We are hosting a local comedy contest! The winner from this venue (and other participating venues) will have his/her's video clip posted on the comedy festival website. One national winner will be chosen to perform a live set during the festival. To participate, comedians must submit a 5-10 minute video.

Submission Guidelines:

• The Sandler Center will choose one winner to submit to the festival. The winner will be picked by February 7 at 5 PM. Submissions must be sent to Mboyle@sandlercenter.org by February 5 at 5 PM.
• All submissions must be at least 5 minutes but no longer than 10 minutes.
• Submissions must be in link format preferably YouTube, Vimeo, or Facebook.
• All submissions must post the video on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube) and include #savingourjobscomedy and tag the Sandler Center @SandlerCenter.
• All submissions must also be emailed to Mboyle@sandlercenter.org and include the link to the video, full name, email, phone number.

Individual Venue Prize:

• Placement of the winning submission on the SavingOurJobsComedy.com website
• One ticket to the event

Overall Prize:

One winner will be chosen from all submissions across North America. The winner will receive:

• The opportunity to do an up to 45-minute set live during the festival
• Two free tickets to the event
• Mention in additional marketing materials as winner
• A badge and frame proclaiming the winner to use for social media
• A friends and family discount code of 15% off

Comedy Contest Rules:

• This is an over 21 event
• The material must be original material belonging to the comedian performing

Chris Gainz (Chris Lee) is an actor, sketch comedian, songwriter, and social media personality. Chris creates sketch comedy shorts and music videos for the YouTube series, “Chris Gainz Comedy”. Chris co-wrote the Earl Dibbles Jr. anthem, “Country Boy Song” which went certified gold in 2019. Chris wrote and created the video for the Granger Smith parody, “Don’t Cough On Me”, which took home the 2020 CMT Award for “Quarantine Video of the Year”. Chris also hosts a political humor YouTube channel with his wife Alison called, “The Purple House”, as well as their podcast, “On Tour with Chris Lee”.

Adam Yenser is a comedian and Emmy Award-winning writer for The Ellen DeGeneres Show where he stars in the segment “Kevin the Cashier Played by Adam.” He has appeared on Conan and FOX Laughs and been a panelist on The Greg Gutfeld Show. Adam has written for The Oscars, been a freelance contributor to SNL’s Weekend Update, and co-produced the web series “Laugh Lessons with Kevin Nealon.”

Portland comedian Alex Elkin started his stand-up comedy career in 2016 after winning the prestigious 41stAnnual International San Francisco Comedy Competition. In July 2018 he was honored in being chosen to go to Kuwait, Baghdad, Iraq, and Syria to entertain the troops. Elkin was a finalist in the Hollywood Laugh Factory’s International Donald Trump Impersonator Contest and is 2018’s champion of the Hard Rock Casino’s Annual Comedy Cage Match. Alex has been seen on the Netflix series Trinkets, Inside Edition, CNN, VUDU, XBOX, Amazon Prime, E!’s The Simple Life Season 5, TNT’s LEVERAGE, NBC’s GRIMM as well as heard regularly on XM Sirius’ Raw Dog comedy channel. Alex Elkin’s latest work Screaming at Shapes which debuted at #6 on iTunes and can be downloaded through any online music store.

Justin Rupple is a Los Angeles based stand-up comedian, actor, and voice actor. You’ve seen his amazing impressions on the USA show “First Impressions” with Dana Carvey and Standup and Away! with Brian Regan. You’ve seen in the film “Operation Chromite” starring alongside Liam Neeson. You may also recognize him from How to Train Your Dragon, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and the Fate and the Furious. Justin was also a 2019 Voice Arts Award Winner.

Emmy Award-winning comedy writer for the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Adam Yenser; iTunes #6 comedian, Alex Elkin; the voice of everyone and 2019 Voice Arts Award Winner, Justin Rupple; seen on BET's One Mic Stand and touring with Bill Bellamy's Ladies Night Out Tour, Ralph Porter; Canadian funnyman Ron Josol, seen on Kevin Hart's Laugh Out Loud; and Tashona Smith who The New York Times called “Charming, Tantalizing… Confusing”, among others, join comedians from all over the U.S. and Canada for a full day of what we all need right now – laughter.

Ron Josol is a Canadian-Filipino comedian who is well received from every corner of the world. Ron stirs up and samples the multi-cultural melting pot that mirrors life in most urban centers today. He presents hilarious scenarios and comments on our global society's inherent contradictions by combining a one-liner and a storytelling style. He regularly performs in Canada, UK, Scandinavia, the Caribbean, Asia, Middle East, Australia, and the USA. He has performed around the world for almost 20 years which makes him one of the most sought-after, vibrant comics today. Ron has been seen on Showtime, Carson Daley, Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud, and Slanted on Amazon Prime.

Tashona Smith is a comedian, actress, singer, wife, mother of 3, and recovering Nutella addict from Monroe, WI. She has been performing on the stage since the tender age of 6, when she was cast in her breakthrough role, Tree #3 in a children’s theatre production of Snow White. She began her stand-up career in 2014 performing locally and has since been featured in the International Lady Laughs Comedy Festival. The New York Times has called her “Charming, Tantalizing… Confusing”.

Approximately 12 hours before the live stream starts you will receive a unique link and password to view the live-stream. One ticket per household (includes one device, and as many viewers as you’d like).

The event will start at 3:00 PM EST on Sunday, February 14th, and end on Monday, February 15th at 12:00 AM EST. 

You will be allowed entry two hours before the event is ready to begin. A chat function will be available to engage with the comedians. We highly recommend using it to make the experience more interactive.

Recommended for audiences 18+.