Five minutes and a microphone is all Dylan Horvat has to prove he is Australia's next big comedian.
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Raw Comedy, Australia's comedic alternative to Australian Idol, will hold its Wollongong heats this Thursday.
Illawarra audiences might just find out why the chicken crossed the road with hopefuls auditioning before a panel of judges at Wollongong Town Hall, vying for a spot in the state finals.
The ultimate winner features at the Melbourne International Comedy festival and is granted a spot at the hallowed Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Brave entrants will either leave the audience in fits of laughter or hear the chirping of crickets if their previously unheard jokes fall flat.
Horvat remains stoic about his fate and doesn't need to rely on the old picturing-the-audience-naked tactic.
"It's just you facing the audience. I remember entering last year and looking at my left hand and watching it shake," he said
"But you know why you're here and they know why they're here and having an audience laughing at your jokes gives you confidence to keep going."
Watching his idols like Carl Barren, Louis CK and Jim Jefferies helps Horvat prepare.
"After watching the clips the ideas start flowing and I quickly start writing them down."
Horvat prefers not to preview his jokes to family and friends and rather compiles his material a few days out of a performance.
"It's a lot harder performing to mum in the loungeroom or my grandparents who have to laugh because you're their grandson," he said.
See Illawarra's would-be comedians go head-to-head at RAW Comedy's Wollongong heat on Thursday at 8pm, Wollongong Town Hall.