Call for 2025 Submissions
Winnipeg Comedy Festival is accepting submissions from Sep 15 – Oct 15, 2024
The 24th annual Winnipeg Comedy Festival runs Apr 28 – May 4, 2025
Email: submissions@winnipegcomedyfestival.com
Please tell us:
- which theme or themes you are submitting to (See themes below)
- where you’d be flying from
- your citizenship
- your contact info and if you have representation (and their contact info if applicable)
- a brief bio, including how long you’ve been doing standup, with an expectation of a minimum of 5 years’ experience
Important:
- 8-10 minutes sets are ideal
- Please ensure your audio and video are clear - those that are not will not be reviewed for consideration.
- Unlisted YouTube video links preferred (Choose “unlisted” and not “private” as your setting) Written submissions, or links to websites with clips also accepted
- Please don’t send downloadable files (WeTransfer, etc) We receive hundreds of submissions, the files are large, and the links often expire too quickly
- Material must be unaired on national TV or streaming services (JFL, Halifax, New Wave of Standup, Comedy Night in Canada, Crave, Netflix, etc …)
Themes:
Below are six themes, FIVE OF WHICH will become our five TV shows. Feel free to submit to more than one.
100% BEEF – comics say “Enough is enough!” and air their grievances, big and small. What grinds your gears? What are your pet peeves? Why is it everything in the world sucks and nothing works? It’s time to vent your spleen and rage against the machine, because complaining is not only cathartic, it’s fun!
MAYBE IT’S ME – a show that asks, “Am I the problem?” Self-reflective material about personal flaws, unhelpful tendencies, regrets, mistakes, patterns of thought, how you self-sabotage or get in your own way, mea culpa material, times you messed up or were accidentally the centre of attention,etc. Pobody’s Nerfect!
NEW TO TOWN – a show of new Canadians: the immigrant experience, first and second generation Canadians, Canada as seen through fresh eyes.
OLD SCHOOL – a funny look at the older generation, the good and bad about getting older, being a grandparent, being a widow or widower, dating in later life, feeling left behind, technology, etc. Younger comics with material about the older generation are welcome! “Old School - because old’s cool.”
SICK JOKES – material focussing on encounters with the front lines of healthcare, doctors, emergency rooms, procedures, diagnoses, treatments, wait times, waiting rooms, web md, dentists, prescriptions, pharmacies, vaccines, appointments, insurance, lab tests, ambulance rides, etc.
UNUSUAL SUSPECTS – a showcase of brilliantly funny comics who have a unique style, character, or gimmick: one-liner comics, comics with a distinctive delivery or persona, musical comics, impressionists, etc. A celebration of quirky unicorns!
Some friendly advice:
- Please don’t send one 10-min set and tell us you think it could fit into any or all the themes. It won’t.
- Do your best to be polished in your delivery – try to minimize habitual “uhmms” and “ahhhs” and other verbal tics.
- TV isn’t as worried about “bad words” as it was in the past, so feel free to say the odd f-bomb. Don’t say a million of them.
- Be mindful of not punching down. We won’t be interested in a TV set that makes fun of those less advantaged.
- Showcase your material, not your crowd work.
- Be timely while being timeless. Keep in mind our shows air a year after taping and beyond, so avoid topical jokes or references that date your material.
- Remember - we're not making a list of our 30 favourite comics; we're casting TV shows. We have 6 spots to fill in each of 5 shows. Each of those 6 spots is different and ought to touch on a different aspect of the theme.
- Although we occasionally book US and international acts, those spaces are very limited due to Canadian content requirements.
We know putting your heart and soul into a submission is hard work. We greatly appreciate you taking the time! Good luck, and may this be your year!