Heard any good jokes?

Eight Orange County comedians came to Martini Blues Saturday, each of them hoping to be named O.C.’s Funniest Person. When the bits were done and the jokes were told, it was Christopher Heard who walked away with the title.

The contestants ran through a gauntlet of competition rounds that started in August. Heard placed second in the contest last year and was glad to be crowned this time as the top local jester. Yet for him, the competition is all about what it does for local comedians.

“It’s a good place for comics to come and feel they’re accepted and they’ll get some time,” Heard said.

That means Bill Word, who organizes the competition as well as Martini Blues’ regular stand-up acts, is accomplishing his goal. Word tries to give up-and-coming comedians a place to develop their craft, especially when the stand-up scene in Los Angeles can have a tendency to be cutthroat.

“I wanted to create a community to let stand-ups work together to get better,” Word said.

Heard says that community is far more tight-knit here. When comics do local venues — like Martini Blues in Huntington Beach — they network and often become friends. Those friendships help them hone their skills.

“You just work to impress your friends,” Heard said. “It’s more gratifying that way.”

Heard has been doing stand-up intermittently since high school. He’s been actively pursuing it now for three years. He performs onstage every chance he gets and also has a weekly comedy podcast with friend and fellow comedian Rich Ornelas.

Comedy allows Heard an opportunity to give audiences something more personal than performing lines of a play. The material comes from the comedian’s life experience.

“It’s a personal art form,” Heard says.

Steven Halasz took second place, Lauri Roggenkamp came in third and Peter Dautel placed fourth. Roggenkamp was the second female performer to place in the top four.

For more information on the contest and video of the performances, visit www.ocfunniest.com. To check out Heard’s comedy podcast, visit www.nothingpersonal entertainment.com.