The competition spun a teenagers’ version entitled Class Clowns, derived from an Australian format of the same name, which was staged at the Gilded Balloon for the first time in 2015. Judged by Jo Brand, Kevin Day and Karen Koren, the first Fringe winner was Joe Gardner.[2]
Rules and eligibility
The rules and eligibility are as follows:
"1. The performer cannot have performed stand-up REGULARLY either paid or unpaid before 1st
June of the year prior to the competition. *
2. The performer should not have appeared in So You Think You're Funny? before.
3. The performer’s material must be completely original.
4. The performer must have at least 8 minutes of original material.
5. The organisers reserve the right to select all entrants and decisions taken by the organisers and judges are final.
6. All entrants must be aged 18 and over.
This means you can have performed, either paid or unpaid before June 2013, but not regularly. So a handful of gigs well spaced out, once or twice, every couple of months is fine, but performing two times a week is too many. The exception to this is those who have performed as part of a recognised comedy course in this period."[citation needed]
Process of elimination
The competition starts in the spring of each year with showcases in Bristol, Liverpool, Birmingham, York, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Inverness, Dublin, Brighton and Nottingham as well as ten comedy clubs in London. In 2013, there were over 500 applicants for only 55 places in the Edinburgh heats.[citation needed]
Each showcase is not a direct competition, with judges instead selecting the best acts they have seen over the entire run to take part in one of seven heats at the Gilded Balloon at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. Winners of each of these heats go forward to the final.[citation needed]
