Milwaukee Comedy Festival

What Milwaukee Comedy Festival does

The Milwaukee Comedy Festival is an annual week-long live comedy event held each October at venues across Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 2006 as the Sketch and Improv Festival and rebranded in 2007 to its current name after adding stand-up comedy to the lineup, it is operated by Milwaukee Comedy, LLC and bills itself as the largest multi-day comedy event in the state of Wisconsin. The festival accepts submissions from professional and up-and-coming comedians via a MachForm-based online submission system, charges tiered non-refundable submission fees ($10 early bird, $25 standard, $40 late), and selects performers through a panel of local producers, staff, and comedy professionals. Performers are slotted into tiered performance tiers (Host 10-12 minutes, Feature 20-25 minutes, Headliner 35-45 minutes), with selected acts typically receiving at least two slots across the week.\n\nThe business is community-driven rather than technology-driven: there is no proprietary software, no mobile app, and no AI/ML capability. Distribution is entirely physical, via live shows at partner venues across Milwaukee, including Lakefront Brewery and The Laughing Tap, the latter a comedy club co-owned by festival producers Matt Kemple, Kaitlin McCarthy, and Greg Bach in the Walker's Point neighborhood. Marketing runs through the festival's own website (mkecomedyfest.com), social media, email, and earned media generated when alumni appear on major platforms such as SNL, Comedy Central, Netflix, HBO, BET, Conan, and Late Nite.\n\nRevenue mechanics span three streams: (1) performer submission fees (explicitly described as cost-recovery for review rather than profit), (2) donations solicited through the website to fund production services, workshops, marketing assistance, and free show tickets for local comedians, and (3) a structured 2025 sponsorship program with regional SMBs (law firms, breweries, graphics vendors, a real estate team, a bar, and Domino's). Headcount is 1-10, no external funding has been disclosed, and the ownership is founder-led and independent with no parent company.

Name

Milwaukee Comedy Festival

Legal name

Milwaukee Comedy, LLC

Website

https://mkecomedyfest.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Milwaukee Comedy Festival is an annual week-long live comedy event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, produced by Milwaukee Comedy, LLC. It accepts paid submissions from comedians nationwide and internationally, selects acts via a local judging panel, and runs shows at partner venues across the city each October.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Comedy Events

NAICS

Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Comedy Festivals (MPAGACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Stand-Up Comedy Shows (MPAGACAA), Comedy Club & Showcase Nights (MPAGACAE), Comedy Clubs (Nightlife Venues) (MPAGAIAH)

Keywords

• Live comedy festival
• Stand-up comedy events
• Comedy submission platform
• Comedy performance booking
• Live entertainment production

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Performer Submission Fees: Comedians pay submission fees to apply for the festival. Early bird submissions $10, standard submissions $25, late submissions $40. Fees cover the cost of reviewing submissions and do not cover festival staff pay.
2. Donations: The festival accepts donations to support Wisconsin's largest comedy event and the local comedy community. Donations help fund production services, workshops, marketing assistance, and free show tickets for local comedians.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Milwaukee Comedy Festival is an annual week-long live comedy event featuring stand-up comedy, one-person shows, alternative comedy acts, and musical comedy performances at venues of all sizes across Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The festival operates an online submission system through which comedians from across the U.S., Canada, and Australia apply and pay to perform, with selected performers receiving tiered slots (Host, Feature, Headliner). The 21st edition runs October 5-11, 2026.

Product overview

The Milwaukee Comedy Festival is a single annual event (now in its 21st year) rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is the week-long live comedy festival in October, supported by an online submission system for performer applications. Performance slots are tiered by experience level (Host, Feature, Headliner). The festival is produced by Milwaukee Comedy, LLC, which also operates The Laughing Tap comedy club as a related entertainment venture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Milwaukee Comedy Festival
• Comedy Submission System
• Festival Performance Slots

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 20,000 people have laughed with the Milwaukee Comedy Festival
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Laughing TapcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Laughing Tap is Milwaukee's only independently owned and operated comedy club, co-owned by festival producers Matt Kemple, Kaitlin McCarthy, and Greg Bach since 2020. Located in Walker's Point neighborhood. The club is a key venue and partner for the festival.
• Lakefront BrewerycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLakefront Brewery is a festival sponsor and venue partner. Kaitlin McCarthy produced the MCF Kick Off event at Lakefront Brewery in 2015. Brewery provides venue space for festival events.
• Milwaukee Comedy, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMilwaukee Comedy, LLC is the independent, local comedy production company that produces the Milwaukee Comedy Festival. It is the region's largest independent comedy production company, presenting hundreds of unique live comedy events annually.
• Karp / Iancu Family & Divorce LawyersminorOthersFestival sponsor for 2025.
• Confluence GraphicsminorOthersFestival sponsor for 2025.
• Level Up Real Estate TeamminorOthersFestival sponsor for 2025.
• Day Drink InnminorOthersFestival sponsor for 2025. Instagram-based bar/entertainment venue.
• Laffey Leitner & Goode LawminorOthersFestival sponsor for 2025.
• Domino'sminorOthersFestival sponsor for 2025.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Just For Laughs: Montreal-based comedy festival and the largest comedy event in the world. Comparable as a multi-day live comedy festival producing stand-up and sketch programming across multiple venues, but operates at vastly greater scale and as an industry incumbent.
• Netflix Is A Joke Festival: Multi-day Los Angeles comedy festival backed by Netflix featuring stand-up, sketch, and panels across multiple venues. Comparable as a multi-day, multi-venue comedy festival, though it operates at national scale with deep platform backing.
• Edinburgh Fringe Festival: World's largest arts and comedy festival held annually in Edinburgh. Comparable as an annual multi-day, multi-venue comedy festival with submission-driven performer selection, but operates at a globally significant scale.
• Laugh Factory: Long-running comedy club chain producing live stand-up across major U.S. markets. Comparable as a live comedy entertainment operator, though at broader geographic scale and as an established national brand.

Direct peers

• SF Sketchfest: Annual multi-week comedy festival in San Francisco featuring stand-up, sketch, and improv across multiple venues. Closely comparable in format, multi-venue week-long structure, and submission-driven performer selection.
• Zanies Comedy Night Clubs: Chain of comedy clubs producing live stand-up across multiple U.S. cities. Comparable in delivering live stand-up comedy programming, though as a multi-venue club operator rather than a single festival brand.

Others

• The Laughing Tap: Milwaukee's only independently owned comedy club, co-owned by the same producers as MCF. It serves as a year-round venue partner and feeder for the festival, making it a tightly intertwined ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.

Regional players

• Helium Comedy Club: Regional comedy club operator producing live stand-up across multiple U.S. cities. Comparable as a live stand-up comedy producer, though primarily operating as a club chain rather than a festival.
• Laughing Skull Lounge: Atlanta-based comedy club and host of a long-running comedy festival. Comparable as a regional live stand-up comedy operator with an associated festival, though in a different U.S. market.

Emerging players

• Second City: Chicago-based comedy and improv theater producing live shows and training performers. Comparable as a live comedy production entity with training and performer-development functions, though oriented to improv and sketch rather than a festival.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mkecomedyfest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Milwaukee Comedy Festival