If you make them laugh, they will come. At least this is the philosophy behind the 31st Annual San Francisco International Comedy Competition, at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in the University Union Ballroom.

Ten comedians will take the stage to win over judges and audience members with their stand-up routines. Their objectives? To amuse, shock, and entertain, all in the name of advancing to the finals and winning the title.

And the title is no laughing matter.

Competition alumni read like a who’s who of the comedy industry. Dane Cook, Ellen DeGeneres, Rob Schneider, Sinbad and Robin Williams are some of the comics who have made it to the finals.”It’s really amazing,” said Jon Fox, who has produced the event with his wife Anne since 1976. “We have a real track record of top comedians coming through this event.”

Last year’s winner, Don Friesen, the first contestant in the competition’s history to win the title twice, said the event can give comedians instant credibility.

“It’s the longest running, the most thorough and, in my opinion, the fairest comedy competition,” he said. “And a lot of the competitors have become some really big names.”

Whether it’s as the voice of SpongeBob, like former contestant Tom Kenny, or as the executive producer of the Simpsons, like Dana Gould, Fox agreed that these comedians are going places. The competition, which awards a total of $30,000 in prize money, offers a unique opportunity to see them before they’re stars, he added.

“We’re showcasing the major talent in comedy before they become household names,” Fox said. Becoming a household name is exactly what contestant Mike E. Winfield envisions for himself. “I want to make the breakthrough movie of the year,” he said confidently when asked about his career ambitions.

Winfield anticipates tomorrow’s show not only because he is a resident of Sacramento, but also because he graduated from Sacramento State in 2001.

“I’m excited because I feel like I’m finally coming home,” Winfield said during a telephone interview while driving home from a preliminary round in Santa Cruz on Sunday night. “And I don’t have to drive three hours to get there,” he said with a laugh.

Winfield hopes his old professors will come to the show to see what he’s doing now. And, he said, they can count on a joke he’s going to slip in just for them.

But Winfield also cautions that he can’t get too comfortable in the familiar surroundings.”I can’t take it for granted,” he said. “It’s still a competition. I have to maintain my professionalism and not let it slip.”

Keeping on track is something that Winfield learned at Sac State. He credited his English major with helping him succeed as a comedian, saying his writing skills helped him break into the industry.

“The biggest thing I do now is write,” he said. “I was guided well in the English department.” Winfield, who has honed his routine at the Sacramento Punchline among other venues, bases his act on everyday situations to which people can relate. Everything from eating to Sacramento to his nine-month-old son Michael Edward may enter the script.

“It’s all based on my life,” he said.

As for preparing for tomorrow’s show, Winfield said he’s using the same approach he does with the rest of his life: without worry.

“For me to prepare is for me to just come out and be myself on stage,” he said.

Winfield and other contestants have 12 minutes to win over three judges, who include a past participant, a media member and a talent booker, Fox said. Points are awarded for material, stage presence, delivery, technique, audience response and a “gut feeling” toward the act. Audience members can also contribute through the TOE – tremendously obvious encore – point, in which the crowd has ten seconds to give overwhelming applause in support of a contestant.

“It’s a pretty sophisticated judging system,” Fox said. “And the audience really gets involved.” Fox was working as an entertainment reviewer for the Oakland Tribune in the 1970s when he stumbled across a comedy workshop one evening and discovered an empty audience.

“There was a lot of talent and not a lot of interest in that talent,” he said. “Comedians like Robin Williams and Dana Carvey were up on stage and no one was there to watch.”

Fox, along with his wife, Anne, set out to fill those seats by creating an event in which comedians would challenge one another in a sport-like competition.

“It worked like a charm,” Fox said. He also added that the competition raised the quality of performances.

“When you have a contest, the comedians get to hone down their material so their routines are fresh,” Fox said. “It’s the best they’ve got.”

Zenia Diokno, UNIQUE program advisor, agreed with Fox. She said that in the six previous years Sac State has hosted the competition, the ballroom has been filled because of the talented comedians.

“Typically, they’re all pretty good,” she said. Diokno also said that the competition is one of the most highly anticipated events on campus, saying that students and community members alike look forward to it every year.

“It seems like the campus overall just enjoys comedy events,” she said. “I think it’s because it’s a lighthearted entertainment event. You just sit back and have a good time.”

Having a good time is what comedy is all about, Friesen said. He is now based out of Burbank and looking to break into television and film.

“It’s about getting out there and making people laugh,” Friesen said. This is important for everyone, Fox agreed.

“We have a basic human need to laugh,” he said. “It’s very therapeutic for us.” Senior psychology major Carmy Preston, a volunteer for UNIQUE, said that this is what attracted her to the event for the past three years.

“It’s a laid-back, fun event,” Preston said. “It’s a good way to open up to other types of entertainment.”

Opening up is definitely something the contestants want audience members to do. No matter their topic area or punch line, for comedians, the goal of the game is to make people laugh. Some are young, some are old ?” one contestant was actually a comedian on the Ed Sullivan show ?” but all, Fox said, are talented.

“We have hundreds and hundreds of applications,” he said. “Out of those we narrow it down to 32 contestants for the preliminaries.”

Ticket holders for tomorrow’s semi-final event will see the last 10 perform, each with a different style.

Fox said audience members can expect a well-rounded, exciting night.

“They’re going to see a great variety of techniques and a vast array of material,” he said. “It’s like seeing 11 headliners in one show, all of whom are doing their best set.”

The top 10 semifinalists performing tomorrow night are: Blake Bard, Salt Lake City; Leo Flowers, Chicago; Carlos Kotkin, San Diego; Mo Mandel, San Francisco; Dylan Mandelsohn, Toronto; Gabriel Rutlebge, Seattle; Leis Skyving, Idaho; Jay Wendell Walker, Spokane and Mike E. Winfield, Sacramento.

Tickets can be purchased by calling the Sac State Ticket Office at (916) 278-4323. Prices are $7 for students and $10 for general admission.

Megan Chuchmach can be reached at [email protected]