Are Comedy Festivals Worth It?

Last week a funny thing happened on the day of a big comedy festival releasing the names of the accepted comics - they accidently sent the rejection letters to comics who didn't apply and left those who did apply in the dark. Their announcement was posted on Facebook and Instagram, with a flyer listing comics who got in, and the font size of the names was so small, I had a few comics ask me to review the list of names to make sure they didn't miss their name. I was one of those rejected comics, which is fine, but I didn't get the rejection letter, so I emailed them letting them know it feels suspicious how the wrong emails went out, and I want to make sure my video submission was viewed. They emailed me back, claiming they watched it. I now feel like I threw away $35 and grew a minor 24 hour bitterness chip on my shoulder. Many of you probably have felt this too concerning festivals, so I'm going to give a few thoughts based on the last decade of applying, getting accepted, and getting rejected. 

Comedy Festivals Are All a Scam (But Only If You Don't Get In)
I'm being facetious, but...am I? The truth is, once you think about the actual business model, it's pretty awful. They charge you X amount of money to enter, but there's no guarantee you get in, and there's no guarantee you'll know if you didn't. Nor can you prove or can they prove if your submission tape was or wasn't watched. Then one day the festival just announces a bunch of names and either you're in or not. Though, sometimes they let you know ahead of time so they can confirm you're coming; so now you have to keep it a secret until they announce all the names, so you can't book other gigs.  

It gets worse. You never find out why you didn't get in. You don't even know until sometimes days in advance what days you'll perform, and it could be in a theater, comedy club, or a coffee shop. Sometimes room and board are covered, but traveling isn't, and sometimes just food is free, and sometimes it isn't. And considering you're either a broke comic or an aspiring comic with a full time job, you now have to budget the month out differently and get time off work. 
On top of all of that, the industry you wanted to meet may or may not be at your show, and some festivals charge money to panels and classes where you already paid for everything else not included. Then they have a "best of the fest" where the scores aren't public. Oh, and don't forget that you may or may not meet any local bookers on the scene to help if you want to go back to that town. 

Now, I know many have great experiences. There are plenty of legit festivals. But you're not getting into them, and the most legit one just filed for bankruptcy. 

Yet, there are perks to attending even smaller ones for comics. They meet other comics. Some get a late night spot out of it. Hell, some even meet bookers who headline or feature them later that year. They use frequent flyer miles and stay at their friend's house, cutting costs down to little to nothing. They have a really great week or so.  

So like I wrote, it's all a scam unless it isn't. And while that might feel like a cop out, I would argue that most jobs, dates, and churches could have the same philosophy applied to them too. Everything in life is a scam until it isn't. And everything isn't a scam until it is.   

Submission Windows Should Be One Month Only 
If there is one Catch 22 that always upsets my comedy ulcers - it's the 5-6 month window of submitting. Usually they have "early-bird" prices starting at $30 or so and then by the sixth month, the submission could be $70-$100. While this might feel like a traditional sales tactic, there is NO WAY that festival officials are watching and scoring tapes as they come in. Let's say the festival is in June and submissions are January through May. By the time April and May hit, they have hundreds of submissions. That's hours of tapes to watch. Does anyone think they'll be able to catch up on all those early birds? 

Oh. Wait. Don't worry, they are only going to watch the first 90 seconds, but then they have to make self-notes so just in case they think you might make the cut. So it's a time consuming exercise, and one I do not envy. But here's the rub. If you submit at the low price, then you have to hope they'll go back and watch those early bird tapes. And if you submit later, paying a higher price, you have to hope they didn't fill in the spots by the time they get to you. On top of all of that, they might have friends and more established comics getting spots without paying at all. 

This is why I think all festivals should have a one month, one price submission window. This gives every comic an equal chance of being seen properly. Plus, there is NO REASON to double or triple charge because someone found out about the festival after the early bird special pricing. If a festival has a 5-6 month window and only accepts a handful of applicants, then trust me when I say they aren't going to give you a fair chance.   

Diversity Is A Two Edge Sword
I'm not going to camp on this long, but diversity is all the rage right now, which sounds great until you realize that their desire to create opportunities creates limited spots for comics and checklists. Let's say 100 comics submit for a festival and only a couple are of a particular demographic (race, age, gender, magician, puppets, etc.), then they might have a better chance getting in. But if there are a lot of Group A, and the festival wants to meet demographic goals, then not all the best comics are getting in. Suddenly, they have "enough" diversity from Group A and Group B, so Group D gets in to spice things up. 

This isn't just race or sexual identity. There are many types of diversity. Clean comics. Dirty comics. Prop comics. Fat comics. One liner comics. Dry Bar comics. Late Night comics. TikTok comics. Returning festival comics. Religious comics. I noticed that a lot of festivals only had one fat guy with a beard. Which means, once they found one from Group X they liked, and you're in Group X, suddenly you're no longer looked as a funny comic but a doubling of that group - a threat to parity. So if you want to get thrown into this battle royale, just know there is a political agenda you have no control over.     

Maybe Wait Until They Headline You 
One workaround to dealing with the all the ups and downs of the festival scene is to just not participate and wait for festivals to invite you. Instead of paying money, just invest in your travels and open mic time and get to the point where they see your value as a comic and not as a prospective buyer of spots. By building your career and act, you can grow without feeling the added rejection from festivals. If you look at any good festival, you'll see headlining comics join to close outshows, and you can see some are bigger stars than others. So it's not about becoming world famous. It's about becoming world respected.   

Final Thoughts 
I still think there is a place for comedy festivals, but in the past decade, as more and more comics come out of various platforms, there is such an influx that you can't get a fair shake. Like Pot Luck at The Comedy Store, with their email policy, you just don't have much control, which means it's not fair to you to put hope in humans making the best choices. When I started ten years ago, I never thought I'd get this far, but I have had people tell me festivals rejected me one year for the same reason they would have picked me a few years ago. One comic told me a small festival wouldn't pick Dry Bar comics because they thought they got the credit already and others needed the push. But then I hear how others want credits so the whole festival feels big. It's a mess. 

​So as the summer ends and the different festivals do their "festivaling," don't let one group's rejection or acceptance define you. Because to be honest, they probably aren't rejecting or accepting you - they most likely never watched your tape anyways.