While the summer festival season may be cooling off in Milwaukee, the comedy is just warming up! This week marks the return of the 19th annual Milwaukee Comedy Festival. As one of the nation’s longest-running annual comedy festivals, it presents top national and regional stand-up comedy acts through Sunday, Oct. 6. Performances are held at multiple venues across Milwaukee, including Lakefront Brewery, The Laughing Tap, Shank Hall and Great Lakes Distillery.
"It's incredible to make something like a Comedy Festival that at the time we didn't really think we would do it much more than once. And here we are."
-Matt Kemple on 19 years of the Milwaukee Comedy Festival
Milwaukee Comedy Festival founder and producer Matt Kemple talks more about the festival’s history, what makes Milwaukee a unique place for comedy, and what comedy fans can look forward to this week.
When the festival first began 19 years ago, the comedy scene in Milwaukee was much different than it is now. Milwaukee would only see a comedy show once a month. "So, we started this festival, really, just as a one-time event called the Sketch and Improv Festival. We were just trying to do improv comedy and funny scenes and things like that," explains Kemple. "We had a couple hundred people. And so we thought, 'OK, maybe there's something to this."
This year, the festival features nine different shows in five venues. The talent that is included in the festival includes a few national headliners, but the majority of the talent that is featured in the festival is chosen through a submission screening process that includes a short clip of the comic's material as well as a short bio and contact information.
"And we watch every single one of those clips, hundreds and hundreds of stand-up clips. And some are really great, some are not as good, but you go through them, and you find some really amazing talent and people from all over the country and Canada as well," says Kemple.
If attending the festival, Kemple advises going early because the quality of the event is pristine, and you'll likely want to take advantage of the remaining performances. Kemple says, "People need to laugh now more than ever. This is something I've said in the past, but I think it's really important for people to get into a large room together and have joy, laugh and happiness."
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