This week, Bub Comedy is hosting the Longmont Laugh Fest.
It consists of 3 days, 3 breweries, 12 shows and 50 comics. Bub Comedy brings accessible, locally brewed laughter to the Colorado Front Range in this multi range festival that gives stand-up, improv, sketch and musical comedy performance slots to the up-and-comers and the come-and-tryers.
We spoke with Emily Andrews (founder of Bub Comedy and producing the festival) and JoAnn McIver (Talent Manager) about the event!
How did you get your start in the comedy world / entertainment?
We actually both have degrees in Theatre/Film from University of Colorado Denver. The goal was always to work in the industry and as I studied and traveled, it was just about honing into which capacity. We both kind of found comedy separately as Jo began doing Improv in Denver and I was studying comedic writing and form after doing a comedy/physical theatre intensive program through school. We started playing with comedy and performance together in a troupe and eventually I went back to business school and we built the idea of Bub Comedy.
What inspired you to start the festival?
We were actually inspired by competition. We were trying to build a little scene in our town of Longmont, which did not have a comedy scene when we came in, and the more we delved into the comedy community and the comedy world, the more we could see a clear path forward for our shows. But our town is full of music and events, so it was hard to convince people that comedy would be of value here. We know that we are going somewhere big with our company, we just needed people to see that. So we decided to go balls to the wall and do a festival – prove to people that comedy could be a force in Longmont. It was really our drive to be on the map as a functioning, rising startup company instead of “those girls who run an open mic.”
How do you select the acts?
Comics submit performance video through our website.This year, we accepted submissions from March to May 1st. Our focus with Bub Comedy is on “up and comers,” we want to showcase the best comics you have never heard of. So we really look for comics who are taking the craft seriously and are working for their shot. We look for a wide range in style of comedy with good writing and commitment. We also like anything “out of the box,” we love when people bring new and interesting presentations to their comedy. The festival has stand-up, improv, sketch and comedic music and we love anything in between!
How did you meet each other?
We met in college. We did a few shows together, but it was only after college when we started to really spend time together. And we were both driven by this mad desire to live and work in comedy.
What has been the most rewarding part of running Bub Comedy?
I think there are two folds to that. When we began planning for Bub we had this goal to flip the paradigm. So much theatre and performance art, especially comedy, is heavily “artist” focused. Most improv clubs are about creating classes and performance space for improvisers. It’s about encouraging them and helping them grow. Same with community theatres. Comedy Clubs are good at selling tickets for big names, but open mics are all geared towards giving comics and opportunity to get onstage. We wanted to flip it around to be audience focused. We focus heavily on the audience experience. For instance, unlike most comic open mics, we don’t organize the list from least experienced to more experienced; best comics go last. We organize our list focusing on flow and audience. So the audience enjoys the whole show and not just the last half. Not only does that help the audience, but it encourages new comics because they are cushioned by two more experienced comics who can help carry the energy of the room. We want shows that are accessible for an audience – fun, easy and inexpensive. So we perform at breweries. And our hosts are heavily involved in energy control, and we keep all shows less than 2 hours in length. All these little things that focus on audience experience. So our biggest reward has been how immediately successful that shift has been. Our scene is steadily and consistently rising, we have consistently high quality shows and happy venues. And we constantly have returning and new audience, even a lot of audience who has never seen a live comedy show. So the success of that has been very rewarding. But the second fold is how that, in particular, has in turn affected the comics. By having a consistent, comfortable, entertained audience, we’ve inadvertently created a great room for the comics. Our audience loves our comics and vice versa! The building of that relationship in our local scene has been more rewarding then we could have anticipated. Our audience is one of the most loving, appreciative and supportive around. We like to brag about them!