Comedy festival to bring the laughs online and across the nation

Comedy festival to bring the laughs online and across the nation

Originally published on NJ.com by David Mosca on August 6, 2020. Read the original article here.

Celebrating three years of laughs, Art House Productions has announced the Virtual Jersey City Comedy Festival will take place from Wednesday, Aug 12, to Saturday, Aug 15, and be held entirely on Zoom with over 65 performers from across the country.

Formerly known as the 6th Borough Comedy Festival, performers will be featured in nine different shows including professional stand up, improv comedy, and sketch comedy. Up to $1,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to the comedians in the following categories: $250 to the best sketch team, $250 to the best improv team, $250 to the audience stand up pick, $250 to the industry stand-up pick.

The schedule for the show is as follows: Wednesday, Aug 12, 7 p.m. - The Sketch & Improv Showcase; 8:30 p.m. - The Stand Up Showcase and a free mix and mingle party afterwards hosted by Rich Kiamco, as part of the Jersey City Pride Festival. Thursday, Aug 13, 7 p.m. - The Sketch & Improv Showcase; 8:30 p.m. - The Stand Up Showcase. Friday, Aug 14, 7 p.m. - the Sketch & Improv Showcase; 8:30 p.m. - The Stand Up Showcase.

One of the new events at this year’s fest is the Jersey Strong Showcase on Friday, Aug 14, at 10 p.m. This showcase will include talented veteran and best up-and-coming comics from across the Garden State. The guest judge is Suzy Yengo of Catch a Rising Star and performers include Alex Grubard, Nick Fierro, Judy Ortiz, James Mac, Jarrett Gerstler, Kayt Hester, Meg Patenaude, Joshua Lay, and Dogan Alptekin.

Another new event at this year’s fest is The Roast of Harry Potter, presented by Character Assassination, on Saturday, Aug 15, at 7:30 p.m., for one night only. Character Assassination is a comedy show rooted in fictional and historical roasts, with its members hailing from Louisvile, KY, and Chicago, IL. The show will bring together your favorite characters from the Harry Potter universe for a Comedy Central-style roast of The Boy Who Lived.

The closing-night show, Best of the Fest, is on Saturday, Aug 15, at 9 p.m. The show will celebrate comedy audience favorites from the week of laughs, chosen at the end of each showcase by the guest judges and audience vote. This year there will be a cash prize awarded to the industry choice and to the audience favorite. The industry choice will also receive a one month residency of primetime spots at Broadway Comedy Club courtesy of TheIndustryRoom.com. Avanti Talent, which specializes in transitioning and developing performers for scripted TV content for streaming, cable and broadcast networks, will watch the sketch and improv showcases. One sketch group and one improv group will also be awarded a cash prize.

Tickets are $10 to $15. Discounted Festival Passes, which include one ticket to each event, are also available for $45.50. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to JerseyCityComedyFestival.com.