Gembrook’s Lance Petrie is a finalist in an FHM Magazine competition to find Australia’s Funniest Man (or Woman).By Paul Dunlop
TELLING jokes could see Lance Petrie laughing all the way to the USA.
The Gembrook man is among 13 budding stand-up comedians trying to win a competition to find Australia’s Funniest Man or Woman.
The comedy showdown is sponsored by FHM Magazine and will see Mr Petrie and other contestants fight for the grand prize of an all-expenses paid trip to perform in New York.
A DVD featuring each of the comedians is included in the magazine’s latest edition. Readers now have to vote for their favourite performer.
The winner, to be announced in February-March, will attend a workshop at the American Comedy Institute in New York and will also get a gig on Caroline’s On Broadway plus $2000 spending money.
Mr Petrie’s shot at stardom came somewhat unexpectedly.
He describes his style of humour as “smart-arse, more than anything” but his performances show a keen knack for what FHM magazine has labelled the aggravated assault of political correctness.
The multi-talented 36-year-old, who spreads his time between four jobs, got into stand-up comedy as an escape from the slog of writing a film based on Australian politics, a ripe source of material that keeps on giving.
Mr Petrie said he liked the topical freshness of stand-up comedy as opposed to writing for films which can often take years to surface.
“Stand-up is spontaneous where you might be working on a film script for five years,” he said.
The first time he performed before an audience, Mr Petrie admits to having had possibly a couple of nerve calmers too many. The second time he went in without a crutch.
“I found that worked a lot better,” the former Pakenham High School student said.
A film Mr Petrie wrote, directed and edited won Best Screenplay, Best Direction and Best Acting at the recent Melbourne Underground Film Festival. It was a colleague at the Comics Lounge in North Melbourne who entered Mr Petrie in the Australia’s Funniest Man (or Woman) competition. He was successful in a heat at Traralgon and short-listed for the grand prize after performing again at the final in Sydney.
Mr Petrie has already got a first — his was the only act with material censored by the judges.
It’s up to FHM readers as to where he goes from here, but Mr Petrie is already happy.
“I’d never been to Sydney, I’d never been on a plane,” he said.
