Twenty-four Comedians selected to compete at Comedy Festival
04-27-2009 07:56 am
Twenty-four Comedians selected to compete at Comedy Festival
One has a master’s degree in special education. Another teaches English to inner-city school children.
One had a role in the acclaimed film “The Kiterunner.” Another still lives at home with his parents.
One writes for National Public Radio. Another’s claim to fame is growing up in the motorhome capital of the world.
Oh, and one other thing: They’re all very funny.
The 24 stand-up comedians who will be competing for the top prize at this summer’s Great American Comedy Festival have been selected after auditions in 10 cities across the nation.
“These are some of the brightest, most intelligent and creative minds in the industry,” said Eddie Brill, the executive producer of the festival and the talent coordinator for the “Late Night with David Letterman” show.
Brill and Lora Young, executive director of the festival, auditioned comedians in 10 cities across the United States — including New York City, Dallas, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Boston and Chicago — to select the 24 who wanted the chance to compete in Norfolk.
“As a result of the incredible success of last year’s festival, the good word has spread rapidly throughout the comedy community,” Brill said. “The high quality of comedians who auditioned for the Great American Comedy Festival made it so difficult to narrow the list down to just 24.”
They all have impressive credentials.
One — Joe Wong — made his debut on “Late Night with David Letterman” just last Friday. Another — Pat Dixon — has hosted his own 30-minute special on Comedy Central.
Others have appeared on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” “Saturday Night Live” or “The Colbert Report” and have performed at some of the top comedy clubs across the nation.
“They are all proud and excited to honor Johnny Carson and to be part of what we have created for Norfolk,” Brill said. “And, in turn, Johnny would have been proud as well.”
The 24 comedians will be split up so that six perform at each of the four preliminary rounds of competition at the festival on Wednesday, June 17, at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and Thursday, June 18, at the same times.
The top two from each of the four preliminary rounds advance to the finals of the competition set for Friday, June 19, which will be hosted by Brill.
The judges for the competition will include David Brenner, who will be the headliner for the festival’s gala finale on Saturday, June 20; Bill Dana, the longtime comedian writer and producer who will receive the festival’s “Comedy Legend” award; Wende Curtis, owner of the Comedy Works club in Denver; Chris Mazzilli, owner of The Gotham comedy club in New York City; and Jackie Miller-Knobbe of Falls City, a talent agent for the Agency for Performing Arts in Los Angeles.
Deacon Gray, who won the stand-up competition at last year’s festival, will return to serve as the host for the Wednesday and Thursday preliminary rounds.
Serving as the “closer” for the Wednesday and Thursday shows is Tom Cotter, who has appeared on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, the “Late Late Show” with Craig Kilborn, “New Joke City” with Robert Klein and on several Comedy Central specials.
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Want to learn more?
For more information about this summer’s Great American Comedy Festival, and to buy tickets, people can go to www.greatamericancomedyfestival.com or by calling 371-2932.
Who’s coming to perform?
Here are the 24 stand-up comedians who are scheduled to perform at this summer’s Great American Comedy Festival in Norfolk:
Keith Alberstadt, New York City
Kermet Apio, Seattle
Aaron Aryanpur, Dallas
Ahmed Bharoocha, Smithfield, R.I.
Larry “Bubbles” Brown, San Francisco
Jessi Campbell, Minneapolis
Jesse Case, Seattle
Nhan Du, West Palm Beach, Florida
Pat Dixon, New York City
Jon Fisch, New York City
Tim Harmston, Minneapolis
Joe Larson, New York City
Ryan Lowery, Colorado Springs
Kumail Nanjiani, New York City
Michael Palascak, Orland Park, Ill.
Rudy Rush, Dallas
Tom Steffen, Minneapolis
Mike Vecchione, New York City
Chris Voth, Denver
Darlene Westgor, St. Paul, Minn.
Joe Wong, Boston
Andy Woodhull, Chicago
Jeff Wozer, Denver
Dwight York, Minneapolis
