Nine of the country’s funniest up and coming comics have been put through their paces and are now preparing for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival’s best stand-up comedy competition ‘So You Think You’re Funny? THE FINAL!’ powered by The Sims 3, which takes place on Thursday 25th August 2011 at 8 p.m.   Previous ‘So You Think You’re Funny?’ winner and TV funny man Lee Mack will be this year’s celebrity judge and Jarred Christmas will compere the live grand final.

This year’s winner will not only take away the coveted title but will also receive a cash prize and a trip to perform at Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival.  Past ‘So You Think You’re Funny?’ winners include Peter Kay, David O’Doherty, Rhona Cameron, Lee Mack, Tommy Tiernan, Miles Jupp, Rob Rouse, Dylan Moran and 2010 winner James Kirk, to name but a few.

Take a look below to meet the finalists and find out how you can get involved if you're at the Fringe!

~The Sims UK Team~

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Best-selling gaming franchise The Sims 3, which allows players to play with life in a virtual world, is the title sponsor of ‘So You Think You’re Funny?’ and the supporting partner of The Gilded Balloon for 2011 – this is the first time a video game has supported the new act comedy competition.   All acts and visitors will be able to play with life at The Sims games pods inside the Gilded Balloon and visit the medieval courtyard to have their photo taken in The Sims Medieval stocks.  Upload the pictures to www.facebook.com/thesims3uk for the chance to win videogames, Nintendo 3DS consoles and more fun Sims prizes.

Twenty-four years after ‘So You Think You’re Funny’ began hunting for the country’s best comedy newcomers the competition is still fresh thanks to the high calibre of comedians it attracts. Aimed at discovering the stand up stars of the future, it has established itself as one of the most prestigious Edinburgh Festival Fringe stand-up comedy competitions.

This year the search for the best comedy newcomer took the Gilded Balloon’s competition organisers to Bath, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester, Glasgow, Dublin, Brighton and London with a selected shortlist going through to perform at this year’s Fringe heats. This is trial by comedy fire, with comedians given just eight minutes to impress the ever-demanding expert judging panel, who include Karen Koren, Artistic Director at the Gilded Balloon; comedy critic for The London Evening Standard, Bruce Dessau and comedian Lee Mack.   This year’s finalists are Lucy Beaumont (Hull), Fern Brady (Sheffield), Andy Clark (Tyne & Wear), Darren Connell (Glasgow), Stuart Hossack (Southampton), Alex Kealy (Selbourne), Nicola Mantalios-Lovett (South Tyneside), Dayne Rathbone (Australia) and Tommy Rowson  (London).

Take a look below to meet the finalists and find out how you can get involved if you're at the Fringe!

~The Sims UK Team~

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Venue: Gilded Balloon – Debating Hall

Dates: Thursday 25th August

Time: 20:00 (22.30)

Bookings: 0131 622 6552 or www.gildedballoon.co.uk

Ticket  Prices: £15.00 (£14.00)

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Finalists’ ‘rantings’

Lucy Beaumont:

After a series of unfortunate events I decided to take to the stage. I'm only four gigs in now but I've got the bug and it's becoming hard to concentrate on my day job in Comett.  They keep finding me behind the 55 inch tellies, squatting and talking to myself.

Fern Brady:

This time last year, as a former journalist I was interviewing the 2009 winner of SYTYF for the comedy magazine I worked for. I never expected to find myself in the semi-finals of the same competition one year on.

Andy Clark:

I’m a  Macmillan Carer, which pretty much makes me bullet proof as an audience member. I don't tell jokes at work and I don't wipe bottoms on stage. I am still waiting for Rome to apologise for Wallsend.

Darren Connell:

I’m very grateful and excited that I’m in this competition, looking through the history of who has been involved gives me shivers. It’s my dream to be a stand up comedian.

Stuart Hossack:

I like playing with narrative and music and the way they interact. I like the shows I run in Southampton, Brighton and Cardiff that are called 'Stitches'. My favourite comedians so far are Will Ainsworth, James Bran and Richard Herring.

Alex Kealy:

By my own admission, I am a young, awkward, gangly comedian trapped inside the body of a young, awkward, gangly comedian. I deal in young, awkward comedy, often performed ganglily (I tried spell-checking this online but was hampered by the fame of former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly).

Nicola Mantalios-Lovett:

I’m a 26 year Greek Geordie with an unhealthy attachment to my dog and a love for all things coconutty. I regularly say horrible things with a sweet smile on my face, some of those things make people laugh.

Dayne Rathbone:

I won the RAW comedy competition in Melbourne in 2011 this year. Thank you for giving me this opportunity in the So You Think You’re Funny? competition in which I also hope that I will win.

Tommy Rowson:

I started performing stand-up in October and reached the semis of Amused Moose and the final of the Laughing Horse competitions. I’ve made many short comedy films, including Arrowman Sam, for GinRiot.com and wine reviews for the infamous SunderDrinker.com

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The Judges

This year’s 2011 SYTYF? Final judges are:  Karen Koren, Artistic Director, Gilded Balloon; Bolu Akindoyin, UK Product Manager, EA (The Sims 3); Angela Robertson, A&R Director, Universal; Susan Provan, Director, Melbourne International Comedy Festival; Bruce Hill, COO, Just For Laughs; Bruce Dessau, Comedy Critic, London Evening Standard; and Lee Mack, Comedian.

The Gilded Balloon

There are 103 shows at Gilded Balloon in 2011:  78 comedy;  3 music; 1 musical; 14 theatre; 1 exhibition; and  6 children’s.

There are nine theatre spaces at Gilded Balloon, from the small and intimate Wee Room and Turret (capacity 50) to the grand Debating Hall (capacity 350).

For further information on the venue contact press@gildedballoon.co.uk

At this year's Edinburgh Fringe, you can Play With Life and have a lot of fun into the bargain! Whether you're able to attend or not, read below to see how you could also win some fantastic prizes...

In partnership with the Gilded Balloon’s So You Think You're Funny; the UK's longest-running and most established new act comedy competition; The Sims 3 will be outside the Gilded Balloon venue through the Festival Fringe up until the competition's final on Thursday the 25th of August.

The Sims and EA are proud to be involved in the search for fresh comedy talent and the comedy and creativity of the Fringe; as The Sims games allow players to exert ultimate control over their Sims’ lives, personalities and actions to make their worlds as creative or as hilariously funny as they choose...

As the So You Think You're Funny semi finals take place (keep an eye on our Facebook page for the dates!), you'll be able to do something funny yourself with The Sims outside the venue. Come join us at our Medievally themed stand, enjoy the games and grab some Sims goodies!

If you get more involved by taking a photo of yourself in our Medieval stocks and uploading it to Facebook or sharing it on Twitter or by simply getting involved with our online community, you could be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes every single day courtesy of our partners Nintendo 3DS, Philips and Origin, so why not stop by and say hello?

What you could win!:

• Nintendo 3DS Console (6 to be won!)
• 1 x Philips TV (1 to be won!)
  • 1 x Philips eSee Camcorder
  • 1 x Philips Fidelio DS3020
  • 1 x Philips DVD player
  • 1 x Philips Docking system/Alarm clock
  • 2 x Philips Sonicare toothbrushes
  • 10 x Origin powered by EA codes (free purchase/download of any Sims 3 base game/expansion or stuff packs)

  • 1 x Philips Aquatouch shaver, 1 x copy of The Sims 3 (PC or Console), 1 x copy of The Sims Medieval (PC)

  • 1 x Philips Epilator, 1 x copy of The Sims 3 (PC or Console), 1 x copy of The Sims Medieval (PC)
  • 1 x Philips Stubble Trimmer, 1 x copy of The Sims 3 (PC or Console), 1 x copy of The Sims Medieval (PC)

How To Enter:

You can enter up to three times every day from Wednesday 10th of August to Monday 29th of August:

1 ) By taking a photo of yourself in the stocks at The Sims At The Fringe in front of the Gilded Balloon and uploading it to The Sims UK Facebook page wall or Twitter (with the hashtag #SimsAtTheFringe or with @EA_Shouren in the tweet)

2 ) By liking our daily Facebook status message.

This will be posted in the morning each day on The Sims 3 UK Facebook Page.

3 ) By retweeting our daily competition retweet.

This will be posted in the morning each day on http://twitter.com/EA_Shouren.

Legal Stuff:

Terms and Conditions apply - see here for details

http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/sims-3/1415762-win-prizes-sims-edinburgh-fringe.html