The 2013 Milwaukee Comedy Festival

Milwaukee Comedy Festival founder and organizer Matt Kemple looks happy as he sits in his office in the Underground Collaborative. He’s surrounded by memorabilia from past festivals – promotional posters, pictures of improv groups and stand-up comedians in action, and his favorite yellow rubber chicken.

I compliment him on the festival making it into its eighth year, and he smiles. “Eight is great.”

And so is the festival itself, Wisconsin’s largest comedy event and, increasingly, a popular national festival. Since its inception in 2006, the Milwaukee Comedy Festival has gained notoriety from all corners of the United States, and has more acts vying to perform than ever before. “For the 2012 festival, we had 60-some submissions,” Kemple said. “This year we had 130, easily twice as many. And these submissions came from everywhere. In the past we’d maybe have one submission from New York City one year and then one from Los Angeles the next year. 2013 is the first year that we received submissions from every big city, every corner of the United States, from New Hampshire to Florida, the South, San Francisco, San Diego, and Canada.”

What explains this current level of notoriety? Simply put, Kemple says, the Milwaukee Comedy Festival has garnered a great reputation nationwide.

“The performers really appreciate the way we treat them,” Kemple said. “Having fun and being nice to people is our mission and that’s how you put on a great show!”

The 2013 version of the festival looks a little bit different from last year’s too. Instead of spreading the comedy over two weekends, the 8th Annual Milwaukee Comedy Festival is packed into four days, August 1-4. Kemple says the change is designed to make the event more organized and exciting, as well as ensure better, larger audiences – although it does mean the number of acts they can sign up is reduced as well.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t have as many performance spots [because of the change],” Kemple said. “But I feel like the quality of what we are able to present to people is really top-notch.”

Kemple says he and his crew were able to determine their chosen acts by seeking artists who could diversify their offerings. “The main goal with the festival is to offer people variety,” Kemple said. “It’s not just a stand-up show, it’s not just an improv show. You’re going to see all of that. … We tried to choose acts that were not just talented, but that had something a little bit different to offer. There are acts from Milwaukee, Chicago, there’s a group from Los Angeles, people from Seattle, Canada. We are trying to create an environment where the audience sees something they’ve never seen before.”

The Next Act Theatre plays host to the festival once again this year, and Kemple says that’s a great thing.

“I think Next Act is one of the best places to perform in town,” Kemple says “For comedy, it’s so intimate and there is such a great energy that the performers can feel from the crowd. They have a nice lobby, so there’s enough room for people to spread out. Skyline Catering is supplying the food backstage for the performers and then in the lobby they will have food for sale in between shows. This way, festivalgoers won’t have to miss any of the acts due to hunger.”

As Kemple says, “eight is great.” What’s greater still is the level of preparation he and his team have put in – and the quality of the festival those years of experience will help them create.

The Milwaukee Comedy Festival runs Aug. 1-4, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday; 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday; 2, 7:30 and 10 p.m. Saturday; and 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday. All shows feature a different set of performers; for a full list, visit the festival’s website. Tickets are $15 and can be ordered online.