Bingo Comedy Caller 2024 competition launched by Dabbers
- Dabber's Social Bingo has launched its Bingo Comedy Caller competition. Running April to July, it features a £1000 prize
- The competition is a way for the London-based alternative bingo hall to search for new comedic callers
- To enter, acts should submit a video of themselves by 8th March
Dabber's Social Bingo, the London-based alternative bingo hall, has launched its Bingo Comedy Caller competition, which features a £1000 prize thanks to sponsors Malibu.
Dabbers has run a 'Next Top Caller' competition since 2019, but this is the first year that the competition will be exclusively comedy focussed. British Comedy Guide will be supporting the competition as a media partner and will be one of the judges at the final.
Creative Director of Dabbers, Jonny Unknown, explains: "We've had great success with the original 'Next Top Caller' competition where every year wannabe bingo callers have battled it out to win the coveted prize. But we've found that every year, the entrants who did best, be they drag, sketch, character or just surreal performers were essentially bringing their best comedic powers to the stage. So we gave the name and nature of the competition a rebrand to better reflect both the entrants and the competition".
Last year musical comedian Amy Webber took home the top prize (putting her winnings towards her Edinburgh Festival show) with drag comics Crudi Dench and Kate Butch previously winning in 2022 and 2019 (with a break for Covid in-between).
The organisers explain: "The competition is a way to search for new comedy callers who the team might not otherwise come across, and sometimes Dabbers catches them just as they make a bid for stardom (Viggo Venn was a finalist in 2022).
"Those who enter don't need to be professional comedians but it's crucial that they have a unique comic talent that will wow an audience of keen bingo fans, and the charm to grab the attention of a room full of people as they revamp bingo calling and put their own spin on the classic tradition."
Entrants are asked to submit a showreel as part of their application but the organisers say: "If you don't have a showreel, don't let that put you off! Entrants can record a short, one minute video introducing themselves and calling out some bingo lingo to the camera. It doesn't have to be professionally filmed - the team just want to see your style."
The competition, which will be run via a series of heats, will be at Dabber's HQ in Houndsditch EC3 (4 min walk from Aldgate Tube), beginning in March and culminating with a grand final in July. Each heat will be hosted by BBC New Comedy Award finalist and Edinburgh Festival favourite Sikisa and feature judging panels made up of agents, festival bookers and journalists.
All entrants must be aged over 21. Entries should be submitted via the dabbers.bingo website, before midnight on 8th March.
The knockout heats take place on Sundays; 7th April, 21st April, 5th May and 19th May, with 5 contestants selected to appear at each heat (with 2 going through to the semi-finals, which will be on 2nd and 9th June). The grand final - in which four acts will complete for the Dabbers Comedy Caller 2024 title - will be on Sunday 7th July.
This article is provided for free as part of BCG Pro.
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