Eight campus comedians will compete to earn the headliner spot in a local comedian show in the spring.

The University Board will be having their fourth “Last Comic Standing.”

The show will start with a happy hour at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the 7th Street Underground in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Shauna Miller, the comedy coordinator for the UB, said the show will start with the Master of Ceremonies performing his own comic set.

Matt Caponera, a junior communication studies major and last year’s winner of the Last Comic Standing, will act as this years emcee.

Miller said each of the eight contestants will have 10 minutes to impress the audience and the judges with their set.

The judges will pick the comedian that they believe had the best sets, she said.

Miller said the audience will also vote, and the comedian that had the majority vote will win third place, unless given a higher place by the judges.

“It is not strictly judging, the audience get to participate too,” Miller said.

Miller said Last Comic Standing gives the comedians a way to learn about different ways to entertain audience members and find flaws in their sets.

“Students on campus are considered amateurs and do not get taken seriously,” Miller said. “They are trying to find a good set that sustains the audience’s attention, so this is a good chance to see what works and what does not.”

Miller said the comics on campus do not get paid for performances and the competition gives them a chance to perform and a possibility to win some money.

She said this competition also gives them a place to perform.

She said comedians on campus often do not have somewhere to perform other than open mic nights or trying to find a residence hall that will let them perform for their occupants.

“This is a much more beneficial way to get your comedy out to a wider audience, I think,” Miller said.

Miller said the competition gives students a chance to see some of their classmates perform.

“I think (students) will find their fellow classmates are a lot more talented than they may have realized,” Miller said.

She said this performance could provide students with a chance to find something they like and can lead to them attending more of their performances.

Miller said the first place winner will receive $50 and the headliner position at the local comedy show in the spring, second place will receive $50 and third place will receive $25.

Samantha McDaniel can be reached at 581-2812 or slmcdaniel@eiu.edu.