The Bridgetown Comedy Festival was a
stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...
festival located in the Hawthorne district of
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
that took place every spring from 2008 to 2017, featuring standup comedy showcases, live podcasts, panel discussions and improv comedy. It was created in October 2007 by comedians
Andy Wood and
Matt Braunger and filmmaker Kimberly Brady.
Reception
In 2010, Ben Bateman of
Willamette Week
''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture.
History
Early history
'' ...
newspaper called Bridgetown "the fastest-growing comedy extravaganza in America." Successively larger and better-planned comedy festivals prompted one reviewer to comment, ". . . as usual, organizer Andy Wood and his royal army of geniuses outdid themselves. How can you make something already great even better? I'm not sure, but it happened." In late 2009, the ''Portland Mercury'' reviewed the festival, stating that, "Bridgetown (or should we say, Andy Wood) is changing Portland comedy" and the following year, the ''Portland Monthly'' stated that Wood "deserves several rounds of applause for making the fest happen . . . ." In his work as a comedy promoter, Andy Wood created a venue where the comedy market was struggling, and has promoted the venue to as a regional and national event. Part of Wood's approach in creating 'draw' to a weak comedy market was to couple art with philanthropy.
In 2014, Kristi Turnquist of
The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
wrote that "The annual event brings comedians from around the country together with some of the Northwest's top acts, for four jam-packed days of hilarity."
Short history of the Bridgetown Comedy Festival
2008
The 2008 Festival garnered some sixty performers, headlined by actor/comedian
Patton Oswalt
Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His acting roles include Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–2023) as adult ...
. Other performers included
Tig Notaro (comedian,
The Sarah Silverman Program
''The Sarah Silverman Program'' (stylized as ''The Sarah Silverman Program.'') is an American television sitcom, which ran from February 1, 2007, to April 15, 2010, on Comedy Central starring comedian and actress Sarah Silverman, who created the ...
);
Matt Braunger (founder and Portland native);
Morgan Murphy (writer,
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon, );
Natasha Leggero
Natasha Leggero () (born March 26, 1974) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She rose to fame after appearing as the host of the MTV reality television series '' The 70s House'' in 2005, and as a regular roundtable panelist on ...
(comedian,
Reno 911!
''Reno 911!'' is an American television sitcom created by Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver for Comedy Central. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically '' Cops'', with comic ...
);
Dax Jordan and Chris Fairbanks (comedian,
Fuel TV
Fox Sports 2 (branded on-air as FS2) is an American sports-oriented pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. The channel is based at the Fox Sports division's headquarters on the Fox Studio Lot in ...
).
2009
The 2009 Bridgetown Comedy Festival was headlined by
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on Air America Radio's '' The Majority Report''. The accolades she has received include nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen Act ...
(
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
and
The Larry Sanders Show
''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. Created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein, the show ran for six seasons and List of The Larry Sanders Show episodes, ...
alumnus), and featured
Andy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman ( ; January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. He has sometimes been called an "anti-humor, anti-comedian". He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was tra ...
Award-winners
Reggie Watts
Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts (born March 23, 1972) is an American comedian, musician, beatboxer, and actor. His improvised musical sets are created using only his voice, a keyboard, and a looping machine. He refers to himself as a "disinfo ...
and
Brent Weinbach
Brent Weinbach is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and pianist based in Los Angeles, California. He is known for his experimental style and abstract, deadpan delivery. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley an ...
. It added long-form improv and podcasts to the schedule.
2010
The 2010 Festival featured 175 performers at nine venues and featured long-form improv, podcasts by Marc Maron and Jimmy Pardo, and comics including Maria Bamford, Tim Meadows, Scott Adsit, Tig Notaro, Greg Behrendt, Marc Maron,
Christian Finnegan
Fletcher Christian Finnegan (born April 1, 1973), better known as Christian Finnegan, is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor based in New York City.
Early life
Finnegan was born in Albany, New York. He grew up in Acton, Massachusett ...
, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, Matt Braunger, Danny Pudi, Steve Agee, T.J. Miller, and Hannibal Buress.
2011
192 performers included Margaret Cho, Fred Armisen, Kristen Schaal, Andy Dick, Simon Helberg ("The Big Bang Theory"), Oscar Nunez ("The Office"), Aparna Nancherla and Doug Benson.
2012
Comics included Dave Holmes, Doug Benson, Eric Andre, Erin Jackson, Howard Kremer, James Adomian, Jimmy Dore, John Roy, Mary Lynn Rasjkub, Mary Mack, Matt Besser, Matt Braunger, Matt Kirshen, Pete Holmes, Ron Funches, Sean Patton, Steve Agee, Tim Meadows, and Todd Glass.
2013
Performers included Dana Gould, Reggie Watts, Todd Glass, Moshe Kasher, Greg Behrendt, Kurt Braunohler, Robert Popper, Peter Serafinowicz, Myq Kaplan, Baron Vaughn, Kurt Braunohler, Moshe Kasher, Howard Kremer, Nato Green, Matt Braunger and Baron Vaughn. In 2013 Filmmakers Adam Smith and Shannan Hunt started shooting a documentary about the festival which is still unreleased.
2014
Performers included Reggie Watts, Paul F. Tompkins, Emo Phillips, W. Kamau Bell, Paul Provenza, Carrie Brownstein, "Community" creator Dan Harmon, Aparna Nancherla, Ian Karmel, James Adomian, Nathan Fielder, festival co-founder Matt Braunger, Dwight Slade, and Nathan Brannon.
References
External links
Official Festival Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridgetown Comedy Festival, The
Festivals in Portland, Oregon
Comedy festivals in the United States
2008 establishments in Oregon