Detroit International Comedy Festival
March 21 – 27, 2010
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The third annual Detroit International Comedy Festival is morphing into a larger, funnier, and more exciting event entitled "Laugh Detroit".
The festival will open on Sunday March 21, 2010 with a blockbuster kickoff performance by Lewis Black at the Royal Oak Music Theater.
Throughout the next week comic celebrities will perform and host showcase performances at Mark Ridley's Comedy Castle in Royal Oak beginning on Monday March 22 when Lewis Black will officially open the Laugh Detroit comedy festival there.
The vision of an annual comedy festival in the resurging industrial capital of the mid-west is the brainchild of Mark Ridley of Comedy Castle fame, and Dave Moroz, president of Aspen Talent.
They, in conjunction with, Michael Watts, President of Watts Up, Inc., have joined forces to mount a weeklong comedy festival, and will host 11 shows at Mark's Comedy Castle and the Royal Oak Theater.
The Detroit/Royal Oak area has been a mainstay in the comedy club entertainment circuit for over 30 years, and the Comedy Castle its center for 20 years.
A litany of events from Mayoral text scandals featuring illicit affairs, the collapse of the American auto industry always associated with Detroit – "The Motor City", the sports debacle that is the Detroit Lions have all been fodder for stand up comedians, the cable channel talking heads, and late night television hosts.
However, we who live, work, and grew up in this great city know that they are misguided in thinking we are just material to be used for their amusement.
Our city is, and has always been, made up of hard working blue collar families who have been the back bone of the industrial might of the best and most prosperous country in the World.
When the axis powers threatened the very fabric of freedom and Democracy where did our leaders turn – Detroit. The men and women of this area stood tall, and made the planes, and tanks, and other weapons needed to turn the tide and win the war. Overnight we became the "Arsenal of Democracy" to the world.
Even before that Henry Ford and Bill Durant used their entrepreneurial desire to put America, and the world on the road with mass produced and affordable automobiles, trucks, and farm equipment.
What does this all have to do with a comedy festival, not a whole lot, but we think it is time to celebrate the wonder and great sense of humor that emanates from the people who are this city.
We no longer want to sit back and hear David Letterman, Jay Leno, or Bill Maher, make fun of us for the pleasure of their audience.
We get it, and it makes for clever repartee, but we have always been able to look at what needs to be done to make this area and state a great place to raise a family, to work, and to retire.
Laugh Detroit will celebrate the intestinal fortitude of the people of this region, and we will all come together to enjoy a good time without being the butt of the jokes.
Seven days, 11 shows, featuring many comic hosts and headliners with Detroit roots, and showcasing over 40 new up and coming comedic artists from around the world.
This year, for the first time, the Laugh Detroit Comedy Festival will kick off with a gala event at the Royal Oak Music Theater featuring the hottest comedian in America, Lewis Black.
It is almost impossible to turn on the television or go to the theater each week without seeing Lewis on cable television (Comedy Central, HBO, the Daily Show, etc.), and recently his latest movie "Stark Raving Black" opened to rave reviews around the country. Not to mention his holiday special "Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black", and his new HBO special which begins airing this month.
Lewis has a great fondness for Detroit, and enjoys the working class environment, which is similar to his upbringing.
When disaster hit this area with the near collapse of the American automobile industry Lewis emailed his friend Mark Ridley, and asked if he could help.
Unfortunately at the same time comedian and late night show host Jay Leno was announcing shows in the area with free admission for laid off autoworkers.
Not wanting to be redundant, and take away from this already announced effort Lewis and Mark tabled the idea.
During the planning process for the third annual Detroit International Comedy Fest (now Laugh Detroit), Mark mentioned the concept to his associates and a decision was made to ask Lewis to kick off and host the revamped festival to accentuate the sense of good humor of the community.
He accepted immediately and will not only perform the opening night gala at the Royal Oak Music Theater, Sunday, March 21, 2010, and will also host the first showcase at the newly renovated Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle on Monday March 22, 2010.
Tickets for the March 21 Lewis Black Royal Oak Theater appearances will go on sale at 5:00 PM on Friday December 18 at the theater box office or by phone by callintg 800 - 919 -6275, and are priced at $55.00.
Also appearing and hosting the showcases at Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle that week are Women’s Night hosted by Kathleen Madigan, Dave Coulier (hosting Thursdays Clean Guys program of comedy acceptable to the whole family), Heywood Banks, Cool Aide, and Kivi Rogers (the weekends headliner, and also a Clean Guy).
Tickets for the Comedy Castle shows can be purchased on line by accessing the ETix link at http://www.comedycastle.com: for further information call 248 542 9900.
In addition to the week long festival we will also present showcase contests in December at which local comedians can audition to qualify for the main event.
They include December 2nd at Dr. Grin’s in Grand Rapids, and December 7th and 8th at Joey Comedy Club in Livonia, December 9th Ann Arbor, and December 16th at the Taste Bar in Detroit.
Participants at each local can perform to earn a spot on the main festival next year.
For information contact: www.aspentalent.com
Also of interest: World Premier - January 5, 2010 at the Emagine Theater, Novi, Michigan: The 3rd Detroit International Comedy Festival Documentary film, and DVD release party.
The movie will open to the public on January 8 at Emagine Theaters, Novi, Canton, Woodhaven, and at Cinema Hollywood in Birch Run, Michigan for a one week run.