IF YOU GOWhat: Mouth of the South stand-up comedy finals.When: 8 p.m. Tuesday.Where: Vaudeville Cafe, 138 Market St.Admission: Free but $5 purchase minimum.Phone: 517-1839.Website: www.funnydinner.com.
Vaudeville Cafe will crown a Mouth of the South next week.
General manager Sandra Moses said the stand-up comedy contest drew an initial 78 entrants from the Chattanooga area and as far away as Atlanta, Nashville and Indiana. Each week since May 15, that number was winnowed down to 35 hopefuls, who competed in one of four semifinal rounds in July.
Tuesday, 12 comics will perform for bragging rights.
Originally, Moses said, the plan was to choose eight for the finals, but some rounds were too close to call.
"We were going to just put two through each night, but sometimes the voting was so close," she said.
Judges have included local TV personalities and hometown comedian Karen Mills. Judges scored contestants on a scale of 1-25, based on the comics' originality of material, stage presence and timing.
Tuesday's panel of judges will include talent scout Eric Yoder from Funny Business Entertainment Agency. Contestants are competing for a couple of feature spots with the booking agency and a $1,000 cash prize from Vaudeville, Moses said.
Several contestants also have been booked for host duties for Vaudeville's Friday and Saturday comedy shows headlined by touring comics.
MOUTH OF THE SOUTH FINALISTS
• James Cherry
• Nick Dressel
• Corey Ryan Forrester
• Jerry Harvey
• DJ Lewis
• Jonna Mitchell Robinson ("Red Squirrel")
• Chad Rosser
• Christian Saslo
• Anderson Scott
• Ben Thompson
• Jamie Ward
• Terry Wright