That’s all Chicago needs — another festival.
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But the City of Festivals’ latest is one that some think is long overdue. The Chicago Comedy Festival, which kicks off Thursday, puts the city up with Montreal, Aspen, New York, San Antonio and several other locations around the country and around the world in offering yuks to the masses.
The Chicago Comedy Festival, which focuses on standup, sketch, alternative and one-person comedy shows, comes on the heels of the Chicago Improv Festival, which took place March 31 through April 5. If the former is as successful as the latter was, then humor fans may have an effective one-two punch of laughs for years to come.
At least, that’s the hope of Dan Carlson, the Chicagoan who is getting this thing off the ground. Carlson put the festival together with an eye towards revitalizing a comedy scene that has become stagnant in the last several years.
“The attention of live comedy is going to come back to this city with this festival,” says Carlson, 38. “Regardless of what type of comedy you think is funny, this festival will have something to entertain you.”
Beginning Thursday and continuing through May 3, roughly 60 acts from around the city, the country and the world will work at comedy clubs Zanies and All Jokes Aside, as well as a few other venues.
Also scheduled are screenings of Comedy Central’s hit animated series “South Park”; specialized shows featuring female, gay and minority talent; one-person shows starring Chicago-area acts Caryn Bark, Mike Toomey and Sally Edwards; sketch comedy revues, including one starring hot comedy group (and a hero of the Chicago Improv Fest) the Upright Citizens Brigade; and special May 2 shows of international comics to benefit the Chicago Boys & Girls Clubs.
The Chicago Comedy Festival will mirror older siblings like the Montreal International Comedy Festival and the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival byinviting entertainment industry officials to town to check out talent for possible television, movie and other opportunities.
Carlson, who has been in the comedy business as a standup and promoter for 10 years, figured those industry types would welcome coming to Chicago to check out humor, partly because he believes that they have been dissatisfied with the way other festivals have operated in the past.
“This is the ideal location,” Carlson says. “Everybody in L.A. and New York loves coming to Chicago, so it was a perfect excuse to get the industry here and focus national attention on the comedy we have here in Chicago.”
About a year ago, Carlson started attending comedy fests in Florida, Montreal and Aspen to get an understanding of how they operated. Working with Zanies, All Jokes and others in the community, as well as calling “a lot of favors” from friends throughout the industry, Carlson put his Chicago-based comedy combine together.
For its first year, the talent looks promising, with several top local acts participating, including Diane Alaimo, Steve Seagren, George Willborn, Larry Reeb and others.
But the lack of big-name talent is noticeable. National acts scheduled include Tom Rhodes of the NBC comedy “Mr. Rhodes,” Pat Kilbane of Fox’s “Mad TV,” and the Upright Citizens Brigade, which is getting a series on Comedy Central in August. The international acts, including Earl Okin of England, Mr. Zed of Italy and Peter Shub of Germany, aren’t very recognizable here.
“First we want to establish what we’re doing, and provide the industry what they’re looking for,” he says. “I would love to bring in those (big-name) guys . . . but simply the names that we do have are quality comics. I think we’re going to show the industry some new faces that they haven’t seen before that are talented and have different looks.”
One of those different performers is Chicago’s Mike Lukas, an edgy act who sees this as a golden opportunity for local comics.
“This calls attention to the fact that there is still a lot of this going on in Chicago,” says Lukas, 32, who has appeared on “The Tonight Show.”
“There’s still a lot of people that believe in the art form of standup and improv and making people laugh and giving people perspective.”
Rhodes, who has appeared in the Chicago area several times over the years, is a veteran of festivals in Scotland, Aspen and Montreal. He thinks “it’s about time” that Chicago, the home of Second City and a slew of strong standup talent, joined in on the fun.
“I think Chicago is one of the premiere capitals of producing American comedy,” says the 14-year performer.
The standup-fueled fest isn’t connected to the improv-based festival, but Lukas hopes all concerned can get together to make “one big huge festival celebrating just the idea of comedy, whether it’s improv or standup or sketch or whatever.”
That would further Carlson’s ultimate goal, which is to have “the premiere comedy festival, where the industry knows to look for talent. And also (have) an event that the city of Chicago looks forward to each and every year.”
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The Chicago Comedy Festival begins Thursday and runs through May 3, with events scheduled at All Jokes Aside, 1000 S. Wabash Ave.; Zanies, 1548 N. Wells St.; the Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave.; the Swissotel Chicago, 323 E. Wacker Drive; and the Village Theater, 1548 N. Clark St. Tickets are available at the venues, Ticketmaster outlets or by phone, 312-559-1212. For more information on the festival, call 847-304-6624.
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