Do people not laugh at your jokes? Or are you, in general, just not funny? Well better leave it to the professionals. The 26th annual San Francisco International Comedy Competition is coming back to Sac State Thursday.

The San Francisco Comedy Competition has served as a launch pad for up-and-coming young talents from throughout the country. Each of the 10 finalists will offer up 10 to 12 minutes of their best sidesplitting material. This year’s competition will feature VH1’s Jim Connolly as emcee. Arlo Stone of Eugene, Ore., and Los Angeles natives Vargus Mason and Count Woodrow are just a few of the comedians who will be competing in the semi-final round on campus.

Hundreds of comedians try out for the competition each year but only fifteen to eighteen are chosen to compete. They travel to several Northern California venues during the competition, in hopes of making it to the semi-finals. After each round, five contestants are eliminated. Only five comics will advance to the final round, which will conclude on Oct. 13 at San Francisco’s GLAS Kat Lounge.

Past winners include Dana Carvey and Sinbad. Carvey went on to be a cast member of “Saturday Night Live” and starred in movies like “Wayne’s World” and his current box office title “Master of Disguise.” Sinbad went on to work in television sitcoms, co-starring across Redd Fox in “The New Redd Fox Show” and the “Cosby Show” spinoff “A Different World.”

Other past finalists include the historically funny Robin Williams and Ellen DeGeneres. The 1993 winner, Carlos Alazraqui, was the voice of the Taco Bell Chihuahua. Some of today’s stars were once contestants. Roseanne Barr, star of the nine-year-running television show “Roseanne”, Janeane Garofalo (“The Truth About Cats and Dogs”), Bobcat Goldthwait (“Police Academy”), Christopher Titus(TV’s “Titus”) and D.L. Hugley (The Original Kings of Comedy), all participated in the San Francisco Comedy Competition but failed to make it into the finals.

The San Francisco International Comedy Competition is considered to be one of the most anticipated shows presented by Sac State’s UNIQUE Program. The show will be held in the University Union Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the CSUS Central Ticket Office and Tickets.com. Prices start at $7 for students and $10 for general admission. For more information call (916) 287-6997.