A new local comedy festival featuring emerging talent is coming to North Hollywood next month.
Comedy Dynamics, the production and distribution company behind specials for comedians like Kevin Hart, Ali Wong and Pete Davidson, will debut its inaugural Stars of Tomorrow festival at El Portal Theater April 5-9.
The 15 comedians in the lineup have been hand-picked to perform in front of a live audience throughout the five-day festival, and their sets will be filmed for licensing and distribution by the end of 2023.
As the largest independent comedy production and distribution company in the United States, Comedy Dynamics has produced award-winning comedy offerings for hundreds of comedians over the past decade, including big names such as Tiffany Haddish, Tom Segura, Iliza Shlesinger, Jimmy O. Yang, Jim Gaffigan, Ilana Glazer , Eddie Izzard, Joel McHale, David Cross and more.
All of the festival’s specials are directed by Brian Volk-Weiss, founder and CEO of Comedy Dynamics’ parent company, Nacelle. Volk-Weiss is also the longtime producer/director known for The Toys That Made Us, The Movies That Made Us, Disney’s Behind the Attraction, and Icons Unearthed.
“We are thrilled to host our first-ever festival and are grateful to the City of North Hollywood and the El Portal Theater for providing a beautiful venue for the celebration,” Volk-Weiss said in a press release.
In 2019, Nacelle was nominated for the 2019 NAACP Spirit Award for Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History. and an Emmy Award for “Down to Earth With Zac Efron” in 2021. Twenty-one of Comedy Dynamics’ releases have been nominated for a Grammy (with four wins), including all five in the Comedy Albums category for the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019 .
Comics selected for the Stars of Tomorrow festival include Samantha Ruddy, Billy Sorrells, Kevin James Thornton, Cara Connors, Subhah Agarwal, Hank Chen, Jose Velasquez, Malik Bazille, Rachel Scanlon, Kim McVicar, Sarah Hester Ross and Nicole Burch Mary Basmadjian. Leah Rudick, Laurie Kilmartin, Sierra Katow, Big Mickey Tha Comedian and Kylie Brakeman. For fixed times and tickets, Click here.
Source: LA Times