WILLIAMSBURG — The Last Word Comedy Festival is coming to Williamsburg from Jan. 25-28.
Created by Williamsburg-based AVAdventure Productions and sponsored by the City of Williamsburg, the festival aims to bring comedy to the historic triangle. Adam Stackhouse, co-owner of AVAdventure Productions, hopes to make the show an annual event.
“We’re looking at this as a great opportunity to build a comedy community for a weekend each year. We’re big fans of comedy programming and think it’s a good match for the City of Williamsburg,” Stackhouse said.
The four-day festival in late January will bring curated headliner acts and also feature local talent.
“January in Williamsburg is traditionally a very quiet time and we’re trying to bring a little bit of laughter and warmth to the dead of winter. This is an event for tourists and locals to celebrate all kinds of comedy acts,” Stackhouse said.
This is the first comedy festival to come to Williamsburg. AVAdventure Productions also puts on the annual Ampersand International Arts Festival, usually held in spring. Stackhouse and his team are hopeful that the comedy weekend will have the same effect on the community as the festival.
“We really love seeing the guests and talent come together at the Ampersand International Arts Festival. They get to create a tangible sense of excitement and a vibrant community in the timeframe of that event. To do that through the lens of comedy and create something new and complimentary but different, is very exciting,” Stackhouse said.
Venue information, headliners, and acts are yet to be announced, but local talent is encouraged to submit their acts for the show. Submissions are being accepted online until Nov. 2.
Submitters are asked to provide a video showcasing a past performance and pay a submission fee — $20 for improv and $10 for stand-up — to be considered for the show. College performers may submit their acts for free.
AVAdventures Productions and Stackhouse fully believe in the importance of giving local acts the opportunity to grace the stage with big names of comedy.
“We look at this as a really exciting opportunity to give up-and-coming talent a chance to share a stage with people who are more established. Most of our shows will be showcase-style acts, so within the same show, you would see local talent or submitted acts with the show ending with a headliner act. By putting them together in showcases, we’re hoping to elevate local talent, new talent to the same stage as known acts,” Stackhouse said.
The final lineup of programming will be announced in early December.
To stay up to date with festival announcements and more information, visit lastwordfestival.com.