With Just For Laughs fast approaching, a ton of comedians will descend on our scene to put the finishing touches on their sets. Where will they be performing? Follow me as I walk you through This Week In Comedy...

MON JULY 15 / ALTdot COMEDY LOUNGE / RIVOLI / 334 QUEEN W / 9PM / $5

The Just For Laughs Homegrown Competition is a show that aims to determine who deserves the title of best emerging stand-up in Canada. Four of the ten contestants are on this show, namely, Chris Locke, Craig Fay, Graham Kay, and Christophe Davidson. By the way, the 2011 winner, Dave Merheje, is also on this show. NUTS. You don't get any better than that.

TUES JULY 16 / DON'T GET BORED OF US AND LEAVE / THE OSSINGTON / 61 OSSINGTON / 9PM / FREE

Over the past few weeks, I've been heralding the return of David Dineen-Porter, sketch, stand-up, and improv extraordinaire, fresh of the heels of his performances in LA and the Bridgetown Comedy Festival. But, whatever you do, don't sleep on his co-producer in crime, Tom Henry. There's a lot of people who try to be as quiet as Tom but don't have the punchlines to back it up. At the NXNE Laugh Sabbath show last month, I saw him put on a ten-minute set that was rivaled only by current JFL Homegrown candidate, the amazing Chris Locke. In all honesty, I'd put Tom's showcase set against anyone in Toronto right now.

WED JULY 17 - SUN JULY 21 / JUST FOR LAUGHS WARM-UP / ABSOLUTE COMEDY / 2335 YONGE / 8PM / $6-15

With the JFL Festival just around the corner, comics will be scrambling to polish up their five to seven's. Absolute is capitalizing on this frenzy by hosting a series of warm-up shows that will allow the big names to put the finishing touches on their sets. On any given night, be prepared to see some of the best that Toronto has to offer. Oh, and just because they're working things out, that doesn't mean you're not going to laugh. On the contrary, some of the biggest laughs come when jokes don't hit! I know that doesn't make sense, but you'll see what I mean the moment a comic thinks he's landing on a punchline only to fall into silence. Often times, that's when the real comedy begins...

About the Author: This is Michael Jagdeo, and I refuse to write about myself in the third-person. My blog, Diary of a Stand-up Comedian, walks you through the up's and down's (they're mostly down's, really) in my quest to become a killer comic in Toronto.