CARRBORO – Second City Touring Company, Mike Birbiglia and Eddie Brill are among the performers for the 12th annual North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival. This year, those acts and more will gather for three weeks of comedy in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Durham. This annual event runs Feb. 1-19 and features stand-up, sketch and improv acts in seven venues across the region.
The festival will begin a partnership with the Carolina Theatre in Durham this year. The first weekend of the festival will feature a performance from stand-up comic Mike Birbiglia. Birbiglia will appear Feb. 3 at the Carolina Theatre. The following week, the festival will welcome the famed Second City Touring Company to the Carolina Theatre stage Feb. 11.
“After the success of co-presenting Margaret Cho in 2010 I am looking forward to partnering with the Carolina Theatre for the 2012 NC Comedy Arts Festival,” said the festival’s executive producer, Zach Ward. “And after 11 years focused on production in Carrboro and Chapel Hill, expansion with multiple festival events in Durham will mark a significant step forward for DSI Comedy Theater and comedy in North Carolina.”
Comic Eddie Brill, who also books comedy for “Late Show with David Letterman,” will judge two sessions of the David Letterman Showcase, in which local comedians get a chance to audition for a possible booking. Brill also will perform during these two sessions Feb. 4 at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro.
Each year, comedians flock to The Triangle to perform and attend workshops, making the region an annual destination for comedians of all styles and the festival one of the largest comedy events of its kind in the country. This year, the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival is expecting more than 1,000 performers.
New this year, the festival will open with the stand-up comedy week. Birbiglia headlines this block along with Brill. Stand-up comedy will run from Feb. 1-5.
The second week will feature sketch comedy. Second City highlights this week, which runs from Feb. 8-12.
The festival closes with a week of improv comedy from Feb. 14-19. The longest running portion of the festival will feature performances from the Magnet Theatre Touring Company from New York City, Junior Varsity, The Chris Gethard Show, BEATBOX, Dual Exhaust, ImprovBoston Mainstage, Death By Roo Roo and Two Man Movie from the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Tickets and a full schedule will be available at www.nccomedyarts.com.
