Walang pikunan: The ins and outs of roast battles, according to a stand-up comic

MANILA, Philippines – We’ve all thrown an insult at a friend for laughs. In fact, that’s probably a good gauge of how close you are; if you can roast each other freely, without having to worry about feelings getting hurt, then your bond is pretty solid.

But it’s one thing for friends to casually joke around; it’s a whole other thing when it’s turned into a full-on tournament between comedians: with rules, rounds, and a big black belt for the ultimate victor.

Starting January 6, 2024, production group Comedy Roasts PH will be holding Comedy Roast Battle 2024 over the course of multiple shows – a tournament where some of the best local stand-up comics go head-to-head to find out who among them is Insulter Supreme.

The schedule and venues for Comedy Roast Battle 2024 are as follows:

• January 6 – Wicked Dogs Bonifacio Global City
• January 11 – Mow’s Bar Quezon City
• February 10 – Bistro 62 Quezon City
• February 17 – Social Lounge Parañaque
• March 2 – Wicked Dogs Bonifacio Global City (Finals)

Rappler spoke with stand-up comic Gold Dagal, the man behind the upcoming tournament, to know more about the ins and outs of roasting for sport.

First off, tell us more about yourself.

I’m 36 years old, and a (non-practicing) real estate agent. I’d been looking for solo music gigs on internet forums sometime around late 2017, but ended up doing stand-up comedy instead, because I hated bringing equipment while traveling.

For the uninitiated, what is a roast battle? 

Basically, it’s well-written na asaran (insulting) in joke format (premise, setup, punchline) between two stand-up comics. So expect the wittiest verbal jabs and hilarious haymakers for your entertainment. 

When was the start of Comedy Roast Battles and why did you set it up?

The local roast battles started way back around 2018 with the veterans of the stand-up scene. Trip-trip lang talaga na show noon sa Mow’s Bar sa QC (Back then, it was a more casual, informal show at Mow’s Bar in Quezon City). We just decided to make it bigger, let sponsors come in, and made a championship belt to make the annual event respectable and also ganahan magsulat ng maganda mga kasali (to encourage the contestants to write well). Roast battles already exist in the international scene, so I think it’s time we brought the practice here to the country. 

For the roasts under Comedy Roasts PH, what are the basic rules? And how many comedians will be competing this year?

Basic rules are: five jokes about their competitor from each comedian, with one rebuttal allowed per round, no holds barred, and using original jokes only. Most importantly, we only roast the ones we love, kaya walang pikunan at hanapan ng address or abangan sa labas (so feelings don’t get hurt and people don’t wind up fighting in real life). You will hear the wildest things from the comics in competition, but it’s still a controlled environment. This year there will be 16 competitors and there’s only one elimination per leg, so comedians should be able to put their best foot forward and one-up their respective opponents. 

What makes a good roast joke? 

If it’s a cleverly written insult that you haven’t heard from anyone before that you end up being in awe. Yung tipong masasabi mo na sana nasulat or naisip mo yun (The kind where you end up wishing you’d thought of or written it yourself). Kasama sa pagiging appreciative sa sulat ng kalaban mo yung proseso niya for you to give an appropriate rebuttal joke (Part of appreciating your opponents’ writing is when you see how they clear the way for you to give an appropriate rebuttal).

Has it ever happened that a comedian got really hurt by a joke against them and got mad/discouraged? What do you do when that happens?

It’s a misconception that people get their feelings hurt in these contests, since as stand-up comics, you’re used to public speaking almost every night (or to public humiliation, depending on how the night goes). You have to develop a thick skin if you’re telling jokes onstage because you’re going for the audience’s immediate reaction. If you’ve been to a green room filled with comics, you will see that we like ribbing each other frequently, with extreme prejudice. However, if worse comes to worst, there’ll be free food for the contestants. Kain ka muna, baka gutom lang yan (Eat up, you might just be hangry).

Last year’s Roast Battle champ was Jeleen Cubillas – what was it about her that took her all the way to the top?

Besides being very disarming and soft-spoken, Jeleen’s roasts were brutal. Not to mention, her rebuttals were so quick-witted, and it was clear that roasting came naturally to her. We will always love her for that. I think yung mukhang mabait talaga ang malaki chance manalo sa mga ganito pero we’ll see about that this year (I think it’s the people who look kind and harmless that have a good chance at winning these things, but we’ll see about that this year).

Have there been any changes/improvements in the program/format of the battles from last year’s to this year’s?

I think the biggest change is that we won’t be doing it under Comedy Manila this year. The big guys have been so busy lately – congrats on their dominating success by the way – but here at Comedy Roasts PH we have more freedom and time to create shows based on “roast” concepts, so it won’t just be Roast Battles we’ll be holding. We have stuff planned for the whole year and hopefully, we can pull it off. 

As a stand-up comic, which is harder – doing a regular solo set or taking part in a roast? And why?

Good question. I think the level of difficulty varies so much that it’s like comparing apples to oranges, but we generally enjoy both as stand-up comics. Sa regular set mo, ‘di nakikita ng mga karamihan yung years na pinagdaanan mo sa open mic practice venues para lang gumana yun five minutes’ worth of new jokes na ilalagay mo sa paid shows. Sa roast battles, nagbabato ng sobrang raw na joke na dapat kumagat mga tao for it to be effective, and it takes experience to be effective. It takes time to call oneself a proper “comedian.”

(In your regular sets, most people don’t really see the years of open mics you’ve had to go through to add those five minutes’ worth of new jokes to your paid shows. In roast battles, you’re employing a very raw, new joke that immediately has to be effective, and it takes experience to be effective.)

What’s your advice to comedians who want to join a roast battle?

Have at least a tight 10-minute set under your belt. It’s a sign that you’re good or prepared enough to write something in frequent succession against your opponent at the roast battle. Because you did not come there to just throw shade at someone; you have to be hilarious while verbally dissecting your opponent. They will be giving you the same treatment, so be prepared with what they’ll be throwing at you and take it lightly. They’re just jokes at the end of the day. – Rappler.com

For more information, follow Comedy Roasts PH on Facebook and YouTube.