Degrees of comedy: College students face off at Improv

Whether they’re as funny as those greats is to be determined.

The D.C. Improv hosts the District’s Funniest College Competition Finals on Wednesday, featuring 11 aspiring comedians from area universities.

Throughout the past few weeks, the Improv held competitions at area college campuses, and the cream of that crop performs Wednesday. The winner of the competition gets a paid guest set at the Improv.

“Just do this for fun,” said Allyson Jaffe, manager and co-owner of the Improv, who started the funniest college contest in 2003. “It shouldn’t be a be-all and end-all.”

The experience level of those who participate varies. Last year’s winner, Molly Martinez, had dabbled in stand-up at a few open mics, but nothing too serious. When the Improv folks visited American University last year, then-freshman Martinez put together a five-minute routine on the fly — and qualified for the finals.

Martinez concedes that she craves attention. She said she finished her finals routine on the Metro en route to the Improv.

“Stand-up is a great outlet to be creative and command attention,” she said during a recent phone interview. “I hadn’t done stand-up in a while. It was a challenge to get back in the stand-up mentality.”

Of the 14 contestants last year, Martinez was the only woman. She said the guys tended to talk a lot about porn.

“There were so many fabulous comedians, but the subjects were covered,” Martinez said.

Martinez has a number of gigs lined up, including Wednesday night during this year’s funniest college finals.

“I think I’m a good amount of raunchy and crass where I’m not off-putting,” she said.

J-L Cauvin was the event’s first winner in 2003. He was in law school at Georgetown at the time and had some stand-up experience.

“It was a great stress relief and very addictive,” he said.

Cauvin, who now lives in New York, worked in law for five years. He’s recently gone all-in on his comedy career.

“You can call it that,” he said with a laugh. “I’d like to make a little more money before I call it a career. I feel a day job in my future. Ever day is a little more like a nightmare.”

While Martinez advises this year’s contestants to go with something if they think it’s funny, Cauvin suggests sticking with material that has been used in front of audiences and save the new bits for later.

“Do only stuff you’ve tested out before,” he said.

Jaffe said the competition isn’t about finding the next big star, but about giving opportunities to locals who can bring the funny.

“It’s a competition, but in the end, it’s about the experience,” she said.