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http://www.lowellcomedyfestival.com/

Media Contact: Meghan O’Sullivan
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Wayne Brady To Headline 2006 Lowell Comedy Festival, June 8th-11th

This Year’s Festival Will Showcase Forty of The Nation’s Top Improv and Sketch Troupes from Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and New York and Around New England

(Lowell, Massachusetts) May 8, 2006 - - More than one hundred improvisers, stand-up comedians, and filmographers will descend upon the City of Lowell on June 8-11th for what Lowell hopes to be the emergence of one of the nation’s leading comedy festivals.

This year the Lowell Comedy Festival (LCF) has expanded to include five stages to showcase the approximate forty troupes slated to perform in the four day festival. This year’s line-up includes performers from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCB) in New York City; BassProv from Second City in Chicago; JoKyR and Jesster from Utah; Stranger than Fiction and Uphill Both Ways from California, the mainstage cast from Improv Boston and the comedic talents of Boston’s Walsh Brothers. Other highlights include a performance from Misunderstood, a musical rock opera, entirely improvised and performed with a live band; Brian Longwell, your favorite non-motivational speaker; and the Late Night Players to name a few.

Performances will take place at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Merrimack Repertory Theater, DoubleTree Hotel, Old Court Pub and Revolving Museum. In addition to Improv comedy, the festival will showcase stand-up, film, sketch, and classes from some of the best teachers and directors in the country.

“We hope that this will be the beginning of a festival that will someday be on a par with Chicago’s Improv Festival and Montreal’s Comedy Festival, but we are starting small,” says J. Matthew Coggins, Assistant City Manager. “Right now we are inviting troupes who are instrumental in the growth of the national improv scene and hope that over the weekend, they see the potential of the Lowell Comedy Festival and participate in the building of it.”

“This is the only comedy festival in the country that is sponsored by a city,” says LCF’s artistic director Will Luera, “That alone is creating big ‘buzz’ on the national scene. I’m also excited to be putting together a festival that features every style of comedy,” says Luera, who is also a performer and artistic director for Improv Boston. “This festival is going to have something for everyone. We’ve also arranged for people to be able to roam from venue to venue by staggering shows on the half hour.” According to Luera, each show will feature at least three acts. Log-on to www.lowellcomedyfestival.com for details.

Locations and Times

Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Showcase Shows
50 East Merrimack Street
Friday, 7:00 [Stranger Than Fiction (SF);Romance 101 (Lowell); UCB (NYC)]
Friday, 9:00 [UCB(NY); Uphill Both Ways (SF); BassProv (Chicago)]
Saturday 7:00 [BassProv (Chicago); Joker and Jester (Utah) Black Jew Dialogues (Boston)]
Saturday 9:00 [Stranger Than Fiction (SF); Uphill Both Ways (SF) Jokyr and Jester (Utah)]

DoubleTree Hotel
New England All Stars (Improv)
Thursday, 8:00 [New England Family; DeBattle; Mosaic]
Friday, 7:30 [Misunderstood; Kamikaze Comedy(VT);Am I A Ghost?]
Friday, 7:30 [Improv Boston Mainstage; Crackers In Bed; TheatreSports]
Saturday, 7:30 [The Tribe Players; Agent Spy; Seriously]
Saturday, 9:30 [Unexpected Company; Stranger than Fiction (NH); Dirty Puppets]
Classes: Saturday and Sunday A.M – P.M.

Old Court Pub
Central Street
Standup and Sketch
Friday, 8:00 [WPI Alumni Project; The City Never Sleeps; Perfect Monster]
Friday, 10:00 Show [Walsh Bros Host Standup]
Saturday, 8:00 [Whose in the Doghouse?; Late Night Players; Cleanest River in America)
Saturday 10:00 [Walsh Brothers Host Stand-Up]

Revolving Museum
Shattuck Street
Film
Friday, 11:00 [Barmanda: The Sequel; Card Sharks; Grillz; Lunches with Laura; Sam Adams]

Tickets

Tickets for each show are $10 per person. $20 will buy you an evening pass to all shows. And $40 will buy you a pass to all performances, all weekend. These prices exclude the price for attending Wayne Brady. Tickets can be purchased at the door of each venue beginning one hour before each performance.

Tickets for Wayne Brady range from $40-$53 can be purchased separately from the Lowell Memorial Auditorium by calling 978-454-2299 or through Ticketmaster. Those who attend Wayne Brady’s show at the Auditorium will receive a FREE all festival pass to the remainder of the festival.

For more information on performers, performance times and locations, log-on to www.lowellcomedyfestival.com