The Groggy Squirrel

In mid May, aspiring comedians from Victoria University put aside their books and coffee to battle it out for cash prizes and the chance to represent their school at the Victorian final of Campus Comedy. With MC Michael Connell and a guest spot by Jason Carstons, it was an enjoyable afternoon at the Vic Uni Toniq Tavern, where some bright young talent was uncovered.

This was was the same competition that began the successful career of Michael Connell, who went on to win the state final two years ago, also representing Vic Uni. The school’s tradition of producing quality comedians continued this year as a yet-to-be-named trio made up of Alex Baldie, David Shaw and Laurence Corneschi took out first prize in hilarious fashion. Theirs was a show made up of bongos, banter and baboons, that provided the audience with maximum laughs in a limited amount of time. Alex finally got to sing his questionably romantic song that was definitely worth the wait, but only once David was able to control Laurence and his somewhat endearing monkey-boy antics. I was later informed that the guys had made most of the act up on the day, which would explain why their chemistry as a trio on stage seemed so effortlessly natural. The conflict between the three was hilarious and they had the audience glued from the moment they awkwardly took to the stage to when they ended the set with a chase around the balcony. Watch out Tripod, these three guys from Vic Uni could be your newest competition!

The other competitors on the day included performer Eurania Michaelidis, who didn’t let the fact that she was confined to a wheelchair stop her from grabbing the crowd’s attention with jokes about her life, such as her opening line of: “I don’t do stand-up comedy”. Also appearing was Jason Stradella, a past competitor in the Raw Comedy competition, who appeared confident, as he knew how to work the crowd and the stage to his advantage. The runner up prize of the competition went to Jacinta O’Sullivan with her set entitled, ‘Up Front’. She was certainly that, taking some chances with personal material that paid off gaining her big laughs from the audience.

With comedians of this caliber at the heat stages of Campus Comedy, the future of comedy is sure to be strong.