Latest news with #ComediHa
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Just For Laughs festival returns to Montreal: Michelle Buteau, Chris Distefano, Robby Hoffman, Mae Martin and more
Back in 2024, Canadian comedy fans were left without the Just For Laughs (JFL) festivals in Montreal and Toronto. But after a bankruptcy restructuring, with new owner ComediHa! taking over from the former Quebec parent company, the festival returns to Montreal this week (July 16 to July 27), featuring comedians including Michelle Buteau, Chris Distefano, Fortune Feimster, Rhys Darby, Gianmarco Soresi, Robby Hoffman, Gianmarco Soresi, Wally Baram, Mae Martin, Nish Kumar and more. Nick Brazao, head of programming, told Yahoo Canada it's "satisfying" to be able to bring this impressive lineup to the Montreal festival. Adding that there's a lot of anticipation to see how fans respond. "There's a lot of pieces that go into putting it together, and then once you see it all kind of happening and all being talked about, it's a good time of year," Brazao said. For years, comedy fans haven't just seen their favourite comedians at Canadian JFL festivals, but they're unique opportunities to get exposure to talents you never knew about. Whether it's an opener you had never heard of, or the spontaneous late night stop you make hopping from show to show, it's an incredibly fun time. "To manufacture as much as you can the discovery and the surprise aspect is, I think, a huge part of what makes festivals special and makes them worth doing," Brazao. But with so many comedians gaining popularity and a fan base on social media and other platforms, it all gets considered when it comes to, as Brazao described, the goal of having "something for everyone" at the festival. "It's fun to see the effect of the internet," Brazao said. "The ability of people to reach specific pockets of audiences through social media, or through targeted platforms, whether it's Dropout Improv or things like Smosh Reads Reddit Stories, ... podcasting, ... through Instagram, through TikTok, or maybe more traditional comedy fans that are consuming Netflix specials and Amazon specials, ... [it's] trying to have as much of a varied landscape of that." "People are finding ways to ... find audiences and find a relatability with people. And then now they have this opportunity in a fan base that wants to buy a ticket to see them do something. So now they have to kind of reverse engineer a show versus 15, 30, 42 years ago when the festival started, it was comedians starting with two minutes of material and going to an open mic night and turning that into five minutes of material, and turning that into 10 minutes. And if you're really good and really dedicated and brought yourself to so many audiences, you got seasoned enough to be a headlining act, and then you could hopefully be booked elsewhere." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Just For Laughs Montréal (@jflmontreal) Brazao also highlighted that it's significant for a comedy festival of this size to be in Canada. "If you're in a comedy club anywhere in North America and even across the world, it's referred to as 'Montreal,' but they mean Just For Laughs, which is very cool that it's irreplaceable kind of currency in terms of brand recognition and value," he said. "So it's being able to hone that and respect that, to create something every year." "I think any good comedy festival and any good event really embodies the DNA of the city. Montreal is a city unlike any other. ... There are a few festivals in the global footprint, like Edinburgh Fringe and Melbourne International Comedy Festival, ... but I think Canada being such a comedy home and Montreal being such a renowned stand-up place that comedians want to go to, ... now it's part of the zeitgeist." While many of the bigger names in the history of JFL have been American, there's also a commitment to including locals, but Brazao highlighted it's about providing a space where comedians from different markets, at different stages in their comedy careers, can come together. "When you are engaging in an activity with diverse groups of comedians that are at the top of their game, then everybody's talent level rises along with it," he said. "Ultimately, we do a lot of thinking, of trying to set people up for success ... and can help them elevate to that next level. So I think by blending everybody together, giving them the chance to rub shoulders together and to experience things together, their network is going to be built bigger." "The best comedians are evergreen in that they could perform in front of any audience with any sort of subjective experience from whatever community they live in, but you found a way to connect with them. ... We have a responsibility to try to bridge some of those gaps, or have them open for maybe more rare or a more currently famous foreign comedian. Maybe that leads to another opportunity of them going on tour or being exposed to their fan base, and now they get more followers from having opened for whatever bigger star could be here. And then those little pieces, I think, along the way, can build up to eventually, they can have their own headlining show on their own, and it can be part of their development."
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Just For Laughs festival returns to Montreal: Michelle Buteau, Chris Distefano, Robby Hoffman, Mae Martin and more
Back in 2024, Canadian comedy fans were left without the Just For Laughs (JFL) festivals in Montreal and Toronto. But after a bankruptcy restructuring, with new owner ComediHa! taking over from the former Quebec parent company, the festival returns to Montreal this week (July 16 to July 27), featuring comedians including Michelle Buteau, Chris Distefano, Fortune Feimster, Rhys Darby, Gianmarco Soresi, Robby Hoffman, Gianmarco Soresi, Wally Baram, Mae Martin, Nish Kumar and more. Nick Brazao, head of programming, told Yahoo Canada it's "satisfying" to be able to bring this impressive lineup to the Montreal festival. Adding that there's a lot of anticipation to see how fans respond. "There's a lot of pieces that go into putting it together, and then once you see it all kind of happening and all being talked about, it's a good time of year," Brazao said. For years, comedy fans haven't just seen their favourite comedians at Canadian JFL festivals, but they're unique opportunities to get exposure to talents you never knew about. Whether it's an opener you had never heard of, or the spontaneous late night stop you make hopping from show to show, it's an incredibly fun time. "To manufacture as much as you can the discovery and the surprise aspect is, I think, a huge part of what makes festivals special and makes them worth doing," Brazao. But with so many comedians gaining popularity and a fanbase on social media and other platforms, it all gets considered when it comes to, as Brazao described, the goal of having "something for everyone" at the festival. "It's fun to see the effect of the internet," Brazao said. "The ability of people to reach specific pockets of audiences through social media, or through targeted platforms, whether it's Dropout improv or things like Smosh Reads Reddit stories, ... podcasting, ... through Instagram, through TikTok, or maybe more traditional comedy fans that are consuming Netflix specials and Amazon specials, ... [it's] trying to have as much of a varied landscape of that." "People are finding ways to ... find audiences and find a relatability with people. And then now they have this opportunity in a fan base that wants to buy a ticket to see them do something. So now they have to kind of reverse engineer a show versus 15, 30, 42 years ago when the festival started, it was comedians starting with two minutes of material and going to an open mic night and turning that into five minutes of material, and turning that into 10 minutes. And if you're really good and really dedicated and brought yourself to so many audiences, you got seasoned enough to be a headlining act, and then you could hopefully be booked elsewhere." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Just For Laughs Montréal (@jflmontreal) Brazao also highlighted that it's significant for a comedy festival of this size to be in Canada. "If you're in a comedy club anywhere in North America and even across the world, it's referred to as 'Montreal,' but they mean Just For Laughs, which is very cool that it's irreplaceable kind of currency in terms of brand recognition and value," he said. "So it's being able to hone that and respect that, to create something every year." "I think any good comedy festival and any good event really embodies the DNA of the city. Montreal is a city unlike any other. ... There are a few festivals in the global footprint, like Edinburgh Fringe and Melbourne International Comedy Festival, ... but I think Canada being such a comedy home and Montreal being such a renowned stand-up place that comedians want to go to, ... now it's part of the zeitgeist." While many of the bigger names in the history of JFL have been American, there's also a commitment to including locals, but Brazao highlighted it's about providing a space where comedians from different markets, at different stages in their comedy careers, can come together. "When you are engaging in an activity with diverse groups of comedians that are at the top of their game, then everybody's talent level rises along with it," he said. "Ultimately, we do a lot of thinking, of trying to set people up for success. ... How do you present them in a way that sets them up for success and can help them elevate to that next level. So I think by blending everybody together, giving them the chance to rub shoulders together and to experience things together, their network is going to be built bigger." "The best comedians are evergreen in that they could perform in front of any audience with any sort of subjective experience from whatever community they live in, but you found a way to connect with them. ... We have a responsibility to try to bridge some of those gaps, or have them open for maybe more rare or a more currently famous foreign comedian. Maybe that leads to another opportunity of them going on tour or being exposed to their fan base, and now they get more followers from having opened for whatever bigger star could be here. And then those little pieces, I think, along the way, can build up to eventually, they can have their own headlining show on their own, and it can be part of their development."
CBC
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Is Just for Laughs back? Montreal festival announces stacked lineup after scaled-down 2024
The company was in financial trouble last year. Its assets were seized and it was later acquired by ComediHa!, which put on a smaller show. This year's edition will include Tom Segura, Mae Martin as well as the return of the Nasty Show.
CBC
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Montreal's Just For Laughs comedy festival to showcase Canadian and American stars
Social Sharing Tom Segura, Russell Peters and Russell Howard are among the headliners booked for a revamped Just For Laughs that its new owner says he hopes will bring the summer festival back to its position as an industry powerhouse. JFL president and CEO Sylvain Parent-Bédard outlined a revitalized focus he called a "comedy first" approach while announcing a summer lineup that includes Toronto's Mae Martin, Pakistani-American comic Kumail Nanjiani, and U.S. comics Fortune Feimster, Michelle Buteau and Adam Ray. "The team has worked so hard in the last few months to build back and put in place a great festival, a stable festival," said Parent-Bédard, reached by video call before hosting a press conference in Montreal. For comedian Steve Biko, getting a spot in the festival is a dream come true. "It's really big for me who came from Cameroon and now I'm doing stand up here in Canada," he said. Mix of new faces and well-known artists Just For Laughs filed for bankruptcy in 2024 citing myriad financial troubles including fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and a changing entertainment industry. It was purchased last June by Parent-Bédard's group ComediHa!, a francophone comedy company which last year mounted a scaled-down version of JFL that included shows in Vancouver and Bermuda. Parent-Bédard said this year's edition will offer audiences a mix of new faces and well-known artists as the team works toward rebuilding JFL's venerable legacy. "One day we hope to be recognized again, as it was the greatest and the biggest comedy festival in the world, but I know that we are going to do great this summer and the most important thing for us is comedians having fun, fans having fun," he said. In addition to solo standup shows, plans this summer include two free outdoor comedy shows and the return of the festival's comedy club series. JFL is also reviving its gala series featuring breakout acts accompanied by industry veterans, with two shows each hosted by Feimster and Buteau and taped in front of a live audience, to air on CBC. Meanwhile, CTV Comedy Channel's Roast Battle Canada will be taped at the festival for the first time, featuring Peters, Sabrina Jalees and K. Trevor Wilson as judges and Ennis Esmer as host. 'We are back in full force' Nick Brazao, JFL's head of programming and talent, said there will be a range of concerts and comedy. "You can't go wrong with what we have got in store," he said. "We are back in full force." Parent-Bédard said his passion for comedy will drive this new iteration of the festival, which was founded in 1982. "I have my hands on the wheel. We can make our own decisions, and we are going to make decisions about love for comedy, about passion," Parent-Bédard said. JFL is set to run from July 16 to 27 and tickets go on sale on May 12. Like Biko, knowing she will be performing during JFL is a dream for comedian Pascale Marineau, "If I need to speak to my little inner child, I would say 'you go girl, you did it! You're here and you get to know people who inspired you all your life,'" she said.
