In the old days, One of the best times for the comedian to interrupt his career was being filmed by Johnny Carson’s crew on the “Tonight Present” segment. Being invited to the sofa later was a different stage. By the nineties, Carson was done and while there have been various late night spots (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien), another star maker emerged: The Only for Laughs Montréal Pageant.
The comedy festival – which takes place on July 14-29 with the unique ways of presenting Ali Wong, Ronny Chieng and Anthony Jeselnik – was born 40 years ago and for many years it has been a place to see, with its show New Faces attracting a group of managers {industry} and seen as a professional to start raising.
“As soon as I got off the stage, the booker from ‘The Tonight Present’ said, ‘Save that set, we need you right now,'” recalls Jo Koy. “I was a shoe salesman at the time, so it felt like a movie.”
Chieng had similar skills years later. He said: “When I was in Australia, we used to hear about Only for Laughs and all our comedians. “When I received the first invitation in 2012, it was very difficult for me, and it started my career – I met Trevor Noah and my US brokers there.”
Comedy shows have changed rapidly and dramatically in recent times. There are many festivals competing in New York, Los Angeles, Austin and beyond, and many comedians can create their own commercials and transfer their content to television. They will create their own e-books, create podcasts and create their own specials.
Despite this, managers and comedians argue that Only for Laughs remains more than just communication, it remains very important: it attracts players at every stage of their work, owners of houses with members and promoters, managers and brokers, managers and exhibitors. Kevin Hart’s “LOL” was launched at JFL, and used it as a platform to search for the next audience of the {industry}. Meta shot its first immersive VR game right here 12 months ago (“Surrounded”).
“All these changes don’t change the importance of networking, conversations with neighbors,” says Robyn Kaszor, VP of festivals, who has been with JFL for 18 years. “That’s the mecca of meeting places.”
While the JFL is known as a “summer sports camp,” Chieng says it’s just a fun time. “It’s like a comedy convention.” It is relevant because it is the only opportunity for people to gather in such a situation in North America. ”
Margaret Cho admits that the social aspect is big, but she says that there are other advantages of the event such as “searching in the industry, seeing what is happening and what is happening and what you want to think about.”
Laughs president Bruce Hills, who has been with the company for 35 years, says the key to staying engaged is “awareness.”
New Faces of Comedy remains the most important measuring stick for comedy, says Chieng. “It’s hard to know where you’re going and how you’re doing, but JFL gives humor the one thing you need,” he says. “When you do that, it’s a step forward and a sign that you’re on the right track.”
Maintaining that foundation has meant expansion, says Hills, noting that while New Faces of Comedy was just one show, it grew into a full-fledged franchise. “It’s important that our relationship with {industry} be multidisciplinary,” says Hills.
The show’s rising stars embrace New Faces Characters (“the hope for solid ‘SNL’ cast members to be seen,” says Hills) and New Faces Creators (a discussion that “gives people without a standing platform to let them see the way to {money},” according to Kaszor) including New Faces New Worldwide and New Worldwide Canada.
“We want to make sure that Canada is well covered,” says Hills, “and we want players from around the world to get the right exposure.”
Despite the New Faces of the past, JFL has expanded its repertoire, hosting exclusive shows and bringing in stand-ups, artists, podcasters and others from around the world. “They’re not from the States and they’re not from golf equipment — they could be Off Broadway or they could be in a comedy show in Australia or they could be Internet stars when we find them,” he says, adding that he also interviews the people who run the tournaments that compete in the event.
“For this reason {industries} know that they have to be here – now we have the big ones from Netflix, Apple, Amazon, HBO Max, looking for stars that speak to the world.”
Tim Sarkes, head of humor at Brillstein Leisure Companions, says all the expansion is paying off. “As a representative, we try to keep up with emerging technologies wherever they are, but competition plays an important role in stopping one of the best, which makes it tempting to go exploring,” he said. He says.
The essential ingredient in this competition is the town itself, everyone agrees. “It’s possible for actors to hold each other together but to increase satisfaction with {money} in a non-discriminatory way that’s not Los Angeles or New York,” says Cho.
Kaszor says it’s easier for everyone to get along because the tournament is held in one place.
“There are 27 places within 5 blocks, including five-star hotels and fine dining,” says Hills. “Fans see the actors walking to their shows. You can see Jason Reitman or Judd Apatow walking around looking for art. That understanding is a very powerful part of what we do.”
Sarkes says that while different festivals may have more or more shows and comedians, they are naturally more spread out.
“The New York Comedy Pageant is great and fun but it’s for fans, it’s a direct-to-consumer competition with no venue,” he says. “Several of the big events mentioned here are breakfasts with actors or others in the {industry}. So they deal with the {industry} like kings and queens right now.”
Comedians are also treated “like royalty”, says Koy. “There is no city that embraces stand-up comedy like Montréal with Only Laughs. The whole city revolves around it.”
An overjoyed Koy says the final word is being chosen as one of the Only for Laughs honors at the annual awards ceremony. “It was mainly after he gave me 12 months of comedy,” he says. “It’s like the Oscars of comedy.”
Chieng, the 12-month-old comedian who was honored for 12 months, says the award is not the “be all and end all,” for many musicians who are naturally skeptical.
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However, he says, he is happy to have reached this point.
“I’m not saying that people should respect me because I won an award at Only for Laughs,” he says, “but it’s a huge honor for me because of what the competition meant to me.”