Comedy Bureau Readers Get Discount on Submitting to Burbank Comedy Festival
The very first Burbank Comedy Festival has been nice enough to give all of you a discount on entering their festival. Instead of $75, if you follow the link above, you can enter for $50 until the end of this month.
Take advantage of this while you can
The First Annual Burbank Comedy Festival Now Taking Submissions
The Burbank Comedy Festival is having its inaugural run this year in August at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank. Stand-up comedians, sketch performers, comedy short films, improv, magic, and variety are all welcome to submit now through Jun. 30th.
If you’re interested, you might want to submit by Jun. 1st, when the submission fee is $50. Afterwards, submitting will cost $75.
Campus MovieFest, Fox ADHD, and Adobe Team Up for Animake This! Contest
If you’re a college student and interested in making cartoons or getting into animation at all, then the Animake This! contest is for you.
Campus MovieFest, Fox ADHD, and Adobe have partnered to find great new animators/illustrators/composers etc. by taking submissions of a wide variety of pieces from college students.
If you win, you could get to see the inner workings of Fox ADHD, Adobe products, etc. Perhaps, this could be the start of making the next great Fox cartoon.
CC:Studios Taking Submissions for Female Roommate of Female Comedian
Comedy Central’s CC:Studios is doing a new web series that will involve a female comedian rooming with another female and, assumedly, seeing what happens.
So, if you’re a female between the ages of 18-29 and are down for having a female comedian as a roommate for a week, maybe you should enter into this thing.
Disney Launching Storytellers Initiative to Find and Develop Live Action Comedy Pilot
Disney is reaching out for submissions to find a brand new ideas for a live action comedy series. This brand new Disney Channel Storytellers is an 20 week compensated program that will develop a project for pilot consideration.
Do note that you must have representation already and live in LA for the program. Still, if you can get into this, it will be a pretty great opportunity and a chance for something really original to make it to The Disney Channel.
What Comedy Festivals Are Looking For in Comedians
Jenn Tisdale at Brightest Young Things did some wonderful legwork in finding out what comedy festivals are looking for in potential performers.
She asked the folks behind Bridgetown (Portland, OR), Women In Comedy Festival (Boston, MA), Charm City (Baltimore, MD), Comedy Exposition (Chicago, IL), Bentzen Ball (Washington D.C.), Hell Yes Fest (New Orleans, LA & Austin, TX), and Riot LA (Los Angeles, CA) and compiled this nice article of their answers and explanations at the link.
Chicago’s The Comedy Exposition Still Taking Submissions
In the absence of JFL Chicago, people are starting their own comedy festivals in Chicago such as the Onion/A.V. Club’s First Annual 26th Annual Comedy Festival and, most recently, The Comedy Exposition.
The inaugural Comedy Exposition in Chicago is open for submissions until May 10th (early deadline is this Sat. Apr. 26th) for comedians.
This comedy festival will take place July 11th-13th across three Chicago neighborhoods.
3rd Annual LA Indie Improv Festival Open For Submissions
The LA Indie Improv Festival is now in its 3rd year, which impressive knowing how DIY/indie this festival is, and is still open to all improv teams to submit to potentially play on May 24th.
The deadline to submit is Apr. 30th and there is a submission fee of $10 and would be a good opportunity to join in the improv scene here in LA, which is, whether you know it or not, pretty vibrant.
NBC Starts Comedy Playground Initiative to Launch Two Series in 2015
NBC is making a bold, but great move, by looking for two new original comedy series via submissions at their brand new Comedy Playground.
There will be taking pitches that will be reviewed by a board made up of Aziz Ansari, Jason Bateman, Robert Carlock, Sean Hayes, Mindy Kaling, Jason Katims, Josh Lieb, Eva Longoria, Adam McKay, Seth Meyers, Todd Milliner, Will Packer, Amy Poehler, Craig Robinson, Maya Rudolph, Mike Schur, Adam Scott and Mike Shoemaker, then narrowed to ten projects for pilot presentations, then will greenlight two series to follow each other in an one-hour block.
We can only hope that they’ll find their next hit comedy series to follow Parks and Recreation and Community for next year.
LA Film Fest and Funny or Die’s Make Em LAFF Competition Taking Submissions
The LA Film Festival and Funny or Die have joined forces for a short film/web video comedy competition for underrepresented communities in the comedy world.
If you have a video under 5 min that highlights your voice as “artists of color, women and/or LGBT” and submit before May 9th, 2014, then you could win cash, a talent holding deal, and more.
Best of all, it’s free to submit.
Brooklyn Comedy Festival Taking Submissions Through Apr. 30th
This Summer, you could be in a comedy festival in Brooklyn, appropriately called The Brooklyn Comedy Festival, as it’s taking submissions for performers.
You have up until 9PM PST Apr. 30th to submit, so if you live in NYC or plan on being there around then, you should get in on this.
This Summer, Funny or Die is embarking on their massive comedy festival tour known as Oddball and, this time around, they’re holding a contest to find a stand up comedian to join Oddball.
More details are here or you can watch this promo then get more details/enter into the contest here.
Submit Your Quirky, Awesome Film to Hell Yes Fest
Hell Yes Fest is a “bad ass comedy festival” from that resides both in Austin, TX, and New Orleans, LA and features many of our favorite comedians. They’re also having a film portion of their festival, which you can submit to. Whether it be a web series, pilot, feature film, etc., it’ll be up for consideration for Hell Yes Fest! in New Orleans Nov 12-16th.
Early deadline is July 1st and then final deadline is Sept. 8th. if you’re interested.
TBS is doing their own comedy competition series called Funniest Wins hosted by Marlon Wayans that’s looking for any sort of funny whether it be sketch, stand up, improv, digital short, musical comedy, etc. etc. so long as it’s the funniest. Thus, the title the funniest wins.
If interested, send a couple of clips and a brief intro to anhie@funniestwinscasting.com.
Make a Movie with Jean Claude Van Damme Doing a Bunch of Stuff on Green Screen
Funny or Die has gotten together with Jean Claude Van Damme and shot him doing a bunch of the types of action scenes that got him famous in front of green screen.
You can get the green screen footage and make your own Van Damme action (or another genre if you so choose) that you want as part of the JCVD Make My Movie Challenge.
The best one wins a prize and the deadline to submit is 3/3, but we’re wondering how long it will take for someone to put cats in the background.
Season 8 of Last Comic Standing Apparently Taking E-mail Submissions
Reportedly, there will be no more lines outside of comedy clubs in order to audition for the upcoming season Last Comic Standing, but you’ll still be able to go without representation having to submit you on their behalf.
No word on a deadline, but ASAP would probably be better than letter.
2014 Bridgetown Comedy Festival Taking Submissions Until Jan. 24th
One of the best comedy festivals in the country, The Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, OR, has been taking submissions since the end of 2013 and will do so for a week more.
If you’re a comedian or a comedy show and want in, you have until midnight Jan. 24th to submit.
Bloomington, Indiana’s Limestone Comedy Festival Taking Submissions
Indiana’s own The Limestone Comedy Festival is back for 2014, taking place from May 29th-31st.
They’re taking submissions for comedians all the way up to March 21st and might be a good chance to get a comedy festival under your belt/get to do a comedy festival with Jimmy Pardo and Ron Funches.
JASH Is Now Taking Video Submissions to Feature via Twitter
You now have the chance to submit your videos to be featured on JASH’s YouTube network by tweeting at them.
We’re not sure if this will set you on your way to being a YouTube star, but it wouldn’t hurt. Also, if you didn’t do the math, this is a free contest to submit to.
The LA Film Festival Taking Submissions for 2014
Deadlines range from Dec. 6th to Feb. 21st to enter The LA Film Festival for american and international narrative and documentaries, short, mid-length films, music videos, and now, high school short films.
With that said, please enter so we can get more comedy into higher profile film festivals instead of just having ones focus on comedy.
Rob Delaney Taking Story Submissions for Six Word Festival via Twitter
Yes, there is a festival celebrating ideas expressed in six words, The Six Word Festival on Twitter, perfectly designed for Twitter, which, of course, has to bring in one of Twitter’s funniest in Rob Delaney.
Have a response to whatever prompt in six words and you might just get RT’d by Delaney, which is probably one of the best ways to get non bot followers.
Europe’s Montreux Comedy Festival Holding Free Stand-up and Sketch Contest
With no entry free, you can enter to perform over in Europe at the Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland this December. Dailymotion is taking in submissions from stand up comedians and sketch performers up to the end of October.
Winners, which will be picked by from a group of voter picked finalists, get hotel, airfare, and meals covered. Submit/enter at the link.
Make a Film on Your Smartphone and Submit It to The Disposable Film Festival
The Disposable Film Festival is a film festival in its 7th year aimed at films that can be and are made with the cameras on everyday devices such as smart phones, flip cams, etc. They’re taking submissions right now until Oct. 1st, it costs only $5 to enter, and sounds like a really fun, inexpensive venture all around.
We’re guessing that comedy is going to play a big part of it, that is, if enough found footage film buffs don’t overrun the festival.
Enter McSweeney’s Annual Column Contest for Free
Every year, the highly regarded brand for the humorous written word, McSweeney’s holds a contest to have a brand new column to bring into the fold. It’s free to enter, you can write or illustrate your column, and have until Aug. 30th 7PM PST to send it in.
You just might win $500 and a year contract with McSweeney’s.
We’re going to go ahead and guess that a lot of you have something that’s perfect for this, so get in on submitting already.
MIT Media Lab Hosting Comedy Hack Day, A Comedy App Competition
When we say that comedy is an incredibly burgeoning art form, there are so many examples of that happening such as Cultivated Wit‘s Comedy Hack Day, a competition for app developers and comedians to come up with funny ways to pass the time on your mobile devices.
In fact, the venerable MIT is hosting the event and Baratunde Thurston was the emcee as well as W. Kamau Bell being a judge of the last edition in case if you’re curious how legitimate the event is.
Also, if you’re interested, you can currently enter the next Comedy Hack Day happening this September.