This year’s Limestone Comedy Festival is sure to be unforgettable. The comics are fearless when it comes to topics like sex, race, and identity. Bloomington has separated itself as a niche for political activism and comedy. This year’s festival will be a perfect combination of the two.
“We are in a great spot locally and that’s not going to change,” Co-founder of the Comedy Attic, Jared Thompson expressed.
Headliners are in store for this year’s sixth annual festival. Internationally touring comedian and LGBTQ humanitarian Margaret Cho and Webby Award Nominee for his critically acclaimed stand up performance, America is The Greatest Country in the United States, Judah Friedlander are on the roster.
Margaret Cho. Photo: margaretcho.com
Other comedians such as the writer and actress for the hit NBC show Will and Grace Laura Kightlinger and the host and star of The Chris Gethard Show, Chris Gethard are just a few of the heavy hitters performing this year.
The festival is more than just fun and games, though. The comics will be taking aim at issues straight from the headlines.
Thompson feels it was a very obvious decision for Margaret Cho to open. “She’s been at the forefront of tackling issues that have just recently come to be mainstream issues; LGBTQ rights, racism, things that have always been there,” Thompson said.
Of the 60 comedians appearing in the event, nearly half are women. This isn’t unnatural for the Limestone Festival.
Thompson says that this year will be the third year in a row there has been a nearly equal male-to-female ratio.
“We are able to very easily represent different races and genders and sexual orientations through the lineup of the festival because that’s the people who are applying,” Thompson said.
The lineup is meant to be inclusive, creating a space of comfort. Thompson is proud that it has always been this way. “Our audiences are sort of ready for anything. Our audiences are very non-judgmental.”
This is important when it comes to comedy. Although stand up comedy is often driven by who can generate the most interest and excitement, many comics are tackling heavy issues.
The #MeToo Movement has even impacted the comedy community at large. The movement sparked comedian and actress Cameron Esposito’s willingness to open up about sexual assault. Esposito has been making waves with her new set Rape Jokes which features a witty, humorous hour about sexual assault and harassment. She will be returning to Bloomington on June 14th to perform at the Comedy Attic.
Thompson is particularly looking forward to the first BloomingThen Showcase. On June 2nd at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, a group of comics who started in Bloomington and moved to work in bigger cities will come back to perform.
”We always try to do something different each year and that is becoming harder and harder because, you know, we are now six years in and we’ve done a lot of things,” Thompson said.
As long as Limestone continues creating an safe environment for unheard voices and pushing groundbreaking comedians, that won’t be a problem. Each year there is a new lineup of comics and sure to be some impactful and original material in store.
Read: How 4 Simple Rules Helped Create Bloomington’s Comedy Scene (via WFIU Arts)
