2009 Great American Comedy Festival Winner to Return for 2010 Event

Kermet Apio looked forward to participating in last summer’s Great American Comedy Festival in Norfolk. But being part of the 2010 event will be even better.

“It will be all of the fun without the pressure,” the Seattle-based stand-up comedian said in a recent interview with the Daily News. “It’s going to be a blast.”

That’s because Apio returns to Norfolk in June as the reigning champion of the festival’s stand-up competition. Last year, he competed; this year, he gets to host two shows.

“Coming to Norfolk was much than just a gig,” Apio said. “Everyone was so nice. This was by far the most fun I’ve had at a festival.”

Apio said he was impressed by the Johnny Carson Theatre, but even more by the Norfolk families who served as hosts for the visiting comedians last summer.

“That was my favorite thing — the fact that they took time out of their days, invited us into their homes and then, in the competition, they were cheering for us,” he said.

Comedians are used to staying in their hotel rooms when scheduled to perform and taking taxis to their venues. “Here we had all these really sweet people who welcomed us and make you feel special,” he said. “You don’t see that in a lot of festivals.”

Apio said winning the title at the 2009 festival provided a boost for his career as a comedian. “It opened some doors for me,” he said. “Within days of winning it, people were taking my calls and e-mails that didn’t before.”

But the biggest benefit of performing in Norfolk was the chance to be seen by Eddie Brill, the talent coordinator for David Letterman who also serves as the festival’s producer.
“Getting in front of Eddie Brill is huge. It’s an amazing thing,” he said.

Virtually every television show or venue that has comedians perform has a talent booker. And then there’s Eddie Brill.

“He challenges you to get better. He loves comedy and he loves being around it and if you’re willing to listen, you will get better,” Apio said.

Even if he’s never invited to perform on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” Apio said it’s been an honor to get to know Brill. “His critiques are that good,” he said.

Apio said he’ll try to fill the role that Deacon Gray did last year at the festival as the returning stand-up champion.

“I’ll try to answer the other comedians’ questions. I’ll encourage them. I’ll help loosen them up,” he said.

And he’ll encourage the competitors to take advantage of the opportunity to get to know the celebrities that will be part of the 2010 festival, like Brill, Larry Miller, Ed Asner and Dick Carson.

“Last year, David Brenner came up and give me some advice. It was amazing,” he said. “And I had a long conversation with Bill Dana about Hawaii. My dad couldn’t believe that because he had seen Bill Dana perform in Hawaii in the 1950s.”

Win an invitation
Interested in having the chance to mingle with some of the comedians and headliners who will be performing at the 2010 comedy festival this June? You might just get the chance.

Persons buying tickets to both the Thursday, June 17, and Friday, June 18, performances of the festival can have their names entered in a drawing for tickets to an invitation-only “wrap” party at Divots, which will be held after the Saturday, June 19, comedy competition finals.

At the Thursday and Friday performances, those with tickets will be able to enter their names for the drawing for the Saturday party. The winners will be announced at the Friday, June 18, performance.

More information is available at www.greatamericancomedyfestival.com