Every year more and more comedy festivals pop up around the world. So most comedians wonder if they are even worth your time. Comedy festivals are only worth your time and money if you have time and money to spend to go to them. This means that if you are broke and are using the last of your emergency fund to submit and travel to a random festival that isn’t Montreal, the answer is most likely no. However, if you have the time and means to submit and travel to a festival you want to be a part of and that you researched, then by all means, but don’t expect it to turn you into a Kevin Hart or Jerry Seinfeld level comedian just by attending.
Apart from the growing status of stand up comedy in various countries around the world, it has also become a target for major international festivals. These major events include, Just for Laughs in Montreal, Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland, JFL42, presented by Just for Laughs, in Toronto, The Leicester Comedy Festival in Leicester, England, and The Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Inside the United States, there are some great festivals including the Boston Comedy Festival, the New York Comedy Festival, the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival in Atlanta, and the Big Sky Comedy Festival in Billings, Montana.
Stand-up comedy has reached a full-grown global status. In the years to come, the number of comedy fans will surely grow as people are starting to learn how significant it is to, once in a while, unwind and relax for a great heart-felt laugh, especially if they can do it directly from the comfort of their own home. Comedy festivals will capitalize on this, and some like Montreal’s Just For Laughs already has by licensing their festival recordings to places like Amazon.
How To Submit To A Comedy Festival
The hardest part of submitting to a comedy festival is deciding what to submit. Submissions are a necessary part of comedy. You have to put yourself out there to move up in the business, and you can’t depend on being friends with people to get ahead. Every year you will have to update your bio, record a new video, and write new material. If you stop updating, you stop growing. If you want to be a comedian, you have to know how to promote yourself beyond posting things on social media and annoying non-comedy friends. You have to know how to deal with rejection, which is the main skill a comedian has to master.
Submitting to a festival is showing your interest in being a part of that festival while also showing your support. Too many comedians take submitting to a festival as something only new comedians have to do when in reality there are headliner level recognizable comedians who are still doing this.
There are more and more new festivals popping up, but there will always be big festivals that are benchmarks for “careers” and happiness. While comedy festivals are not always the best benchmarks, they can change careers for comedians. As long as you apply for the festival expecting nothing more than a few minutes of stage time and some networking, you will not be disappointed.
Why You Should NOT Submit
If you’re expecting to make money from a festival, don’t count on it. If you’ve got some extra cash and want to network, festivals can be worthwhile. If you like watching comedy, festivals usually let you watch all the other shows, and that is still not a reason to submit, but at least you can enjoy the money you spent.
If you have been doing comedy for less than a year, DO NOT SUBMIT. I tell you this from experience. I naively or stupidly, you can decide, submitted to the Clean Comedy Competition, which takes place annually. The year I applied, it was held at The Ice House Comedy Club in Pasadena, California. Now I knew I would not win, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have hope. I submitted at the last possible moment, and somehow I was accepted. I had been doing comedy for about ten months. I sucked. I got in and started to think that maybe I didn’t suck. Well, I did, and I learned that I had been doing comedy for less time than anyone else on that stage. Needless to say, I did not win. Not even close.
However, I learned a lot because the competition offered classes and coaching from well-known comedians. I made some great friends who are still my friends today and some mentors who are still mentors today. I was and still am a diamond in the rough; some might say I’m still a lump of coal.
Why You Should Submit To Comedy Festivals
There is a lot of hesitation to submit to comedy festivals because there always seems to be more springing up out of nowhere. Many don’t offer much in the way of rewards and puts a lot on the shoulders of comics who are applying.
The comedian has to pay for the application fee, travel, and boarding. Even a comedian wins the entire competition; it doesn’t mean they’ll see anything from it. Prizes are often small and include a weekend spot or a small cash prize that doesn’t even cover food. If you make the festival, you should get some compensation aside from just stage time. “Industry Reps” don’t often seem to attend most of them outside of major areas like New York, LA, or Montreal.
If you live in a smaller town, festivals are a great way to give a reality check yourself. You can see the full spectrum of comics who are about to get pulled up to write for SNL or other shows and comedians who have done it too long and need to move on.
Comedy Festivals are not a magic bullet for comedians to get seen and then be whisked away to Hollywood for fame and fortune. They are a place for comedians to do their best performances, support other comedians, build relationships, and have fun. If you think a comedy festival will be the path to fame and glory, you are on the wrong path and deserve to have your hard-earned money taken. If you know that it’s an opportunity for growth and connections, then a comedy festival may be worth your time, money, and benefit to your comedy career.