MidWest Fest puts a new twist on the idea of comedy festivals – and The Laughing Derby in Louisville is going to be taking part this week, to help launch the flagship festival which will be an annual event in coming years.
It’s the first festival (the organizers are aware of) that happens simultaneously in three cities at once – starting Wednesday through Saturday at Wiley’s Comedy Joint in Dayton, Morty’s Comedy Joint in Indianapolis, and The Laughing Derby here in Louisville. The finals will take place Sunday at the legendary club The Laugh Factory in Chicago.
Starting out with 48 comedians, each club will begin Wednesday with 16 comics and by Saturday they will narrow the field down to one semi-finalist from each city. The three semi-finalists from each city will then meet Sunday night in Chicago, competing to name a winner of the first annual MidWest Fest.
The Festival will breakdown as follows:
1st round: 16 comics doing 4 minutes each, twice
Wednesday June 10 (one show) and Thursday June 11 (one show)
2nd round: 12 comics doing 5 minutes each, twice
Friday June 12 (two shows)
Quarter-Finals: 8 comics doing 8 minutes each, once
Saturday June 13 (early show)
Semi-Finals: 4 comics doing 15 minutes each, once
Saturday June 13 (late show)
Finals: Winners from Dayton, Indianapolis, and Louisville move on to Chicago. They each do 20 minutes each on Sunday, June 14.
The comedians will not be allowed to repeat material on any show until the finals, where they will be able to do any material they would like. So the winning comedian will have had to perform 41 different minutes.
The shows will be happening all this weekend, June 10th-13th at The Laughing Derby. Times vary (with early and late shows on Friday and Saturday) – with tickets available for each night ranging from $12-$15.
