16th Annual North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival Announced February 1-14

Now in its 16th year, the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival continues to be one of the largest comedy festivals on the East Coast. This year, the festival runs February 1-14, 2016. It will begin at its home base at DSI Comedy Theater (462 W. Franklin Street), then will move to down the street to also host shows at Local 506 (506 W Franklin St). The festival will also host two Saturday shows at The Cave (452 W Franklin St). The festival will also feature shows at The Arts Center in Carrboro (300-G East Main St.) and Flyleaf Books (752 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd). Tickets and information on all of the performers is available online at www.nccomedyarts.com.

The festival features performers from New York, LA, Chicago, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, and every city in between. Each year, performers flock to the festival to perform, network and develop as the next generation of comedy talent. Each year the festival offers workshops for its performers from some of the top talent in the comedy world.

Highlights of this year's festival include: Kids in the Hall alum Kevin McDonald, who will be in town for multiple shows and is teaching a full day of workshops; UNC Alumnus and People's Improv Theater owner, Ali Farahnakian, who is also a former Saturday Night Live writer, returns for a performance and workshops; Kevin Allison's wildly popular RISK podcast returns to NC Comedy Arts for a fourth time; NYC's North Coast brings their improvised hip-hopera back to the festival; Noted Chicago Sketch Comic Paul Thomas is returning to the festival, however, this year he comes back with The Defiant Thomas Brothers, the sketch group that launched his career. Known for their commanding stage presence, commitment to character and timing, and ability to mine laughs all along the sensitivity spectrum, the duo was invited to HBO's prestigious U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, where they won the award for best sketch group alongside best alternative act Flight of the Conchords.

Stand-up comedy will run the first weekend of the festival. This year's line-up is one of the strongest stand-up line-ups the festival has produced. The line-up includes local comedians and working comics from all over the country. Highlighted stand-up comics include: Delanie Fischer, Hanna Dickinson, Kevin Yee, Mikey Scott, and others.

The Festival will also feature Get The Hook, a youth improv team from the Parkway Playhouse in Asheville. They will be joined on the same line-up with local Middle and High School Students.

"Each year, the festival sets new benchmarks for the local comedy scene, especially at DSI, as we continue to grow both as a comedy theater and comedy school. This year our featured festival acts have become more diverse, including one of the strongest stand-up comedy line-ups we have ever seen. We are always proud to see the comedians that come back year in and year out from all over the country," said Zach Ward, NCCAF Executive Producer. "We are excited to see Kevin Allison, Coker & Stratton, and North Coast return, and this year will offer a unique opportunity for North Carolina audiences who have become Paul Thomas fans to see Paul with his critically-acclaimed duo, The Defiant Thomas Brothers. We are also thrilled to host Ali Farahnakian this year, a Chicago improv veteran, actor, writer, New York comedy producer, and UNC Alum with a lot of local ties. 16 years and counting..."

About the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival

In 2001, Dirty South Improv (DSI) produced the first North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival to give audiences and students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill the chance to experience workshops in the art of Chicago-style improvisation. Now, 16 years later the festival has rapidly become one of the largest comedy festivals in the nation. As it continues to grow, the festival now features talent that has been seen on the small screen on Saturday Night Live, MTV, Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central, and on stages at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and Second City. The NCCAF has increased the population of Carrboro by 4% during its annual run. As the festival grew, DSI presented professional performances in Chicago and New York and created a college touring company. In 2005, the festival saw the opening of the DSI Comedy Theater, an 80-seat venue in North Carolina and the new home for shows and the DSI Comedy School. In 2015, the festival celebrated its 15th Anniversary with the opening of its new home on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. The festival has attracted high level instructors and performers in improv, sketch and stand-up comedy including: Maria Bamford, Jimmie "JJ" Walker, M.C. Chris, Mike Birgbiglia, April Richardson, Steven Wright, Louis CK, Eddie Brill, Kevin Allison, Kevin MacDonald, Sasheer Zamata, Emo Philips, and Bruce Vilanch. From the DSI Comedy School and DSI Comedy Theater in Carrboro, NC to its productions in Chicago, and professional Touring Company, the Dirty South name has spread around the country, drawing both participants and quality teaching staff to its annual comedy festival year after year.

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