The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is a important event each year in Australia – and for the comedy world at large. And of course all eyes are on the nominees for the big award, the “Barry” – but that’s not the only noteworthy trophy…
When comedians gather at the bar after a night at the festival, they may talk about audiences or about promoters or about venues, but mostly they talk about each other’s new shows! Who’s doing something new, interesting, crazy or just jaw-droppingly hilarious. Whose shows are must-sees. Sometimes the most talented people don’t get the recognition they deserve (much less movie and TV roles) because they’re just too new and different, too groundbreaking or edgy for the mainstream.
I think all artists are frustrated by the often random-seeming way that the industry hands out credit and fame. But sometimes they take objects into their own hands… such is the case with the Piece of Wood Award!
Launched in 1998 by renowned Melbourne comedian Greg Fleet, the Piece of Wood was simply a stray length of two-by-four grabbed from the floor of a backstage kitchen in an impromptu ceremony to honour Miss Itchy, a bizarre duo whose act that year had blown the proverbial roof off the room (and who ended up winning the inaugural Barry Award as well)
As unusual a name for an award as I’ve heard, the “Wood of joy” has become a tradition in Melbourne. Each winner is voted upon by the past winners, and the list includes luminaries and legends of the industry such as Stewart Lee and Simon Munnery, famous names like Rich Fulcher and Charlie Pickering, and lesser-known worthies like Andy Zaltzman and Sam Simmons.
Each winner is required to bite into the wood, in order to leave tooth marks (and theoretically, their DNA!) for posterity. The trophy is handed down from comic to comic, except when it’s overlooking or taken back to another country, when sometimes it’s recreated in a private ceremony – the details of which are held in sacred trust…
Being a Wood winner means that you’ve done more than just deliver a crowd-pleasing show – you’ve gone above and beyond the normal, the expected. You’ve pushed the boundaries and changed the rules. You’ve topped yourself and wowed your peers. Or maybe you’ve just gone stark raving mad, if you’re the sort of person who does that in a humourous way!
One thing is for sure – you can find lots of boring awards which are given out for lots of ordinary reasons that don’t always have to do with quality. But if you want to know which comics impress other comedians (who have impressed other comics in their turn!), look no further than the Wood of joy!
Ben is a longtime friend and fan of comedy. He learned about this award from its first recipients miss Itchy, and is gathering information to contribute to the Piece of Wood Award homepage
