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Orlando Indie Comedy Fest


Orlando Indie Comedy Fest
GenreArts festival
DatesJanuary (exact dates vary)
Location(s)Orlando
CountryUnited States
Years active2014–present
Founded2014
WebsiteOrlandoIndieComedy.com

This is an extremely rough layout with placeholder elements from other festival pages


The Orlando Indie Comedy Fest is an annual comedy festival held from Thursday through Sunday in downtown Orlando, Florida each January. While hosting feature performances and acts from around the world of sketch comedy and stand-up acts, producers of the Fest are committed to creating a community for developing unproven comics, as well as presenting comedy for a devoted live-comedy audience.

History and origins

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The Fest is run by volunteers and open to anyone with original comedy material. In order to be considered for the festival, interested comics and sketch groups are required to submit an application including videos of their material as well as critical reviews of their performances. Entrants must also submit a bio detailing which festivals they've participated in and where they've performed. These applications are collected in mid-October, and within one month, a panel of judges reviews these applications and announces a final lineup shortly thereafter.

Early years

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The first festival was organized by comedians XXX and has since grown to be the largest comedy festival in the Southeastern United States. It showcases performers local, regional, and international performers in outdoor as well as indoor venues.

In 2011, Orlando had two regular weekly open mics devoted exclusively to stand-up comedy. Six years later, there’s a mic, showcase, or show every night of the week, promoters bringing national comics to bars of all sizes, and an annual comedy festival, now in its third year. For whatever reason, stand-up comedy finally exploded soon thereafter in Orlando, FL.[1]}}

The Fest today

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2017 Fest Banner

cultivating local talent through seminars & workshops; comedy industry advocacy, socializing as part of community engagement and also volunteering and fundraising collaborations on behalf of non-profits and charities the focus of the festival towards an underground talent base and an online media focus and has won many numerous local and regional awards and is celebrated as "one of the most unique cultural events in Florida".

Unique culture of Orlando

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Orlando is also known as "The Theme Park Capital of the World" and in 2014 its tourist attractions and events drew more than 62 million visitors.[2] The Orlando International Airport (MCO) is the thirteenth-busiest airport in the United States and the 29th-busiest in the world.[3]

Advertising art

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Since 1988, cartoonist Michael Leunig has designed the artwork for the Melbourne festival program and continued to do so for other material such as advertising posters.[4]

Past Fest sponsors have included Orlando Weekly, A Mediocre Time with Tom and Dan, Diesel Glass Inc, Bart Marek, Ticketbusters, Drunken Monkey, Daydream Pizza, Big Tim's Fancy Lollipops, Johnny's Fillin' Station, and You Should Run.

Opinions of the Fest

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“We’re probably the best place to start comedy. We have a very supportive scene. There’s a lot more indie stuff, a lot more art stuff." Big Tim Murphy, Orlando comic.[5]

Many performers have spoken highly of the Fest and the effect it has had on their career. XX first appeared at the Fest in 2015, and commented, 'I've become Orlando's publicity agent. I tell everybody, "You've got to be in the Fest."'[6]

Orlando comic XXX says that performing in the Indie Fest is more fun for comedians because there is less pressure involved than in Edinburgh, where there is greater competition to gain an audience.[7] Journalist Simon Fanshawe describes Melbourne as "the festival where the comedians go to play ... the most relaxed, least fevered and probably the most audience friendly of all the festivals."[8]

“When I started, the Orlando comedy scene was a powerhouse of talent. The scene today is a bit more sparse but, really, it’s due to all of those fantastic comics I started with moving off and ‘moving up,’ if you will. I think these kinds of things are cyclical and we’ll start to soon see more talent from new comics and more growth overall.” Heather Shaw, Orlando comic.[9]

"In fact, in less than a decade, many comics who got their start in Orlando, absorbing generous stage time provided by their peers, have taken what they’ve learned to New York, L.A., Chicago, Atlanta, and New Orleans. Some are touring. Some are racking up TV credits. Some are sharing stages with their heroes. And what they’ll forever have in common is they once called Orlando home."[10]}}

"Through the efforts of the local comics, it seems that a greater spotlight is getting shone on shows of all sizes here in town. We’ve managed to bring some real fun shows here, like Randy and Mr. Lahey of Trailer Park Boys, Eric Andre, and Brian Posehn. I definitely feel like a part of the success of those shows has been built on the efforts of the people who are in the trenches on a weekly basis.” Kyle Raker, Orlando producer.[11]

Format and schedule

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Unlike many traditional comedy festivals, World’s Funniest Island is an event loosely built on the weekend music festival template, with several stages and indoor venues operating concurrently. A single ticket offers unlimited access to the various shows and include transport to and from the island – via a ferry service operating all day from Darling Harbour, in Sydney’s CBD. There are also a number of bars, food and market stalls operating during the festival. In 2010 a camping package will be available for Friday, Saturday and Sunday night.

Venues

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need images like this, 2017
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Smaller bars, like Bull & Bush and Spacebar, launched recurring comedy showcases, and Orlando staple, Will’s Pub, eventually dipped a big toe in the indie comedy pool.

Bull & Bush’s showcases on the first and third Saturdays each month host primarily Central Florida comics, but have attracted comics from around the state, eager to perform for attentive crowds in the cozy neighborhood pub.

Spacebar’s weekly Wednesday showcase, now in its fourth year, provides an opportunity to catch touring nationals. Ben Kronberg (Comedy Central), Sam Morril (Conan), and Zach Sherwin (Epic Rap Battles of History) have all appeared at the stage-less, intimate bar.

Will’s Pub was home to “Shady Brunch,” an early afternoon Sunday showcase where admission included a free Bloody Mary or Mimosa.

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• Dirty Laundry Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin id velit sed ipsum interdum rhoncus eget sed justo. Maecenas dictum consectetur dapibus. Mauris auctor lectus nec nisl vulputate sodales. Duis efficitur urna nec ullamcorper rhoncus. Morbi sagittis in leo id pulvinar. Phasellus porta vulputate elit ac viverra. Suspendisse porttitor lorem lectus, eleifend dictum magna egestas ut. Vivamus malesuada erat turpis, ac molestie lorem eleifend commodo. Nunc volutpat elit ac urna viverra hendrerit. Vestibulum eget nulla consequat, feugiat nibh quis, condimentum enim. Cras congue rhoncus purus, quis ultrices lorem dapibus ac.

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Fringe venues come in all shapes and sizes, with use being made of nearly any viable space that is available, from regular theatres (e.g. the Traverse or Bedlam Theatre), function rooms (e.g. the Assembly Rooms), churches and church halls (e.g. the Quaker Meeting House, Paradise in Augustines[12]), lecture theatres (George Square Theatre), conference centres, other university rooms and spaces, bars and pubs, temporary structures (The Famous Spiegeltent and the Udderbelly), schools, a public toilet, the back of a taxi, a double-decker bus and even in the audience's own homes.[13]

The groups that operate the venues are also diverse: some are commercial and others not-for-profit; some operate year-round, while others exist only to run venues at the Fringe. Some are local, others are based in London and elsewhere and transfer to Edinburgh for August.

From the performers' perspective, the decision on where to perform is typically based on a mixture of cost, location (close proximity to the main Fringe hubs around the University is seen as an advantage), and the philosophy of the venue – some of whom specialise in amateur, school or college productions, some of whom are semi or wholly professional.

According to the Fringe Society, there were 258 venues in 2011, although over 80 of them housed events or exhibitions, which are not part of the main performing art genres that the Fringe is generally known for.

The main venue operators can broadly be split into four groups:

  • The Big Four – Assembly, Gilded Balloon, The Pleasance, Underbelly. These are the largest venue operators, and in many cases the most long-standing (Underbelly being a relative newcomer with 15 years' history). They each operate multi-room venue complexes, often across multiple sites. They tend to specialise in comedy, and in 2008, they briefly and controversially tried to re-brand themselves as Edinburgh Comedy Festival.
  • Other paid venues – Besides the Big Four, there are a number of mid-scale operators running multi-room venues, and again sometimes operating across more than one site. These include C venues, Greenside Venues, Sweet Venues, Just the Tonic, Paradise Green and Momentum Venues. They may specialise in certain genres (comedy at Just the Tonic, theatre at Greenside Venues) or run a programme across all genres (C venues).
  • Free venues – Some promoters use a different financial model. Instead of charging performers to hire the room, and audiences to attend, they make their spaces available for free, with audiences making a donation at the end of the show if they have enjoyed it. These promoters tend to operate out of pubs and clubs – the rooms being made free to use as a way of boosting bar takings. The original Free Fringe was set up by comedian Peter Buckley Hill in response to the increasing costs to performers of appearing at the Fringe. Other "free" promoters, including former associates of Buckley Hill, have since adapted the model. Although strictly speaking "Free Fringe" refers to Buckley Hill's operation, it is now often used as shorthand for any free venue.
  • Pay What You Want – In 2013 comedian Bob Slayer introduced a new model to the Fringe, at his Heroes of Fringe venues, where punters could 'Buy a ticket in advance to guarantee a seat or Pay What You Want on exit'.[14] The model takes the best of both worlds from Paid and Free and enables performoers to find a paying audience without risking large marketing spend. Phil Kay, Tom Binns and Miss Behave were amongst the first established acts to embrace this model along with Adrienne Truscott who won the Edinburgh Comedy Awards Panel Prize with a PWYW.[15] Adam Hess was nominated for best newcomer in 2015[16] Other promoters such as Just the Tonic, Pleasance and C-Venues have since introduced the model to their venues. In 2016, Gilded Balloon adopted PWYW for the Counting House venue, which was previously a Free Festival venue.[17]

There also continue to be single, independent venues, sometimes only hosting one show, sometimes only for a limited period.

Fest comics

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Many stand-up comedians have performed in the Orlando Indie Comedy Fest, including:[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Larry Fulford (01 Jan 2017). "Orlando Indie Comedy Festival: The Result and Reflection of Orlando's Burgeoning Stand-Up Scene". Everything Worth Doing. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Dineen, Caitlin (9 April 2015). "Orlando breaks visitation record in 2014". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  3. ^ Passenger Traffic for past 12 months ending May 2011 Archived August 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ 25 Years of Laughs, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, [1], accessed 11 April 2011
  5. ^ Mary McGinn (28 March 2017). "Lollipops and Candy Crushes". Artborne Magazine.
  6. ^ Fisher 2012, p. 15.
  7. ^ AAP (8 April 2007). "Comedy festival gala 'is toughest gig'". The West Australian. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
  8. ^ Fanshawe, Simon (7 February 2004). "Heard the one about..." The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
  9. ^ Larry Fulford (01 Jan 2017). "Orlando Indie Comedy Festival: The Result and Reflection of Orlando's Burgeoning Stand-Up Scene". Everything Worth Doing. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Larry Fulford (01 Jan 2017). "Orlando Indie Comedy Festival: The Result and Reflection of Orlando's Burgeoning Stand-Up Scene". Everything Worth Doing. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Larry Fulford (01 Jan 2017). "Orlando Indie Comedy Festival: The Result and Reflection of Orlando's Burgeoning Stand-Up Scene". Everything Worth Doing. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Paradise Green". Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  13. ^ Gardner, Lyn (7 August 2000). "All the flat's a stage". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  14. ^ "The free shows you can pay for... : News 2013 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  15. ^ Brocklehurst, Steven (24 August 2013). "Bridget Christie wins Foster's Edinburgh comedy award". Bbc.com.
  16. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ^ "Gilded Balloon to offer 'pay what you want' : News 2016 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  18. ^ "Orlando Indie Comedy Festival headliners". 16 December 2016.
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