Acappella Comedy Industry Awards 2008

After 3 years promoting and producing club comedy shows, 150+ shows and 80 performers later, the Acappella Comedy Industry Awards (ACIAs) have been borne as a relationship-building competition between Acappella Productions and comedians on the South African club comedy circuit. The purpose is two-fold: to fairly reward and encourage comedians (both new and seasoned) that demonstrate consistent professionalism; and to provide artists with a formal and credible award for their biographies and corporate referrals.

The nominees and winners (marked with an asterisk) for the 2008 awards are:

1) TRUSTY STEED AWARD - most reliable and dependable comic

Vittorio Leonardi*
Etienne Shardlow
Shaun Wewege

2) CONTINGENCY AWARD - last-minute save-the-day pitch-ups

Melt Sieberhagen*
Al Prodgers
Dale Amler

3) BUSINESSMAN AWARD - most professional comic

Al Prodgers*
Martin Evans
Chris Forrest

4) SCRIBE AWARD - fastest turnaround of new material

Vittorio Leonardi*
Trevor Noah
Melt Sieberhagen

5) JET-SET AWARD - comic most willing to travel to/from shows

Martin Evans (from Cape Town)*
Magic Man (from Nigel)
Roland Raible (from Magaliesberg)

6) GOODWILL AWARD - most pleasant comic to deal with

Alyn Adams*
Hannes Brummer*
Martin Jonas
Tumi Morake
Shaun Wewege
Ryan Whittal

7) PROMO BUNNY AWARD - comic who markets their shows the best

Glen Bo*
Vittorio Leonardi
Mum-Z

8) NEW TALENT DEVELOPER AWARD - comic who introduces new performers

Martin Jonas*
Mum-Z
Vittorio Leonardi

9) SEEKER AWARD - for comic that consistently applies for stagetime

Jan Bredenkamp*
Joseph Kapay
Chris Mapane

10) DA VINCI AWARD - most innovative comic

Magic Man (magic)*
Conrad Koch (ventriloquism, puppeteering)
Tony Stewart (impressionism)
Alyn Adams (music)
Glen Bo (alternative)

About the "Bottletop Man"
The "bottletop man" was chosen as the official decorative piece for the 2008 trophies. The "bottletop man" is a very traditional South African curio, made of regular metal bottle caps from beers and glass-bottled beverages, strung together with wire. It is the ultimate symbol of resourcefulness. All the "bottletop men" in the 11 awards are depicted in an energetic stance with a microphone in hand.