Nantucket, MA (PRWEB) July 06, 2014
Dick Cavett, Caroline Rhea, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Peter Farrelly, Adam Scott and Tom Cotter are among leading funny men and women from stage, screen and television who will visit Nantucket from Wednesday, July 16, through Saturday, July 20, for this summer’s 7th annual Nantucket Comedy Festival.
Individual event tickets are on sale now for the four days of standup performances, sit down chats and behind the scenes talks about how comedy happens. Proceeds benefit the festival’s remarkable Stand Up & Learn educational program, which has helped hundreds of young people discover their creativity and practice the values of teamwork, collaboration and self-assuredness through comedy.
Witty and erudite television pioneer Dick Cavett, noted for his early influence on the TV talk show format, will receive the festival’s prized Man from Nantucket Award. Each summer, the award honors an influential comedian, writer or performer from the fields of journalism, film or comedy. Past honorees at the festival have included a toast of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara and awards to Don Gavin, Chris Matthews, Loretta LaRoche and Lewis Black.
Other performances and events include “graduates” of Stand Up & Learn presenting stories and routines they developed in winter workshops, women’s night with headliner Caroline Rhea, morning coffee sessions with women comics and comedy writers, an intimate conversation and dinner with Dick Cavett and Peter Farrelly in a private Nantucket home, a night with writers and cast members of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” including actor Adam Scott and Emmy-winning writer Donick Cary, and the festival’s popular “NY vs. Boston Comedy Smackdown,” featuring a baseball theme with Bob Ley of ESPN as umpire and hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Most performances take place at The Nantucket Dreamland Film and Performing Arts Center, with Saturday night’s Comedy SmACKdown and presentation of the Man from Nantucket award to Cavett at the new Nantucket VFW.
Kevin Flynn, Executive Director of Nantucket Comedy Festival, returns to oversee festival events. As executive director of NCF, he is also lead teacher and supervising instructor for Stand Up & Learn.
Since his breakthrough win at the Boston Comedy Riot in 1988, Flynn has entertained audiences for years with stand-up comedy performances at clubs and colleges across the country and around the world. Flynn has also appeared in comedy specials on NBC, MTV and A&E, and in films and television shows including “The Heartbreak Kid” with Ben Stiller; “Me, Myself and Irene,” with Jim Carrey; and on HBO’s “Sex and the City.”
Flynn is a former captain of the University of Massachusetts soccer team who was named New England player of the year in 1983 and later played for the Major Indoor Soccer League in the U.S. Flynn has hosted soccer sportscasts for ABC, ESPN and Fox Sports, and has been host of cable television series on Discovery Channel, Travel Network and HGTV. His current radio show “Over the Ball,” airs three times weekly on SiriusXM channel 94 and combines soccer news and analysis with comedy and entertainment.
Patron passes, with access to all festival events including invitation-only gatherings with festival celebrities, at a cost of $1,500, may be purchased on the festival website along with individual event tickets ranging in price from $25 to $1,000. For complete schedules, information about festival performers and tickets, visit http://www.nantucketcomedyfestival.org.
Support for Nantucket Comedy Festival and Stand Up & Learn comes from Nantucket Golf Club Foundation, The Dreamland Film and Performing Arts Center, Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines, The White Elephant Hotel on Nantucket, The Inquirer and Mirror and Nantucket Today, Tradewind Aviation, Cliff Lodge and Martin House, Cranberry Transportation, Cisco Brewers, and other businesses and individuals. ReMain Nantucket is lead sponsor of the 2013-2104 Stand Up & Learn series of Nantucket workshops, which so far has included over 100 students in just the past year.
About Nantucket Comedy Festival
Nantucket Comedy Festival supports and further develops the remarkable Stand Up & Learn educational program, designed to inspire creativity, collaboration and self-confidence in young participants through comedy and performance. Year-round workshops welcome kids from 8-18 to create and collaborate with fellow students then perform their routines for family and friends. NCF’s workshops for kids have been held since 2009, in cooperation with public and private schools on Nantucket and elsewhere.
A Stand Up & Learn workshop during the festival week will end with a performance by the students. “This isn’t just about comedy,” said Kevin Flynn, founding executive director of the festival. “It’s about helping kids tap into their creativity and gain self-confidence.”
For more information, latest performance schedules and festival admission, visit the Nantucket Comedy Festival and Stand Up & Learn website at http://www.nantucketcomedyfestival.org.