leven or more comedians will bring their best stuff Friday night at the Omega's of Charlotte fraternity house in hopes of getting picked to appear on a nationally televised comedy show.
The event is part of the Omegas monthly Comedy Night which has been going on since June 1997. It will be used as a comedy showcase for Comic View which airs on Black Entertainment Television 10 p.m. weeknights. Doors
open at 7 p.m. The show starts at 9:30 p.m.
Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door, and can be
purchased from members of Pi Phi chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., or at the frat house, 3301 Statesville Avenue.
The event is hosted by Tito "The Dog Gone Comic" Koonce, who
will also be participating. He arranged the event after seeing a commercial during the show asking for places that may be interested in hosting the showcase.
"I called the number and after playing phone tag for a couple of weeks finally got the information sent to me," Koonce said.
"Once I got confirmation, I started calling all my comedy buddies
to see if they wanted to vie for a chance to make this season's taping."
So far 11 comics - including Debra Terry, Minister P, Terry Tuff and Shawn C - are set, with the possibility of four more, Koonce said.
Koonce has appeared on Comic View before.
He taped the show in September, which aired in October.
"It's all cool," Koonce said, who is also an Omega. "You're just hanging out with all these people in
L.A. Not that once you've done the show you think you'll automatically be picked for something else, but you never know who may be sitting in the audience. Plus, you get to add television to you're bio."
The event will be videotaped, but not to air on the show. The tapes will be sent to Fortune management, a Los Angeles-based firm serving as talent coordinator for Comic View's 1999-2000 season.
"We will view the tapes made from the showcase," said Mishel Persley, of Fortune Management.
"If we see something we like, there is an extensive process, but eventually someone may be invited
for a taping of Comic View."
Comic View tapes about 78 shows a year, according to Charles Howard, the show's producer. If someone's selected, the performance will be taped to air this fall.
