The annual Pun-Off World Championships, based in Austin, are a celebration of groan-inducing wordplay. This year, the free event takes place starting at 11 AM on Sat., May 22nd, at Brush Square, 409 E. Fifth Street.
As explained on the Pun-Off's website, the yearly event involves two categories of competition: the "Punniest of Show," a section of rehearsed 90-second bits, and an off-the-cuff "Punslingers" challenge, "which involves a rapid-fire exchange of puns between contestants, until one is left speechless."
Ahead of this year's Pun-Off, 2009 "Punslingers" winner Matt Pollock answered some questions about what drives him to pun, his secrets to Pun-Off success and who he expects to dominate the competition in this year's competition.
First, can you provide a short bio -- where are you from, how long have you been in Austin, what do you do for work and what do you do for fun?
I've lived in Austin for the last five years after moving here from Florida for work. I'm a computer engineer by trade and an improv comedian for fun. There's no other place in Texas (and very few in the country) that I'd live in now that Austin is in my blood.
What led to your participation in the 2009 Pun-Off?
I've actually competed in the Pun-Off for the past three years, having come in second place last year to my friend Valerie, and getting shamed pretty early the year before that. I originally heard of the Pun-Off from the pun listserv that P.U.N.Y. puts out, which I had been on for a few years in college. I didn't realize that the listserv was sent out from Austin, and that the Pun-Off I'd read about was just down the road, until I'd already lived here over a year. I saw the big Pun-Off sign off I-35 near Airport one day and it suddenly clicked.
How did you prepare yourself for the Pun-Off?
The best thing is to practice the punnery all the time, which I do (much to the chagrin of my fiancée). A few years ago a bunch of us improvisers got together and did some mock pun tournaments, which really helped. The hardest part of the competition isn't coming up with a pun, it is thinking of a word in the category on which to make a pun that one of the other folks in your round hasn't already used. I actually spend some time thinking of as many things in a category as I can, kind of an idle task for my brain to chew on if I'm driving or sitting in a boring meeting.
What was your personal best -- or winning -- pun?
Wow...there's too many to think of. The way the Punslingers tournament works is that you're judged on whether you can make a legitimate, original pun in five seconds or less, and play continues until somebody chokes. So, it's not that I told the best pun of the day, but rather that the stream of terrible puns from my mouth never ended.
How did it feel to win the 2009 Punslingers tournament?
Overwhelming relief -- coming up with an original pun every 10 seconds for hours is pretty taxing on the brain. I don't think I could tell you my middle name by the end of it, but I could tell you a list of several hundred items that relate to the category of "Cooking - No Food." Seriously, that last round alone lasted over 40 minutes, though it felt like an eternity and a half.
Who's your toughest competition in 2010 Punslingers tournament?
Honestly, with this format, anyone can win, but I suspect that the biggest challenge will come from the improv community. An improviser has won the past three years (myself, Valerie Ward, and Arthur Simone being the last three), and I know there are even more talented punsters out there just waiting to give it a go.
Any of the folks who went far in previous years (Ben Ziek, Carmen Petrick and many others whose names escape me).
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