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comedy festival

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Ruby LA Queer Comedy Festival Is Going Virtual and Taking Submissions
May 28, 2020
News
comedy festival, lgbtq, ruby la queer comedy festival, submissions, the ruby la

As you well know the fate of festivals in these times are far off, some all the way in 2021, due to the necessity of social distancing in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, many innovative minds persist and devise other ways to safely hold a festival and highlight performers that deserve the spotlight. One such festival is The Ruby LA Queer Comedy Festival as they are going to hold their annual LGBTQ focused fest, but will do so by live-streaming NEW, pre-recorded material/performances/sketches from the best LGBTQ voices in comedy.

Right now, they’re taking 3-5 videos submissions for:

  • Stand-up
  • Story-telling
  • Sketches
  • Songs
  • Characters
  • Rants
  • Performance Art
  • Or any funny thing you can think of to submit

The deadline to submit is Jun. 7th at 11:59PM PT and The Ruby LA Queer Comedy Festival will be live-streamed on Jun. 14th, then posted on Jun. 15th.

Submit and get more details here.

The Ruby LA Queer Comedy Festival 2020

Just For Laughs Montreal Rescheduled for Sept. 29-Oct. 11
April 3, 2020
News
comedy festival, just for laughs, montreal, rescheduled

Normally, the internationally renowned Just For Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival would be held annually in the summer in Montreal, Quebec as it has been for decades. Of course, as you well know, normal is on hiatus for awhile.

Yet, let it be known that will not be the case forever. JFL Montreal, that one of the world’s biggest comedy festivals will indeed still be happening, but will be now taking place from Sept. 29th-Oct. 11th.

That includes all of their star studded gala shows, New Faces, and the plethora of showcase shows that comprise their multi-week festival. We wouldn’t be surprised if attendance numbers might be closely monitored for social distancing and safety depending on where we’re all at this fall, but maybe, just maybe, they’ll livestream it (as we will all be well used to that by then).

Moontower Comedy Festival Rescheduled for Sept. 16th-19th
March 25, 2020
News, Uncategorized
atx, austin, comedy festival, moontower, texas

Large gatherings/events of all kinds all over the world in March and April got cancelled and postponed due to COVID-19. Even this year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo might get pushed back. Certainly, live comedy has had to take a pause right along with the rest of the world.

Inevitably, the postponements will get followed up by rescheduling (which we ought to note might be subject to change as everything currently is). Still, it’s hopeful to hear that Austin’s big time annual comedy shindig, The Moontower Comedy Festival is, for now, set to return Wed. Sept. 16th- Sat. Sept. 19th. Hopefully, by then (even before then would be better), there will be some relative return to normalcy and going out and gathering with folks will be allowed again.

Line-up, tickets, and specifics have yet to be announced, but we will absolutely keep you updated.

The Next Comedy Festival Coming to LA Will Be Coming Courtesy of Netflix with Their Very First “Netflix Is a Joke Fest”
March 2, 2020
Uncategorized
comedy festival, los angeles, netflix is a joke, stand up comedy
image

Throwing a comedy festival in Los Angeles is a very, very, VERY daunting prospect. There’s virtually a festival’s worth of comedy every night of the week (a notion you’ve probably had yourself as a reader/follower of the site). 

The resources of entertainment titan like Netflix does afford plenty of resources, access to talent and venues as you can clearly see in the star-studded and internationally stacked line-up above (or in this slick announcement video) that spans dozens of shows and venues. 

The last truly great LA comedy festival, in our opinion, was Riot LA (bringing a damn fine comedy extravaganza to DTLA for a few years) and we’re very excited to know that Riot LA’s founder Abbey Londer is spearheading this new festival (as she is someone who can definitely pull it off and pull it off so well). 

So, with all of that in mind, look to the end of April/beginning of May for Netflix Is a Joke Fest to take over LA comedy.

Southland Comedy Festival Will Be LA’s First Big Time Comedy Festival in Awhile
January 3, 2020
Uncategorized
comedy festival, los angeles, southland comedy festival, stand up comedy

It’s truly hard to put on a festival in LA proper as there’s so much comedy that happens every night of the week that’s worth checking out. As such, Los Angeles only has a big festival every now and again.

Thankfully, the Southland Comedy Festival is kind of leaning into the wealth of talent in the LA comedy scene by not only having SCF shows at many of the major clubs around town, but also some of our favorite indie spots as well (including The Blind Barber, The Comedy Bunker, and Bar Lubitsch). There will be plenty of great shows, and, if you can manage it, you can capture a good cross-section of what stand-up comedy is like in LA. 

Here’s a small promo for the festival that slickly shows you what they’re up to.

This inaugural edition of The Southland Comedy Festival is happening across several venues in LA from Tues. Jan. 7th-Sat. Jan. 11th. and passes are going for just $49-$59. If you’re digging this, get more details, passes, etc. here.

2020 SF Sketchfest Makes First Line-up Announcement
November 22, 2019
Uncategorized
comedy festival, line-up, sf sketchfest
image

That time of the year where San Francisco gets overtaken by a three week full tilt extravaganza of comedy known as the SF Sketchfest is just around the corner (Jan. 9th-26th).

For this 19th edition, they’re stacking the line-up, per usual, with more than you can probably handle. 

So far, just a fraction of their line-up includes: 

Maria Bamford, Fred Armisen, Macaulay Culkin, Patton Oswalt, Margaret Cho, Chris Redd, The Chris Gethard Show, Tributes to Busy Philipps, Robert Klein, Sandra Bernhard, Tony Shaloub, Freestyle Love Supreme with Lin Manuel Miranda, the casts and creators of Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Airplane!

Know full well that there are so many (probably hundreds) of other things yet to be announced as SF Sketchfest is legitimately one of the world’s biggest comedy festivals.

Tickets go on sale this Sun. Nov. 24th at 10AM PST. Once they’re available, go get ‘em here.

Atlanta’s Laughing Skull Comedy Festival Now Taking Submissions for 2020
August 28, 2019
Uncategorized
atlanta, comedy festival, laughing skull festival, open call, stand up comedy, submissions
image

The Laughing Skull Comedy Festival has been going for over a decade down in Atlanta, GA via The Laughing Skull Lounge and has worked its way to be one of the most respected comedy festivals in the country.

They’re gearing up for their 2020 run and are now taking submissions for stand-up comedy here.

Deadlines and fees are as follows:

Early deadline-submit by October 20th-$30​
Regular deadline-submit by October 21st – December 22nd-$40
Final deadline-submit by ​December 23rd – Feb. 24th-$50

Their picks for the festival will be announced Mar. 9th, 2020. Go get all the info and submit for The 2020 Laughing Skull Comedy Festival here.

7th Annual High Plains Comedy Festival Makes First Line-Up Announcement
July 22, 2019
Uncategorized
comedy festival, denver, high plains
image

Denver’s High Plains Comedy Festival is one of the best comedy festivals (that’ just a comedy festival rather than part of a bigger music and arts festival) that we have going in the U.S. Now in it’s 7th year, it looks to keep that way for the weekend of Thurs. Sept. 26th-Sat. Sept. 28th.

The first wave of comics announced for this year sure makes it seem like High Plains will continue on its hot streak.

Thus far, scheduled to perform:

–   Moshe Kasher
–   Kyle Kinane
–   Rhea Butcher
–   Adam Cayton-Holland
–   Baron Vaughn
–   Andrew Orvedahl
–   Ben Roy
–   Ian Karmel
–   David Gborie
–   Kate Willett
–   Chris Garcia
–   Shane Torres
–   Sean Jordan
–   Nore Davis
–   Kyle Ayers
–   Amy Miller
–   Joyelle Nicole Johnson
–   Allen Strickland Williams
–   Eric Dadourian
–   Joe Kwaczala
–   Charla Lauriston
–   Dave Stone
–   Bryan Cook
–   Maggie Maye
–   Andy Peters
–   Sammy Arechar
–   Casey Ley
–   Barbara Gray
–   Mike Carrozza
–   Adam Burke
–   Chelsea Hood
–   David Perdue
–   Zach Peterson
–   Ian Aber
–   Anwar Newton
–   Mike Turner
–   Troy Walker
–   Chris Charpentier
–   Jordan Doll
–   Mara Wiles
–   Stephen Agyei
–   Brent Gill
–   Rachel Weeks
–   Matt Monroe
–   Kevin O’Brien
–   Mallory Wallace
–   Eric Henderson
–   Nolawee Mengist

Pretty great, right? If you’re in and around Denver, CO at the end of Sept., you really ought to snag a $140 pass or get some tickets to as much of this as you can. Get more details, tickets, passes, etc. for High Plains here.
July 17, 2019
Uncategorized
comedy festival, comedy shows, improv comedy, pack theater, sketch comedy, stand up comedy

If you’re not familiar with or been to or, more importantly, come to really dig what’s going at The Pack Theater over the last 4 years, you really ought to fix that.

A great way to do so is by going to PackCon, the annual celebration of the best of the best at The Pack Theater. Their favorite improv, sketch, stand-up, experimental comedy, and more will be on display for one giant day/night of comedy. That line-up will include Adam McKay, Kevin Dorff, Christina Gausas, Sean Conroy, Ryan Ridley, Stephnie Weir, Bob Dassie, James Adomian, Jackie Zebrowski, Henry Zebrowski, Tommy Blacha, Rob Haze, Annie Mebane, Nick Turner, Andres du Bouchet, Murderfist, Chopping Block, BioDome, Miles Stroth Celebrity All-Star Improv Set, Speedface, and more!

PackCon 4 will be taking place on Sat. Jul. 27th at The Pack Theater from 12PM-12AM???

There’s a good part of this PackCon4 that’s the nice price of Pay What You can, but there are specific shows that are $10. Get all the details for everything PackCon4 here.

The First Ever Southland Comedy Festival Is Taking Submissions for Stand-Up
June 27, 2019
Uncategorized
comedy festival, los angeles, open call, southland comedy festival, stand up comedy, submissions
image

Finally, someone is giving another shot at throwing a legit comedy festival in LA.

The Southland Comedy Festival, set to debut Jan. 7th-11th, 2020, will feature the best stand-up they can find in and throughout the LA scene at comedy clubs, bars, underground venues, and more. For specific showcases, they’re really try to go out of their way for industry execs and reps to be see bright, shiny, new stand-up talent that ought to be elevated.

All you need is a 5-7 min. tape to send and $35 submission fee (until July 25th, then $45 until August 25th, $60 until October 25th) for consideration. If you’re interested in submitting, do so here.

Get more details in general about the first Southland Comedy Festival here.

Here’s the Del Close Marathon 21 Schedule
June 12, 2019
Uncategorized
comedy festival, dcm21, del close marathon, improv comedy, long form improv, los angeles, ucb, upright citizens brigade

Del Close Marathon, the long running 55 hour long form improv marathon has its schedule up and running, though, as you can see, this seems to be just the sort-of primetime slots (DCM goes non-stop the entire weekend in case you didn’t know). 

There are plenty of the mainstay and big time shows (ASSSSCAT, Hebecky Drysbell, UCBTNY All Stars) from here in LA and some from NYC (as well other teams from elsewhere in the country) and then something called “Other Show”, which, we’re assuming will be a whirlwind of dozens upon dozens of teams performing in the wee hours of the morning and the actual morning. 

We currently don’t have the details and line-ups for those time slots, but we’ll let you know as soon as we do. You can count on those 1AM-1PM slots being a fast, furious blur of improv from teams big, small, weird, weirder, and otherwise.

Get more details, tickets/passes, and more about DCM 21, tickets/passes here.

Toronto’s JFL42 Has Everything From Carol Burnett to John Mulaney/Pete Davidson to How Did This Get Made? to Eric Andre
June 6, 2019
Uncategorized
carol burnett, comedy festival, cristela alonzo, eric andre, how did this get made, jfl, jfl42, john mulaney, jon dore, jonathan van ness, just for laughs, marc maron, michelle wolf, nate bargatze, nick kroll, pete davidson, ron funches, toronto

As you can clearly see in the flyer above, that headline could go way longer as the more fan-focused JFL festival in Toronto, JFL42, is packed with top shelf talent that covers so many eras, styles, sensibilities, etc. of comedy that it might be worth making the trek out to Toronto to see all of that in one week, especially if you don’t live in LA or NYC. 

You’ve got some time as JFL42 isn’t until mid Sept., but you best get your passes and tickets now (the VIP Pass already sold out). Passes are going for $84-$199 (not including service charges). Go get more details and tickets/passes here.

And Now for a Clusterfest ‘19 PSA
May 24, 2019
Uncategorized
clusterfest, comedy central, comedy festival, san francisco

Comedy Central has been throwing a pretty nice shindig of a festival up in San Francisco for a few years and the latest edition of Clusterfest seems like it’ll be no different. 

Here’s Patton Oswalt, Ilana Glazer, Nicole Byer, Craig Robinson, Jonathan Van Ness, Jeff Ross, Guy Branum, Nick Thune, Quinta Brunson, Chris DiStefano, and Matteo Lane to give you a “PSA” about it. Of course, that’s only a fraction of the line-up (which also includes Amy Poehler, John Mulaney, My Favorite Murder, The Roots, Chelsea Peretti, Courtney Barnett, and way more).

Get more details about Clusterfest (happening Jun. 21st-23rd) here.
March 15, 2019
Uncategorized
arts district, best friends show, character comedy, comedy festival, comedy show, dtla, experimental comedy, festival fest, ian abramson, los angeles, parody, sketch comedy

Sure, you’ve been to a festival before. If you’re reading this, you’ve likely been to a comedy festival. However, have you been to a comedy show that gathers a bunch of festivals that parody the idea of the biggest festivals around like SXSW, Coachella, etc. (and probably FYRE too) in one night? 

The folks behind The Best Friends Show and Atlantic City along with wonderful musical comedy group The Cooties and so many other great LA comedy performers are gathering to do just that and you’ll get to see something that you have (probably) not seen before and will very likely get a huge kick out of. 

Best of all, it’s just a single comedy show as opposed to an entire festival where you have to rearrange your entire life and finances to go to.

It’s called Festival Fest and it’s happening next Saturday. Go get your tickets here now.

SF Sketchfest Makes First Announces 2019 Line-Up
November 19, 2018
Uncategorized
aparna nancherla, carol burnett, comedy festival, janeane garofalo, lauren lapkus, paul f tompkins, san francisco, sf
image

It’s almost that time again for one of the world’s biggest comedy festivals to make all of your dream comedy line-ups come true (probably to the point where you’re overwhelmed). Already, Carol Burnett, Big Terrific, Paul F. Tompkins, Janeane Garofalo, Lauren Lapkus, Aparna Nancherla, and Laraine Newman is so damn good and that’s only a fraction of this portion of the line-up.

SF Sketchfest will be taking over San Francisco from Jan. 10th-27th and offer this already overflowing chalice of comedy riches with truly much, much more to come.

Tickets went on sale yesterday and you can (and very much should) go snag them here.
November 1, 2018
Uncategorized
comedy festival, dtla, free, usc
image

The University of Southern California not only has the nation’s top film school, but is also one of the most respected institutions in the land to have a specific concentrations on comedy. Not only do they have minors in comedy, but Wayne Federman is teaching stand-up there.

With that being the case, they have been having a comedy festival on campus, specifically at the USC School of Cinematic Arts featuring exclusive panel discussions, advanced preview screenings, and live performances.

This weekend, they’ll have:
a screening of CBS All Access’ No Activity
a special edition of Dead Pilots Society 
a Frasier 25th Anniversary Celebration
panels on women comedy showrunners, inclusion, and the stand-up special that include Ian Karmel, Neal Brennan, Natasha Leggero, Kenya Barris, Danielle Perez, JR De Guzman, and more!

Best, of all it’s all free so long as you RSVP. Get in on all of the USC Comedy Festival right here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

10,000 Laughs Comedy Festival to Bring Rory Scovel, Emily Heller, Ian Karmel, More to the Twin Cities This Year
October 15, 2018
Uncategorized
10000 laughs, comedy festival, twin cities
image

This week, specifically Wednesday, October 17th-Saturday, October 20th, many LA favorites will be headed to the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul), MN for the annual 10,000 Laughs Comedy Festival.

That line-up includes the aforementioned Scovel, Heller, and Karmel as well as Rhea Butcher, Taylor Tomlinson, Ahamed Weinberg, Ahmed Bharoocha, and Andy Erikson. There will also be a live taping of one of the most fun podcasts out there, All Fantasy Everything and a special edition of the stunt comedy variety spectacular known as Late Late Breakfast. From the schedule, it looks like it’ll be a nice and tight weekend of comedy that you really ought to not miss if you can swing it.

If you’re in, around, or headed to Minnesota this week, you might want to snag some tickets right here.

Atlanta’s Red Clay Comedy Festival Is Back This Weekend
September 25, 2018
Uncategorized
atlanta, comedy festival, red clay
image

As you can see above with headliners Janeane Garofalo and Ron Funches along with an album taping of Joe DeRosa and a bunch of upcoming stars from around the country (like Jordan Doll, Nicole Aimée Schreiber, John-Michael Bond), you really ought to make your way to the Red Clay Comedy Festival if you’re anywhere near Atlanta this weekend.

You can (and should) go get your tickets here.
August 13, 2018
Uncategorized
comedy festival, festival, free comedy, free show, hollywood, los angeles, pack theater, packcon

The Pack Theater in Hollywood is throwing their third annual one-day festival known as PackCon this Saturday!

It’s a premium offering of what The Pack has to offer, which is often as wild, devil-may-care, fun, and irreverent as can be.

TO BE FEATURED AT THIS PACKCON 3: 
Ian Roberts
Esther Povitsky
Matt Jones
Kurt Braunohler
Kevin Dorff
Matt Jones
Christina Gausas
Julian McCullough
Johnny Pemberton
Liquid Feet
Subhah Agarwal
Drew Droege
Suzi Barrett
Jetzo
Dark Matters
Brian Moses
Heather Anne Campbell
Brent Weinbach
Speedface
Pack Theater House Sketch & Improv Teams
and much more!

The majority of the festival is pay what you can, as that’s the normal Pack Theater policy, however admission for 9PM & 10PM shows are $15 a pop. Get more details and the full schedule here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
August 12, 2018
Uncategorized
comedy festival, improv comedy, indie improv, los angeles, los feliz, silverlake

For years, the LA Indie Improv Festival has highlighted the diamonds in the rough that comprise indie improv within LA’s massive comedy scene. 

This upcoming weekend (Saturday, Aug. 18th & Sunday Aug. 19th), the 7th (and final) LA Indie Improv Festival will commence at The Clubhouse in Los Feliz and Lyr featuring the likes of such improv luminaries as Heather Anne Campbell, Monika Smith, Rococo, Sassy Bluff, Drew DiFonzo Marks, Private Street, South Asian AF Superteam, and oh so much more.

Oh yeah, they’ll even have improv on a party bus going between venues.

One last thing: admission to all of those is FREE, by the way.

Get a full look at the schedule here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

Second City Hollywood’s LA Diversity in Comedy Festival Is Now Taking Submissions
July 31, 2018
Uncategorized
comedy festival, improv comedy, los angeles, open call, second city, sketch comedy, stand up, submissions

Second City Hollywood’s LA Diversity in Comedy Festival Is Now Taking Submissions

The world famous Second City will be having their latest LA Diversity in Comedy Festival from October 11th-14th. They will be featuring diverse sketch, improv, and stand-up and, as such, are accepting submissions up until Saturday, September 1st. 

That gives you a month (i.e. plenty of time) to get your submissions in.

Get more details and submit here.

Petaluma, CA Is Getting Its First Comedy Festival with Pet-A-Llama
July 21, 2018
Uncategorized
comedy festival, norcal, pet a llama, podcasts, sf, stand up
image

Just North of San Francisco rests the town of Petaluma, CA that hasn’t the pleasure of hosting a comedy festival like the one coming next month. 

Pet-A-Llama, presented by Blonde Medicine, seems like it’s going to start off quite nicely for its first go around (just like at the line-up above).

Tickets range from $10-$20 (and some shows are even free) are on sale now here.

Get more details, schedule, etc. for the first Pet-A-Llama Comedy Festival here.

2018 Outside Lands Announces Barbary Comedy & Improv Line-Up with Michelle Wolf, Chelsea Peretti, Hanging with Paul Scheer, and More!
July 13, 2018
Uncategorized
barbary, comedy festival, improv, outside lands, san francisco, stand up
image

As you probably well know by now, San Francisco gets some really dazzling line-ups for their comedy festivals. If you think about who’s playing SF Sketchfest, Clusterfest, and The Barbary Comedy Tent at Outside Lands, it’s a real treasure trove of comedy on a pretty regular basis. 

This year’s Barbary line-up for Outside Lands is no exception as you can see above. 

If you live or will be in the SF area on August 10th-12th, you’ll probably want to go to this. Passes are on sale now starting at $149.50 for a single day and $375 for a 3-day pass.

Denver’s High Plains Comedy Festival Announces 1st Wave of Their Line-Up
June 25, 2018
Uncategorized
comedy festival, comedy podcast, denver, high plains, line-up, stand up
image

Oh boy, that’s a doozy of a line-up. Denver’s own High Plains Comedy Festival has carved quite a niche for themselves in terms of comedy festivals that any and all should be attending in the U.S. Included in that collage (which has plenty of our favorites from around the country) are:

–   James Adomian
–   Emily Heller
–   Jackie Kashian
–   Baron Vaughn
–   Adam Cayton-Holland
–   Jonah Ray
–   Solomon Georgio
–   Jake Weisman
–   Eliza Skinner
–   Ian Karmel
–   Shane Torres
–   Andrew Orvedahl
–   Byron Bowers
–   Chris Fairbanks
–   Amy Miller
–   David Gborie
–   Emma Arnold
–   Jak Knight
–   Nato Green
–   Clare O’Kane
–   Sean Jordan
–    Shalewa Sharpe
–    James Fritz
–   Irene Tu
–   Eric Dadourian
–   Dan Gill
–   Dante Powell
–   Steph Tolev
–   Troy Walker
–   Samantha Ruddy
–   Chris Charpentier
–   Caitlin Weierhauser
–   Jordan Doll
–   Mara Wiles
–   Candice Thompson
–   Andrew Michael
–   Vanessa Gonzalez
–   Johan Miranda
–   Matt Monroe
–   Kristin Rand
–   Stephen Agyei
–   Genevieve Rice
–   Wes Van Horn
–   Brittany Carney
–   Kevin O’Brien
–   Brent Gill

You can catch all these lovely folks at High Plains from Thurs. Aug. 23rd-Sat. Aug. 25th.

Get full details on the line-up here and keep a close eye on tickets here.

The Ruby LA Is Throwing a Queer Comedy Festival on LA Pride Weekend
June 1, 2018
Uncategorized
comedy festival, hollywood, la pride, los angeles, pride weekend, the ruby la
image

The newly minted Ruby LA that opened with a mission of diversity and inclusivity is throwing a Queer Comedy Festival for LA Pride Weekend next week. They’ve assembled a big line-up featuring the great comedy stylings of Erin Foley, Riley Silverman, Ever Mainaird, Lauri Roggenkamp, and many more queer comedians for six hours of shows on June 9th. 

FYI, the LA Pride Parade is on June 10th, so you can enjoy comedy on Saturday and floats on Sunday. 

Also, take note that it’s only $15 for a pass and $5 for tickets to individual shows. Get your tickets here.

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