All Over Albany

ComFest 2017 features Aparna Nancherla

The National College Comedy Festival at Skidmore -- ComFest -- is back this weekend with Aparna Nancherla as the headliner. Advance tickets are sold out, but a limited number of standby tickets will be available at the door -- they're $14 for the 7 pm shows and $20 for the 10 pm shows.

Maybe you caught Nancherla when she's been in town for the Pretty Much the Best Comedy Show series or to open for John Oliver. She's very funny. Other ComFest headlining acts for this year: Troy Walker, the The Improvised Shakespeare Company, and Nick and Gabe.

But the overriding goal of ComFest is to showcase up-and-coming comedy writers, performers, and improv troupes from colleges around the country -- of which there will be many performing at the festival. Past performers have gone on to great success (example: the festival's founder, David Miner, worked on 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and The Good Place). Here's a good piece on the festival and its history over at Splitsider from a few years back, and a feature about an earlier festival in NYT.

The festival always sells out. We hear that if you want the best chance to snagging the remaining tickets, get there 45 minutes before the show.

photo: Mark Manning