Festival hopes to bring laughs

An improvisation and sketch comedy show will take the stage this weekend, bringing together college and professional troupes for two evenings of laughs.

The fourth annual IU College Comedy Festival on Friday and Saturday at The Waldron Arts Center is intended to showcase student talent, said Julie Singer, the Union Board’s 2009 performance/comedy director.

The festival is the brainchild of former Union Board member Alex Dodge. Its purpose is to provide entertainment from IU comedy troupes and troupes from other colleges to IU students and the public at large.

Singer said the Union Board is trying to diversify the audience and appeal to large numbers of people.

“We want it to be annual and long-standing,” said Anne Kostyo, the 2008 Union Board comedy director.

The show itself will involve college troupes from around the Midwest and a professional troupe, Groundlings, from California. The students will act in sketches and long and short improvisations, with the professional group performing at the end.

The festival has had varying success in previous years, bringing in anywhere from 100 to 400 people, Kostyo said.

The location of the show has been moved this year from the Indiana Memorial Union to the Waldron Rose Firebay and Auditorium. However, Kostyo said Union Board believes students will still be drawn to it, even if it is off campus.

“There have been several other events at the Waldron Auditorium,” Singer said. “It’s centrally located, and people are used to going there.”

Singer said the start time, later than in previous years, will give people time to go to dinner beforehand and hopefully boost attendance.

This year, Union Board has tried to expand awareness about the festival by putting out more advertising and giving it more prominence.

“This is a benchmark year,” Kostyo said. “We want to regularize the image and the logo.”

The performers said they are also hoping to raise awareness and get people to come. They are interested in getting people involved in comedy events throughout the year.

“We formed because there was a lack of improv comedy groups on campus,” said Josh Cohen, president of the “Whose Line”-like group HoosOnFirst, which will be performing this weekend.

Cohen said he and his group hope to see a lot of people at the festival to enjoy the performances.