Austin Sketch Fest - June 22 - June 25, 2023

If you haven't heard, Coldtowne Theater is back in a big way in 2023. As long-time producers of Austin Sketch Fest, the venue brought back the festival for its 13th year in 2022. But 2023 promises to be even bigger and better with performances being held in Coldtowne's new location on East 2nd Street. Now in its 14th year, Austin Sketch Fest is an annual celebration of scripted comedy bringing artists together from around the country.

Amy Knop, Austin Sketch Fest's Managing Director, shared her thoughts with us about what it means to have the 14th edition of the festival held in the new Coldtowne Theater space: "While we're very grateful for our past festival venues like Fallout Theater and Austin Scottish Rite Theater, it definitely feels special to be back in our own space. After losing our home on Airport Blvd we hustled hard to find an affordable space for the arts, in a city that feels less affordable every day. We're proud to be in our new home at 1700 E 2nd Street where we can revive old traditions like our (shhh) illegal improv show and bring our brand of comedy to new audiences, in a neighborhood that has embraced us."

Past Austin Sketch Fests have featured big names before they were big names like Amber Ruffin, Ego Nwodim, Maggie Maye, Paul F. Tompkins, Mary Jo Pehl, and Austin Chronicle's 2023 "Best of Austin" Comedian award winner, Vanessa Gonzalez.

While Austin has clearly become a dominant force of standup comedy and improv being a strong tradition in the scene, sketch has lagged behind it's brethren. Sketch is what makes Upright Citizens Brigade and Second City famous in their respective cities. It's time for Austin to support those who create and perform sketch comedy. Knop shared with us why it's important to support sketch, and of course, Austin sketch troupes: "We really appreciate the support our audiences, fans, students, and performers provide by turning out to shows, signing up for classes, referring us to corporate workshops, and donating! All that money goes right back into keeping Austin funny and accessible for artists from all walks of life. This year we made our festival more accessible than ever for artists to participate through diversity travel stipends, fee waivers, and scholarships! It is no surprise that our festival often features big names before they were big, because we invest in performers with an eye to the next generation - performers who are truly experimenting, at the forefront of comedy both locally and internationally, and representative of the diverse community we come from. We're so excited to share some of those acts with you this week!“

This year's Austin Sketch Fest will be held over four nights from June 22 to June 25 and will feature local sketch performances by Floor is Lava, Deep in the Heartless Texas, Good Pollution, Strong Male Leads, Austin is for Lovers, and so many more! Oh, and have we mentioned that there's going to be a clown workshop? Do yourself a favor and embrace your silly self and sign up for Ridiculous Vulnerability with CB Goodman.

The festival will be headlined by Jamie Loftus, an Emmy-nominated writer, standup comic, podcaster, and animator. Kyle Romero, Austin Sketch Fest's Artistic Director describes Loftus as having ". . . a sort of post-ironic sensibility that we’re into, and a refusal to be categorized that makes her work so exciting and vital. She can go from a cultural analysis of Nabakov’s Lolita to a history about the hot dog and you know she’s going to be equally thoughtful and funny about both subjects. She’s a modern day public intellectual — if this were the 70s she’d be a regular guest on The Dick Cavett Show talking about Cathy comics and taking the piss out of Mensa. She’s exactly the kind of artist we love at Austin Sketch Fest and we’re thrilled she’s sharing her one-person show with us." This powerful force can't be missed. Loftus is performing Friday June 23.

Loftus joins 20 acts from across the country to take over the stages of Coldtowne Theater next weekend. Individual show tickets are $20, but an all-festival badge is only $69. Why wouldn't you want to attend the whole festival and see up and coming comedy superstars on their way up, all from the comfort of the intimate stages of Coldtowne Theater? You wouldn't. Trust us.