Comedy festival in paradise

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on May 12th, 2005

Although their website is, to put it charitably, incomplete, the organizers of the 1st Annual Hawaii International Comedy Festival assure one and all that their festival, near the midpoint of the Pacific Ocean, will be “the place to get discovered,” and that their island get-together is “the perfect opportunity to make those important industry contacts to help you find work here in Hawaii and around the world.” It’s scheduled for May 18-21, 2006, so they’ll have plenty of time to whip that site into shape. (Currently, the only standup talent they seem to have scheduled are Wil Durst, Judy Tenuta and Alonzo Bodden. (And it’s a tad disconcerting to note that visitors can access the page that displays images of these three comics when they click a link labelled “Products.” Perhaps we misunderstand– maybe the Fest organizers merely plan to sell color photographs of the three comics in question and they aren’t scheduled to actually perform.)

Having worked in Hawaii on five separate occasions between 1988 and 1993, the staff here at SHECKYmagazine HQ found that moving to Los Angeles and showcasing at the Ice House was the perfect opportunity to find work in Hawaii. (Heck, we even got married there!) The occasional club operates sporadically. There are no doubt corporate gigs to be had there. But there’s nothing like the mini-scene that existed on four islands at the height of the comedy boom. Perhaps this Fest will perk things up. We are pessimistic, though. The cost of getting to Hawaii, for all but a small sliver of the country, is nearly prohibitive, as is lodging. And competition from Montreal (which takes place eight weeks later) and from the fledgling Vegas fest (which takes place six months earlier) will make it tough for this comedy hukilau debut outing.

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