Erma’s Got Talent, loosely formatted along the lines of America’s Got Talent, will offer 12 randomly selected contestants the opportunity to perform two minutes of their original stand-up material in front of three celebrity judges — acclaimed comedians Wendy Liebman, Joel Madison and Carole Montgomery. Comedy writer Nancy Berk will serve as emcee.
The virtual event is slated for 7 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
The winning contestant and runners up will perform on stage at Attendee Stand-Up Comedy Night on Saturday, March 28, at the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop at the University of Dayton. Other performers for that evening will be selected randomly after the auditions.
Entertaining and educational, Erma's Got Talent is an instructional opportunity for participants as well as the audience. The judges will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of performance/material and offer expert suggestions.
While this event is free and open to the public, only registered workshop attendees are eligible to perform.
Performers (in alphabetical order)
Sheila Benner
Cincinnati, Ohio
Michelle Combs
Cincinnati, Ohio
Meaghan Elwood
Seattle, Washington
Carolyn Freudenthal
Powhatan, Virginia
Nikki Goldman
Poway, California
Susan Haas
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Jim Hands
Maryville, Tennessee
Karen Jaffe
Dayton, Ohio
Holly Rizzuto Palker
Short Hills, New Jersey
Yuliya Patsay
San Francisco, California
Dorothy Rosby
Rapid City, South Dakota
Tami Wolf
Beechwood, Ohio
The March 26-28 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop is sold out, but a waitlist is available. We're also offering "Erma Home Schooling," a virtual component featuring five keynote addresses and four exclusive workshops on humor writing.