Coming to dccomedyfest! TODD BARRY

What can you say about TODD BARRY: a man who has a receipt museum?

Well, you can start by saying he's a groundbreaking comedian who was passed being hilarious and an idol to other comedians and is now on his way to being a flat-out comedy icon to the masses secured most recently by performances on FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS and LUCKY LOUIE.

TIG NOTARO is no slouch herself - JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE & her own COMEDY CENTRAL PRESENTS are just a few of her honors.
We know you'll love this quirky, idiosyncratic world - hey, maybe you'll wind up staying for a while.

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ACT: JB Smoove: RUCKUS

JB Smoove (Leon from HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and star of "Til Death" on FOX) brings his own hilarious point of view to dccomedyfest - and brings some friends along to join in the fun!

JB's television credits are both staggering and impressive in numbers and notoriety, HBO "Def Comedy Jam", BET "Comic View", featured guest on "The Chris Rock Show" and writer/performer on "Everybody Hates Chris".

Coming to dccomedyfest! RUCKUS

JB Smoove - Comedy phenom and star of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and FOX's "'Til Death" - comes to DC, making some noise, having some fun and bringing some hilarious friends along to make a little RUCKUS.

 

 

 

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Coming to dccomedyfest! THE NEW ADORABLES

They're here, they're queer, they're hilarious - and you need to see them NOW so soon you can say you saw them WHEN... Join us at TOWN NIGHTCLUB to see the best new and brightest LGBT comedy sensations!

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Coming to dccomedyfest! COMEDY ACHEIVEMENTawards! hosted by Dave Hill

The first ever "DC Comedy Acheivement Awards" will showcase winning entries from the COMEDY SHORTS competition, and feature live scene readings from the winners of the COMEDY SCREENPLAY & TV PILOT competitions (starring dccomedyfest comedians)!

The inaugural "MidLifetime Achievement Award" will be handed out to a very special comedy heavyweight with ties to the DC area.

Stick around after the big show for a Q&A panel with contest judges/industry big shots from Adult Swim, Comedy Central, Fox 2000, Rogue Pictures, The Montecito Picture Company, and Rain Management Group.

ACT: Tig Notaro

Tig has appeared in a number of television shows, including a recurring guest-hosting role on AMC's "Movies at Our House" and most recently as Officer Tig on "The Sarah Silverman Program." She has her own special, "Comedy Central Presents Tig," and guest-starred on Comedy Central's "Dog Bites Man." She has also performed on NBC's "Last Comic Standing," ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," NBC's "Last Call With Carson Daly," ABC's "Comics Unleashed," and Comedy Central's "Premium Blend." But most importantly, Tig was fired as the sidekick on E!'s "The Chelsea Handler Show" pilot and Fox's "Girl Least Likely" pilot.

ACT: Dave Hill

Dave Hill is a performer, writer, actor, musician, and comedy-type person living in New York City. He most recently starred in the MOJO Network’s “King of Miami” program, which people still talk about to this day, and has also appeared on such basic cable television channels as MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, Spike TV, Current TV, Court TV, and probably some other ones besides those too. Dave has written for the New York Times, Salon, the Huffington Post, Blender Magazine, and a bunch of other people too. He is also the author of “The Black Metal Dialogues” (www.theblackmetaldialogues.com), which is pretty much the greatest thing to happen to the Internet since that picture of that one guy with puke coming out of his nose. Additionally, Dave regularly performs live, including his monthly one-man chat/variety/donkey show the Dave Hill Explosion at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York and Los Angeles. Dave also plays guitar and sings in the rock bands Valley Lodge and Children of the Unicorn. Variety Magazine named Dave one of their “10 Comics To Watch” in 2007 and he pretty much won’t shut up about it. For more info on Dave and just Internet fun in general, visit www.davehillonline.com.

ACT: Jessica Kirson

"Jessica Kirson's unique style and captivating stage presence captures the attention of audiences and club bookers everywhere she performs. Her wide variety of characters brings a diverse energy to her routine.

Once you have seen her amazing talent, it is easy to understand why she was selected to perform at the Hamptons, Toyota, Marshall's Women in Comedy, Comedy Central's South Beach and HBO's Las Vegas comedy festivals.

She has been featured on various television shows, including, Comedy Central's ""Premium Blend"" and ""Fresh Faces,"" Nickelodeon's ""Sixth in the Suburbs,"" Noggin's ""LOL,"" VH1's ""Awesomely Bad"" Shows, Oxygen's premier game show ""Can You Tell?,"" Bravo's ""The Great Things About Being,"" The Women's Television Network's, ""She's So Funny,"" NBC's ""Last Comic Standing"" Seasons 2 and 3, NBC's ""Last Call With Carson Daly"", and, ""The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"". This fall she can be seen on Showtime's, ""White Boyz in the Hood""."

ACT:LIZZ WINSTEAD

We're excited to welcome Lizz Winstead to dccomedyfest, headlining the ARLINGTON CINEMA & DRAFTHOUSE Friday& Saturday nights and taking part in the POLITICS IS FUNNY panel on Saturday afternoon!

As a co-creator and former head writer of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," and Co-creator of Air America Radio; LIZZ WINSTEAD has emerged as a critically acclaimed political writer and producer.

As a performer, WINSTEAD brought her political wit to "The Daily Show" as a Correspondent and later to the radio waves co-hosting "Unfiltered", Air America Radio's mid morning show with citizen of the world and Hip Hop legend CHUCK D, and political big brain RACHEL MADDOW.

Lizz' comedic talents have been recognized in Entertainment Weekly's 100 most Creative People issue and she was nominated Best Female Club Performer by The American Comedy Awards and has appeared numerous times on television including HBO's "Women of the Night", "The US Comedy Arts Festival" in Aspen, "Comedy Central Presents.." and too many basic cable stand-up shows and VH-1 "50 Greatest This" and "100 Greatest That's" to mention..

Currently, WINSTEAD is featured in the film, "American Cannibal" as well as writing, and producing for television and performing in clubs and theaters across the country.

Coming to dccomedyfest! SKETCHY STUFF hosted by Seaton Smith

dccomedyfest continues its tradition of bringing you the best in original and quirky sketch and improv comedy.

No show is the same. Each features ensembles from all over the country that display great character work, innovative writing or in the moment brilliance, all just to impress you.

Sometimes off-the-wall, sometimes sketchy, always hilarious.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2008, 7:30 PM, Source Theatre, $14

Dr Fantastic, iMusical, and JINX.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2008, 8:00PM, Source Theatre, $14

Drop Six, Hey You Millionaires, and Misled.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2008, 10:00PM, Source Theatre, $14

RUE BRUTALIA, Shattered, and Switchboard.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 2008, 7:00PM, Source Theatre, $14

Drop Six, RUE BRUTALIA, and Shattered.

ACT: REGGIE WATTS

No man on Earth is like Reggie Watts. He is a tornado on a stage, hypnotizing his audiences with improvised music and absurd comedy. Like a dream, there is no ground to stand on. You cannot guess his next step, yet every moment is euphoric while you are in it.

Reggie is classically trained pianist and jazz singer, and one of six Americans in possession of full vocal range (ten octaves of tone plus 300 distinct vocal styles).

The New York Times says Reggie "moves seamlessly from skits to songs to off-kilter stand-up, while talking in a subway train full of accents," in their review of Disinformation, his theater piece in the 2008 Under The Radar Festival. He won the prestigious Andy Kaufman Award, and has performed at international affairs such as the Pop!Tech and Design Indaba conferences. He performs corporate gigs for brands such as Starbucks, Nike, and Amazon.com, and is a regular on the CollegeHumor Live tour.

Videos of his live performances can be seen at ReggieWatts.com.

ACT: Owen Smith

Actor, writer, comedian Owen Smith currently writes for and appears on Chris Rock's EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS. This summer Owen lends his pen and voice to Orlando Jones' upcoming animated sketch comedy show BUFU for BET. Beyond performing in clubs across the country, Owen has appeared on numerous shows including PREMIUM BLEND, COMIC VIEW, COMEDY MINUTES, and JUST FOR LAUGHS (Montreal)."

ACT: TJ Miller

TJ Miller is known from playing Marmaduke on ABC's Carpoolers, and is the cameraman "Hud" in the blockbuster hit movie Cloverfield. TJ is from Denver, Colorado, but came up in the Chicago Comedy Scene. Within 2 years he was touring with Second City, on a house team at IO, and performing stand-up at every venue in Chicago. He was the regional winner of the Sierra Mist Search for the Next Great Comic, he's headlined the DC Comedy Festival and was selected to perform at the HBO Aspen Comedy Festival. He's a regular on the Collegehumor.com tour, and has been on the TV channel Comedy Central. He just finished a motion picture for Dreamworks, and is slated to be in there next animated feature: "How to Train Your Dragon." He has also appeared as a guest on the Opie and Anthony Show, and The Late Show with David Letterman, where he said at one point: "We're on Letterman, this is Amazing!!" His website is www.tjmillerdoesnothaveawebsite.com

Coming to dccomedyfest! POLITICS IS FUNNY

Actually, politics can be HILARIOUS. It's fodder for the late night monologues, blogs, parody shows and more. The question is, do these shows now influence the political discourse - even political OUTCOMES - more than the politics influence the punchlines? Join us and our exciting panel of experts to find out!

Panelists scheduled to appear include:

• Mike Allen, Chief Political Correspondent, Politico(moderator)
• Michael Cavna, Style TV/Theater Editor & Comics Blogger, The Washington Post
• Pete Grosz, Writer, "The Colbert Report"
• Joe Medeiros, Head Writer, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"
• Jaline Quinto, Communications Director, DC VOTE
• Baratunde Thurston, Web Editor, "The Onion" - "War for the Whitehouse" Series
• Lizz Winstead, Comedian, Writer, Co-Creator of "The Daily Show"
• Eddie Brill, comedy booker for "Late Night with David Letterman"

Coming to dccomedyfest! SUPER ALT

No "cats-and-dogs are different" jokes here. These stand ups all come to the stage with an alternative point of view and a quirky sensibility. With content that spans the worlds of the fanciful to the sublime, these comedians are the cutting edge of the new comedy and the next big stars of TV, Film and a theater near you. STARRING TJ MILLER.

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Coming to dccomedyfest! GULF COAST COMEDY

Tough times sometimes generate great comedy, and sometimes important messages are best delivered through laughter.

GULF COAST COMEDY features a lineup of comedians all from the U.S. gulf coast, all friends, all directly affected by Hurricane Katrina and all lived in its aftermath.

What they have in common is a life-changing experience, a love of the Big Easy and hilarious styles that cover topics from the obvious to the sublime. All the comics, with different styles and backgrounds, play off of each other in a way that plays not like a showcase of collegues, but a line up of friends.

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ACT: MISLED

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Misled is a sketch comedy group consisting of Pete Grosz and Pat O'Brien. It is directed by TJ Jagodowski. Misled 1 was mounted in early 2006 at Chicago's iO Theater. The 50 minute sketch show was set to 1960's Lounge music and featured characters and scenarios meant to mislead the audience at every turn. The Chicago Reader gave the show Critic's Choice. In the fall of 2006, Misled auditioned to go to Aspen Comedy Festival and performed at the festival in early March 2007. (Website)

Coming to dccomedyfest! THE WEIRD SHOW

Some comedy is, well... different. You're not going to see it on network TV, and probably not in a traditional comedy club. But man, you've GOTTA SEE IT! It may not be traditional stand up, but these comics are all creative, ground-breaking and, let's just say it, a bit WEIRD.

 

 

 

 

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ACT: SWITCHBOARD

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Switchboard is a long-form improvised surprise. The cast of three women begins by creating a space object phone switchboard. The lights come up as they chatter away and connect people on the board. From this stylized opening they organically get a suggestion from the audience: a word in the English language. Then... they begin.

Deb Downing-Grosz, Jean Villepique and Rebecca Sohn - all established and admired improv and sketch comedians, honed their skills at Second City, IO and Annoyance Theatres in Chicago. They have been called by Chicago press as the Queens of Improv. Duh. (Website)

Coming to dccomedyfest! FRESH VOICES INDUSTRY AUDITION SHOW

Judges: Ms. JoAnn Grigioni, Director of Talent Comedy Central
Angela Bowers (Celebrity Talent Coordinator, VH1)
Michael Cox (Comedy Talent Booker,"Chelsea Lately")
Eddie Brill, Comedy Booker, The Late Show with David Letterman

This is their big shot - so don't miss it!! We've assembled the best and brightest up and coming comedians from around the country to audition for the TV shows that could be their big break and make them America's next household name! Join us as we watch them perform for talent scouts for "Best Week Ever," "The Tonight Show" and "Chelsea Lately" - who will come out on top!?? HOSTED BY TJ MILLER

 

 

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Coming to dccomedyfest! 4 SHADES OF BLACK: OBAMA EDITION

The Brooklyn Comedy Company is once again proud to present its signature series '4 Shades of Black' at dccomedyfest. This year, in honor of this historic, crazy and exciting election year they'll be presenting Four Shades: Obama Edition, highlighting comedy with an edge of social commentary and politcal lampooning. Featuring 4 black stand-out stand ups proving that breaking the comedic stereotype is not only funny, its hilarious.

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Coming to dccomedyfest! CHICAGO COMEDY

Chicago isn't just fatty cooked meats and cold biting weather. It's also one of the best breeding and training grounds we know of for every kind of comedy. Somehow the same city produces today's premiere new comedy that ranges from both inventive cutting edge alternative to every-man appeal. Come watch a sampling of its best rising talent and see what we mean.

 

 

 

 

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Coming to dccomedyfest! VELVET LOUNGE hosted by Seaton Smith

dccomedyfest brings some of its "smoothest" acts to the VELVET LOUNGE. All these acts have either retro twists, homages to old school Vegas, cabaret stylings or all of the above.

You'll alternate from squirming in your seat from the cheesiness, to singing along to updated ukelele stylings and doubling with laughter from the unexpected characters who emerge.

So put on your gold chains, order your Manhattan and slip into your best valour jumpsuit or Catskills-era novelty sports jacket and enjoy the sweet, sweet ride.....

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2008, 9:30PM, Source Theatre, $14

Greg Mills, Jim Marsdale, and Larry Poon.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 2008, 9:00PM, Source Theatre, $14

Ben Lerman, Debra Downing, and Robert Buscemi.

Coming to dccomedyfest! DISTRICT OF COMEDY

It IS the DC comedyfest after all! So of course you absolutely need to see the hottest homegrown young comic minds we can offer. There's a distinct kind of quirky optimism meets "we-know-too-much" that influences the comedy of those who live and work in the epicenter of world power. But it a funny way!

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Coming to dccomedyfest! HYSTERICAL VIBRATIONS

Featuring Rob Cantrell with special musical guest LIONIZE

Coming to dccomedyfest! LAUGHING LIBERALLY

Laughing Liberally presents smart, savvy and surprising comedy to save democracy one laugh at a time. Using humor to communicate about politics in effective -- and, more importantly, entertaining -- ways, the national company of Laughing Liberally has played comedy clubs and political conventions, entertained grassroots bloggers, leading Senators and comedy-lovers of all political stripes. With performers from HBO, MTV, Comedy Central, The Onion, The Huffington Post, and 236.com, Laughing Liberally promises to turn Red-Staters red in the face and lift you out of your Blue State blues. www.laughingliberally.org

 

 

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