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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 21, 2008
CONTACT:
Kent Warneke, Committee Chair, 402-371-1020
Lora Young, Committee member, Madison County Visitors Bureau, 402-371-2932
For more information visit our Web site at www.greatamericancomedyfestival.com
COMEDY FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES NEW NAME, SHOWCASE HEADLINER AND FEATURED EVENTS
(Norfolk, Neb.) Following months of hard work, organizers of Norfolk Nebraska’s inaugural comedy festival have announced some exciting new changes and additions to the festival lineup June 17-22, 2008. Those changes include a new name, the announcement of a national headliner who will host the finale showcase and a schedule of featured events.
After much discussion by the committee members and numerous conversations with industry experts, the name of the festival has officially been proclaimed the “Great American Comedy Festival.” As the festival has been created in the spirit of the late Johnny Carson, a Norfolk native and comedy legend, the committee decided that the name needed to capture the persona he held. Johnny Carson was a “Great American.”
“What better way to honor Johnny Carson than to bring in comedians – both aspiring and those who already have made it big – to Norfolk and have them perform on the stage that Johnny Carson helped make possible?” said Kent Warneke, chairman of the festival’s board of directors.
Comedy festival committee members have also announced that well-known actor and comedian Robert Klein will be in Norfolk to host and headline the showcase event on Saturday, June 21, at 8 p.m. in the Johnny Carson Theatre. Klein has been active in Broadway and television acting as well as stand-up comedy since 1965. Klein has appeared numerous times on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson and Jay Leno and has also spent time guest hosting the show. He has also sold out comic events at such places as Carnegie Hall, hosted his own syndicated radio program and has acted with the likes of Lucy Arnaz, Madeline Kahn, Al Pacino and others. Klein has also hosted numerous television and cable comedy shows and has appeared in countless movies, such as “Mixed Nuts,” “Primary Colors,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and “People I Know.”
The inaugural Great American Comedy Festival will be produced by Eddie Brill, the talent coordinator for the “Late Show” with David Letterman. Brill, along with other industry professionals, will spend the week judging the comedy contestants in a mission to find the next "Great American" comedian.
The five-day event also will include an amateur hour on opening night followed by two nights of semi final contests as comedians hope to make the cut to perform in the comedy finals on Friday, June 20. A prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the festival’s top comedian. The gala showcase event will be held on Saturday night where Robert Klein will serve as the headliner and host and will also include performances by the festival winner, Brill and the Brave New Workshop comedy troupe from Minneapolis.
In addition to the comedy competitions, the festival will also feature a series of workshops for the competing contestants and for others who are interested in a future in stand-up comedy. Eddie Brill will host a workshop for comedians on “Developing and Re-Tooling Your Show”, while national comedy club manager and producer Barbara Holiday will hold workshops on “Marketing and Promoting Yourself” and “How To Get On A Game Show.”
Wrapping up the festival will be an afternoon performance on Sunday, June 22, by Adam Christing, one of the nation's leading Christian comedians.
A youth camp will be held June 15 through June 21 for those 14-18 years old and will be hosted at Northeast Community College by the Brave New Workshop of Minneapolis. Youth camp instructional sessions will include stand up, improv, sketch and writing.
As time draws near for the curtain to go up on the festival, committee members and industry professionals will be wasting no time in finding the Great American talent that will be featured in this year’s show. This week, members will be traveling the country finding some of the best stand-up comedians.
For more information, visit the festival's Web site at www.greatamericancomedyfestival.com . Tickets for the various festival events are scheduled to go on sale as of March 1.
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