The SXSW Comedy Festival, part of the larger South by Southwest Festival and Conference since 2008, returns to Austin this month for five days packed with stand-up performances, improv shows, live podcast recordings, and much more. Announced on February 28th, this year’s festival features a solid slate of heavy-hitters in the comedy world, as well as a ground-breaking crop of fresh new talent. Taking full advantage of its multimedia format, SXSW provides a unique opportunity for attendees to experience a huge variety of creative projects, and the comedy fest is no exception. From Muppets to sex robots, this year’s edition has it covered.
True to the festival’s ethos of bringing together creative professionals from different industries, many of this year’s Comedy Festival participants are also participating in the SXSW Conference and Film & TV Festival. Comedy veteran Pamela Adlon (Babes) and up-and-comer Cazzie David (I Love You Forever) accompany their respective feature directorial debuts. Andrew Rannells and Nick Kroll premiere their comedy horror film I Don’t Understand You, Lilly Singh takes on writing and acting duties in Doin’ It, and John Leguizamo appears alongside co-star Barbie Ferreira in Bob Trevino Likes It. Among the television offerings at the festival, Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart usher in the third season of their show Hacks, offering a fictionalized take on the world of stand-up comedy.
Getting off to a running start, expert expressionist James Adomian (Comedy Bang! Bang!) opens the week’s festivities with his annual keynote, The Unfinished Orson Welles Roast of Hollywood. Along with some friendly (and not so friendly) familiar faces, the show promises to deliver a witty and entertaining look at this year’s Oscar contenders. Also on opening night, Variety hosts the festival’s Power of Comedy awards show, honoring a diverse slate of performers including Jaboukie Young-White, Robbie Praw, Hannah Einbinder, Lilly Singh, Samantha Bee, John Leguizamo, Pamela Adlon, Cazzie David, Andrew Rannells and Nick Kroll. Brooke Shields and Diablo Cody, among others, will be on hand to present.
The festival also spotlights a number of illuminating conversations with various notable figures from the comedy world. Renowned film critic Leonard Maltin, alongside his daughter Jessie, returns with a live recording of his podcast Maltin on Movies to interview esteemed puppeteer and filmmaker Frank Oz, who will discuss comedic films from his iconic filmography, ranging from Little Shop of Horrors to Jim Henson’sThe Muppets. Oz will also join comedy luminaries Judd Apatow (Knocked Up), Robert Smigel (SNL), and Lucia Aniello (Broad City) for Reel Comedy: Creating Comedy from the Director’s Chair. Smigel then catches up with Conan O’Brien in a discussion of their early days at SNL in The Origins of Whatever You Call What We Did with Conan O’Brien and Robert Smigel.
Improv fans will be pleased to see Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) co-founder Matt Besser return to the festival to present the troupe’s longest running show ASSSSCAT and his latest offering, the uniquely zeitgeisty musical A.I. Johnny Cash & A.I. Friends Hootenanny. And of course, no comedy festival would be complete without a full program of stand-up performers new and old. SXSW doesn’t disappoint, with solo shows from WGA award-winner Yamaneika Saunders and BAFTA breakthrough artist Luisa Omielan, as well as featured performers from lauded comedy institutions Gotham Comedy Club, Hollywood Improv, The Creek and the Cave, and Entre Nos (HBO).
Not a comedy stone goes unturned at this year’s wide-ranging festival, where attendees will also get the chance to enjoy performances from contemporary performers pushing the boundaries of the age-old art of clowning deep into the twenty first century. Courtney Pauroso tells a tale as old as time as existential sex robot Vanessa 5000, before teaming up with Christina Catherine Martinez for Girl Cop: A Clown Drama. Zach Zucker, “bad boy of clown,” also returns with Stamptown, his latest raunchy late-night variety show.
Finally, the comedy fest also takes the opportunity to do some good and have a few laughs in the process, as Comic Relief US (Red Nose Day) presents Paul Scheer (The League) and Dulcé Sloan (The Daily Show) in Permission to Laugh: Using Comedy as a Force for Good.
The SXSW Comedy Festival runs from March 8-12 in Austin, Texas.
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