The Milwaukee Comedy Festival is the largest multi-day comedy event in Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin. We bring audiences the best stand up, improv and sketch comedy talent possible and establish an environment where performers can create new and exciting comedy together.
The Milwaukee Comedy Festival features multiple days of live comedy shows, special events, and headliners offering the ultimate comedy experience. Every show is unique and combines different styles of comedy like sketch and improvisation along side stand up comedy.
Over the years more than 20,000 people have laughed with the Milwaukee Comedy Festival. Audiences have traveled from all parts of Wisconsin to attend the fest and as far away as Los Angeles and Massachusetts for the biggest comedy event of the year.
Since it began in 2006 the festival has featured 1000’s of performers from across the country including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia, Denver and Austin as well as Canada including Toronto, Alberta and Vancouver. Past festival headliners include Kyle Kinane, Todd Barry, Laurie Kilmartin, Myq Kaplain, Deborah Wilson, Brian Posehn, Mary Mack, Neil Hamburger, Colin Quinn, Jen Kirkman and many more.
Our alumni have appeared in movies and television including SNL, Comedy Central, Netflix, HBO, BET, Conan, Late Nite to name a few!
The Milwaukee Comedy Festival is produced by Milwaukee Comedy, LLC, an independent, local comedy production company.
Our History
In 2006 the Milwaukee Comedy Festival was originally born as the Sketch and Improv Festival. The vision was to grow and support the comedy scene in Milwaukee through live performances. Once stand up comedy was added to the line-up in 2007, the name changed and the Milwaukee Comedy Festival (MCF) quickly became Wisconsin’s premier annual comedy event. This event aspires to be an inviting environment providing professional stage time to seasoned and up-and-coming performers in front of an eager and engaged audience.
About the Producers
Matt Kemple, Founder and Executive Producer
Matt Kemple is a full-time live-events producer, public speaker and creative consultant with a background in comedy, marketing, and the performing arts. He is the Founder and Executive Producer of Milwaukee Comedy, LLC, the regions largest independent comedy production company which also presents the annual Milwaukee Comedy Festival, and also Co-Owner of The Laughing Tap comedy club. With 20 years of experience, Matt produces hundreds of unique live comedy events annually at venues across the Greater Milwaukee area.
Kaitlin McCarthy, Co-Producer
Kaitlin’s journey with the Milwaukee Comedy Fest began in 2013 when she became a Social Media Intern. In 2015, she produced MCF Kick Off event at Lakefront Brewery. Now, she proudly holds the position of Co-Producer for the Milwaukee Comedy Festival. For the past decade, she has been the creative force behind some of the most hilarious stand-up shows you can imagine.
Not only does Kaitlin excel behind the scenes, but she also takes the stage herself from time to time. Her stand-up routines offer a glimpse into the amusing chaos of everyday life. Through her performances, she peels back the layers of relatable misadventures, leaving you in stitches while also wondering if she’s alright. Rest assured, she’s more than okay. In fact, she has even had the opportunity to open for renowned acts such as Matt Braunger, Ian Abramson, and Nate Craig.
As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Kaitlin and her partners, Matt Kemple and Greg Bach took their love for comedy to new a new level. In 2020, they launched The Laughing Tap, Milwaukee’s only independently owned and operated comedy club, in the Walker’s Point neighborhood.
Greg Bach, Co-Producer
Greg is a graduate of the writing program at The Second City in Chicago and has written for the sketch group Broadminded, the long running Sketch 22 show, and was a contributor to the Committee of Five Political Blog. He was the head writer and producer for the award-winning program “The Barrettsville Pledge Drive”, a contributor to the Othy Schwering Show, a writer and producer for the Goodnight Milwaukee Show, Stand Up Cinema and was the co-creator/writer of the sketch comedy group Dynamo Kickstand. In 2016, Greg created and produced The Badger Times Journal Report, a live satirical news program about Wisconsin. Greg Bach has called the Milwaukee comedy scene home for ten years and has performed all over the world. People in Chicago, New York, Berlin, Manchester and Loves Park have found him rather amusing.