Funniest Person in Austin Semifinal Round

The Funniest Person in Austin competition moves into its semifinal round on Tuesday, September 1, at Cap City Comedy Club. It's the 35th edition of the contest, which has become a bit of a showcase for the city's comedy scene: more than 250 aspiring comics compete over six weeks for the title and a $3,500 prize. The whole thing runs in stages, with preliminary rounds on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, a semifinal week, and a final night where the winner is crowned. This particular show is part of that semifinal stretch, so the field has already been narrowed down from the hundreds who started.

One of the rules that sets this apart from a typical open mic is that comics have to use only their own original material. That means you're hearing what these people are actually writing, not just a collection of bits they've pulled from around the web. By the time it hits the semifinals, the sets are usually tightened up and ready for a real crowd.

The show is in The Red Room at Cap City Comedy Club, which is a contemporary venue that brings stadium-sized talent into an intimate room. Most nights there are built around an opener, a feature and a headliner, with shows averaging an hour and forty minutes. It's a non-smoking facility that serves a wide selection of food and craft beers, and they also book shows completely in Spanish with no translation. If you're planning to head up to the balcony section of the main room, keep in mind it isn't wheelchair accessible.

This semifinal round kicks off at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, September 1, in the Red Room at Cap City Comedy Club.