O.C. comedy smackdown

Grace White had delivered a few punchlines in the opening minutes of

her eight-minute set Friday night at Martini Blues when her eyes

began to scan the crowd.

Sizing up the patrons seated in front of her at the Huntington

Beach supper club, she switched gears and headed in a new direction.

“I was going for my usual stuff, you know, talk about how bad my

personal life is going, but noticed that the crowd was a little

edgy,” she said. “Being the first one out there, I knew I had to

change things up a bit to get them going. I just altered my

material.”

By the luck of the draw, White was the first of 60 comics to take

the stage in the Orange County’s Funniest Person Contest.

The fourth annual event, laced with bawdy humor, is produced by

comedian Bill Word, who organizes comedy events at Martini Blues.

“I was happy with my performance,” said White, 55, who took up

comedy six years ago to help combat, she said, “my midlife crisis.”

“My daughter had left home and I was experiencing the empty nest

syndrome,” she said. “I got started on a lark, going up on stage

during open mic night at a club.

“I travel all the time, performing on the road, and produce a show

called ‘Women That Kick Comedy Butt’ at the Sands hotel in Reno. I

call myself ‘a transient with an act.’”

White said she doesn’t usually enter comedy competitions, but she

heard the Orange County contest had a good reputation.

Word, 46, began the contest in 2002 as a way to promote some of

the best comedians in the county.

“Most people who enter this contest are relatively new to comedy,

mostly [with] just two years or less in the business,” Word said.

“This contest has grown with each year, and it gives the newcomers a

great opportunity to get stage experience.”

The contest began Friday and Saturday night with the first two

rounds of preliminary competition. Rounds three and four of the

preliminary competition continue Friday and Saturday, and rounds five

and six will be held Oct. 8 and Oct. 16.

Three rounds of semifinal competition will follow, leading up to

the final round on Nov. 5.

Each preliminary round has 10 contestants, and a different guest

comedian hosts each night of the competition. Showtime is 8:30 p.m.

each night.

The Nov. 5 finals guest host will be Marc Takemiya, who won last

year’s contest. Takemiya was named one of the ’25 Hottest People’ by

OC Metro magazine.

“The Tonight Show asked to see some tape of Marc after he won last

year’s competition,” Word said, adding that Takemiya was not booked

for the late-night show.

“There has not been any real overnight success story. There are

those who have advanced their careers and some sign with managers,

though.

“For comedians you see on TV, it’s nothing for them to have 10

years of experience in comedy, working clubs and such, before they

hit it big.”

Julie Kidd, a veteran of the contest who performed in the second

round of preliminaries Saturday, had been featured in the short-lived

NBC daytime show, “Life Moments.”

Each round of competition is judged by a different panel composed

of three or four judges who, Word said, come from the fields of

journalism and entertainment. Each comedian is judged in three

categories -- performance, persona and material. Four comedians from

each night of preliminary competition advance.

Past judges have included representatives from Comedy Central, NBC

and Paramount Studios, Word said.

Word threw a twist into this year’s competition by expanding the

rules. No longer is the contest limited to Orange County residents.

“Each comedian must be a resident of Orange County, Calif., as of

Sept. 1, 2005, o7orf7 must have been born in Orange County,

o7orf7 must have graduated from high school or college in Orange

County, o7orf7 must have completed at least one year of school,

kindergarten through 12th-grade, in Orange County,” said Word. “So,

you can see, there is still an all-Orange County flavor to this

competition.”

White, a Colfax, Calif., resident, spent a few years in the Orange

County schools system as a youngster. Her material, however, didn’t

earn a passing grade, and she didn’t advance past Friday’s

preliminary round.

Huntington Beach resident Paul Bement will take the spotlight

during Saturday night’s fourth round of preliminary competition.

Hosting Saturday’s event is Kira Soltanovich of the Oxygen Network

comedy “Girls Behaving Badly.”

Bement, 42, is nearing the end of his first year in the comedy

business. Saturday’s performance will mark his first entry into the

contest.

“This has created a whole new life for me,” said Bement, whose

entertainment background includes acting and work as a musician, as

well as producing a comedy show each Saturday night at Super Heroes

sandwich shop in Huntington Beach.

He said his comedy is influenced by the delivery of Lenny Bruce

and Richard Prior.

“I’m really looking forward to taking the stage Saturday,” he

said. “I love to make people laugh, make them think. I put substance

into my comedy and give it a social spin.

“When people leave the show, I want them to think of one or two

things I may have said. That’s my goal.”