A few years back (so far back that we can’t find it in our archives), we received an email from a budding comedian who wanted to know if it was a good idea to enter The World Series of Comedy (WSOC).

The WSOC was, at the time, a small but ambitious venture started in Pittsburgh by comedian Joe Lowers. The whole idea was to have a mess of comics go against each other in a series of shows, over several nights, and the winner would be declared… the winner… and the winner would receive prizes. Among the prizes would be several weeks of guaranteed middle/feature work from bookers throughout the country. (Those bookers would also act as judges during the competition phase of the series.

We told the budding comic that we here at SHECKYmagazine.com tend to steer clear of such competitions, but that, for some folks, it is a great way to get high-pressure stage time, meet some other comics from around the country and/or get in front of a booker or two.

We also told him that no one can tell him if it’s right or if it’s wrong… he just has to weigh the pros and cons and either jump in or hold off. It’s a contest. It could go either way. It could go horribly wrong. Or… you could win it. It’s a squirelly, quirky, capricious animal, the comedy contest. Has there ever been one that went smoothly and which satisfied all those involved? (That’s a rhetorical question.)

But no one can tell you if it’s right for you or wrong for you.

We’ve always had this opinion (and once or twice over the intervening years, we even went against our own judgement and actually participated in a contest or two… with mixed results!) and we still have this opinion.

Along comes Joe Lowers again (this time, though, he’s living in Vegas), and he’s putting on The World Series of Comedy again! This year, from September 20-28, he’s promising the winner over 20 weeks (or weekends) of comedy at clubs all over the country, from Boston to Kennewick to Vegas to Tampa to Knoxville. And he’s invited a gaggle of bookers/owners to the Alexis Park Hotel to participate in a meet and greet, a poker tournament and a golf tournament. He’ll also hold a shoot-a-thon, where comedians can, for a fee, get a headshot done.

It sounds a lot like a convention. In addition to the contest, he’s got a lot of other stuff promised.

It’s got a $50 registration fee (that goes up to $75 on July 5th), so factor that in if you’re considering attending. And, please go to the site and read the copy carefully so you know exactly what you get for your fifty.

Of course, we would still give the same advice to anyone who asks: Weigh the pros and cons, examine your situation, and determine if attending such an event and competing in such a contest would be right for you at this time.

You know, there really aren’t that many national showcase opportunities like this for middle/feature acts (or openers who fancy themselves ready to “move up”). Oh, sure, if you’re a headliner, you can get into any one of a number of festivals or television showcases in New York or Los Angeles or cruise ship contests or even corporate comedy pow wows, but for the folks who aren’t quite ready to top the bill, it’s pretty quiet out there.

And for a comedian who seeks to bust out of his home market (or expand his horizons) this sounds like one-stop shopping– a chance to kill several birds with one stone.

We remember back in 1988, Budd Friedman co-produced what was billed as a comedy convention in Las Vegas. From what we hear, a lot of people attended– talent, agents, managers– and a lot of alliances were formed, a lot of friendships were made and a comedian or two made a lasting impact via showcases. (Of course, we also heard some horror stories– afternoon shows that were sparsely attended, hangovers, fistfights, etc. But there’s always going to be some bad with the good.)

We didn’t attend that particular gathering. (We were working.) But we occasionally regretted not going.

There hasn’t been such an industry exhibition since. And there probably never will be. The business has changed so much since 1988, it’s virtually impossible to have one like it again.

And Lowers’ meet-up doesn’t purport to be like it. But it seems like an appropriate conference for the standup industry in 2010.