A strong contingent of Vancouver comedians have made it to the semi-final round of SiriusXM’s Top Comic competition.

Local laugh-getters include Graham Clark, Sophie Buddle, Kevin Banner, John Beuhler, Chris Griffin, Chris Gaskin, and Tim Nutt (who's now in Kelowna), all vying to be the country's best standup.

Many of them are regulars at the Comedy MIX and the JFL NorthWest fest, and have already earned big applause in their careers: Banner, for instance, has opened for the likes of Bill Burr and Norm Macdonald, and Beuhler for Zach Galifinakis, Martin Short, and Craig Ferguson. 

The award will be big for whoever nabs the prize: he or she will get $25,000 and guaranteed spots in the 2017 Just For Laughs festivals in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.

Comedy fans can weigh in on their favourites in an online vote that takes place until August 22 to select the eight finalists who will perform at the SiriusXM Top Comic Finale this September. At the competition website, you can watch video of the comedians plying their craft--including Graham Clark riffing on reading a hard-to-find Yellow Pages and Kevin Banner recounting a weight-loss hypnosis track.

Some of the locals' online videos and voting are here:

Christopher Griffin, Graham Clark, John Beuhler, Sophie Buddle, and Chris Gaskin.

And, just to get you in the mood, is Buddle's routine, in which, among other topics, she looks at the benefits of tanning salons over exercise.