How Best of the Fests are Choosen

​Recently, I announced that if you had a question, if you Venmo'd @themoomabides $25 I would answer it. I was getting so many questions, I decided this was the best way to manage the desire for more knowledge. Most questions are pretty quick, but every once in a while I get a question that has a few more nuances than a simple yes or no. This week's question falls into my theme of discussing the plight of comics navigating full time work and festivals. So I decided to use this question to springboard a few thoughts on how to maximize your opportunities at the festivals you do decide to attend. This question comes from "Justin." 

If you were doing a comedy festival, and your goal was to make Best of the Fest, what would your approach be? Would you build your funniest five minutes or your most memorable five minutes?

This is a great question because it hits a lot of different subjects within one major subject. As I said in previous articles, "Festivals are scams until they aren't." What I mean by that is that if you gain something from the festival, then it was worth it. If you feel like it's a cattle call with no true way to showcase, then it wasn't worth it, and it's a scam for you. This mindset will help you distinguish between what you should be focusing on and what you should be ignoring.

First the "Don't's" 
Let's say you get into a legitimate festival, you may want to give serious consideration to the type of material you want to showcase. Why pay all that money and travel to flop around on stage? Here are a few "Don't's" before we get into the "Do's."

• Don't do crowd work
• Don't do local jokes 
• Don't do time sensitive jokes
• Don't do extra blue material 

If your five minute set is focused on making fun of the guy in the front row, commenting on the local gas prices, mocking this week's political gaffe, and doing jokes you can't take anywhere but clubs, you'll lose opportunities as an unknown comic on the rise. If you are an established comic known for "hot takes," then go with what's been taking you to the dances. For the rest of us, we need to earn the right to say dirty jokes out of the bag.

The Industry At Festivals Dictates Your Destiny 
Too often we think the funniest jokes are the best to run with, which in theory is best. But sometimes giving the crowd insight into your life as a (fill in the blank) can be what separates you from the rest. Yet, I've seen fully original acts get ignored when "Best of the Fest" comics are announced because they took too long getting to the funny. A tragic story about near death experiences and relationships might be great closers, yet they don't pass the laughs per seconds test in a five minute festival set. But the real reason some comics make the Best of Fests is not because of the material, but what the industry needs at that festival. 

Some festivals like Burbank have a lot of commercial agents and managers looking to beef up their client lists. Some festivals like Big Pine and Big Sky bring out late night bookers to book their world-famous shows. Those are two different sets of industry. We might all agree COMIC A is funny, but unless he can sell products, the Burbank industry aren't as interested. Meanwhile, there are great comics whose act is too "alt" to make TV, so they aren't a great fit at Big Pine or Big Sky. Both festivals specifically let comics know the industry is looking at a more PG-13 vibe for TV. 

So if you fit what the guest judges want, then you are more likely to make it into the Best of the Fest. 

Geography Plays a Part 
If there's one thing you can't control is where you were born. But if you were born out of Los Angeles or New York City, run with that as often as possible. The world is filled with Los Angeles babies trying to make it. But I've heard from showrunners and bookers that everyone wants to give an out-of-towner a shot. This plays a part in selecting the Best of the Fest winners as well. 

Let's say you're running a comedy festival. While profitability is important, so is building relationships with local hotels to sell rooms and get potential sponsorship money from the city. Often, smaller festivals will make deals with restaurants and hotels to host shows in exchange for money. The Burbank Festival has received funds from the city to buy equipment and marketing materials for shows, but they have to prove the city (local businesses) will be financially rewarded. 

It is this political side of hosting a festival that inspires bookers and producers to select out of town people for The Best of the Fest. They hope these comics will go back home and tell their local scene that they had a great time, and those comics will submit next year and get a hotel and the circle of festival life continues.     

In the End Being Funny is Still Key 
While there are a lot of reasons comics are selected for Best of the Fests, which seem to be more and more popular today, at the end of the festival you want people to see you as funny. Not just "nice" or "professional," but clearly a future headliner with potential in TV or movies. So when you are putting together your best five minutes to showcase, make sure your opening joke clearly identifies where your point of view is coming from, but then lay it on hard. Jokes. Jokes. Jokes. Tag after tag after tag. 

While that story you love might be more "memorable," does it have a punchline every 20 seconds? If not, then save it for when you're featuring or headlining and show off your ability to keep the laughs coming. 

Final Thoughts
Comedy is full of gatekeepers. Bookers, producers, and other comics who dictate how comics move up and down the comedy ladder. You have very little control over them and their opinions of you. So all you can do is take the opportunities and showcase your sharpest writing. Because even if you bomb but look like a dad in a Best Buy ad, the commercial and acting agents will still pick you. But if you kill it and look like a dad in a Best Buy ad, then the TV Executives will want to discuss your future along with the other industry members. 

​We put a lot of pressure on comics to "stay on brand." And while branding does include "being a dad" or "the nerdy tech girl" or "the hip grandma," branding is also the type of consistency you bring to the stage every time. And if you can keep them laughing, there will always be a place for you, even if it's not the Best of the Fest. Because being the Best of the Rest is really the goal.