of The University of Chicago's team Off-Off Campus. To see the photo and blurb, please pick up a copy of Time Out Chicago. OSTN-TV's CEO Arun Kumar to Attend Tournament Tapings Today, Maria Shuckahosee, Program Manager of OSTN-TV, revealed that Arun Kumar, the CEO of OSTN-TV, will be in Chicago this Saturday and Sunday to attend the College Comedy Championship tapings at Columbia College Chicago. Shuckahosee said that Kumar will hand out the two cash prizes to the first and second place teams. Shuckahosee also said that she will attend the tapings too and that she is bringing some OSTN t-shirts for the students. Said Shuckahosee, "We are very excited about sponsoring the College Comedy Championship and the program is going to make a great addition to our channel!"
Update: 10/24/07
Today, OSTN-TV announced that it will give cash prizes to the top two placing teams in the upcoming College Comedy Championship. The 1st place team will receive a check for $1,000, and the 2nd place team will receive a check for $500.
Update: 10/16/07
16 TEAMS: ALL AGAINST ONE & ONE AGAINST ALL 16 college improv comedy teams, from as far west as Arizona, as far east as New York, as far south as Georgia, and as far north as Wisconsin, are all converging in Chicago to compete for the first ever College Comedy Championship national title. The national comedy tournament is being co-sponsored by Columbia College Chicago's Television Department, Loyola University Chicago's Department of Fine and Performing Arts, and Open Student Television Network. A total of seven hours of the tournament will be telecast in early 2008 on OSTN-TV. Chicago Improv Festival Productions' Executive Director and College Championship creator Jonathan Pitts says excitedly, "The 1st annual College Comedy Championship is going to be a wonderful event that will showcase the hilarious talents of tomorrow's stars today. That we get to highlight the Quarter-Finals through the Finals by telecasting them nationally and internationally on OSTN-TV makes this unique opportunity for college improvisers and college teams that much more fantastic!" The 16 teams competing are 45 Kings from Loyola University Chicago; Awkward Silence from Indiana University; BAM! from Loyola University Chicago; Barren Mind from Arizona State University; The Charles Darwin Experience from University of Arizona; The Cosby Sweaters from DePaul University; "Daddy Mags", Titanic House Team from Northwestern University; Droppin' $cience from Columbia College Chicago; "Founding Fathers" , Titanic House Team from University of Wisconsin @ Madison; The Improv Mafia from Illinois State University; "Matador Now", Titanic Main Stage Team from Northwestern University; Mock Turtle Soup from Clemson University; Off-Off Campus from The University of Chicago; "Old Tom Jar", Titanic Resident Team from Northwestern University; On The Fly Improv from University of Dayton; and Seriously Bent from Suffolk University. The 16 teams were all invited and selected by College Comedy Championship's Artistic Director Justin Jackson. He is a Loyola University Chicago alumni and an alumni of their improv team the 45 Kings. CCC's Origins
First Round Matches: Friday, November 2
Quarter-Finals: Saturday, November 3
Semi-Finals & Finals: Sunday, November 4
Judges
OSTN-TV
Pitts reveals, "We have recently signed a three-year agreement with OSTN-TV, so we are already making plans to expand next year's tournament. We want to have 4 regional finals, one for each time zone, and then have the finals here in Chicago. We also want to add a sketch comedy championship and then the year after that, a stand-up comedy championship." The television tapings will utilize 7 cameras, a crew of 30, and will be taped in front of a private audience. The crew will be primarily manned by Columbia College Chicago staff and students, along with some CIF Productions staff members. Pitts will be the television show's Executive Producer, and Columbia College Chicago's Station Manager Chris West will be the show's Director. Explains Pitts, "We are shooting all the episodes like it is an actual sport, so we will have anchors, sideline reporters, team interviews, half-time profiles, and rocking theme music in each episode. It's going to be fun!" The co-anchormen for the televised episodes are Chicago Improv Festival Artistic Director Mark Sutton and Chicago Improv Festival Artistic Associate Joe Bill. The sideline reporters are Storybox's Marla Caceres, CIF 2007 Heineken Player Nick Hausman, and from The Second City Mainstage, Amber Ruffin. The weatherman will be Storybox's Jeremy Schaefer. The co-emcees for both the live performances and the television tapings are Justin Jackson and Daryl Amandes. Buzz
Chicago pro Ithamar Enriquez, currently on The Second City Mainstage, and also an Arizona State University improv alumni said, "This is great! It is going to be big! I wish I had something like this when I was in college!"
Update: 10/15/07
To read the official press release from OSTN-TV on their presenting partnership with Chicago Improv Festival Productions to telecast seven hours of the College Comedy Championship, please click Events. CCC Logo Note: The College Comedy Championship logo was designed by Simone Martin-Newberry. She's an alumni of both the University of Chicago ('07) and their home improv team Off-Off Campus. She also was a cast member of The Compass 50th Anniversary Show and Celebration which was created and produced by Chicago Improv Festival Productions in co-presenting partnership with the University of Chicago's Theatre Department. |
Productions