Saturday, October 06, 2012

"The Festival Is a Warm Light": Sketchfest Seattle | Slog:

Unpaid Intern: Share a brief history of Sketchfest's origin.

Kate Montgomery: During the later years of Almost Live! there was a huge boom in live sketch comedy in Seattle. In 1999 Mike Daisey looked around at his friends and realized they were the new sketch scene. Enough local groups were performing regularly that they had a full-weekend festival showcase which John Keister hosted.

After SketchFest’s conception, it became the model for other scripted comedy festivals around the country. As the years went on, the festival grew and began pulling in national and international acts to perform. We continue to be the world’s first and longest-running sketch comedy festival.