(WOODSTOCK, N.Y.) – Comedian Gilbert Gottfried and Susie Essman of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame are featured guests in the fourth annual Woodstock Comedy Festival, a three-day weekend event from Friday, September 23, through Sunday, September 25, based mostly at the Bearsville Theater and other venues around Woodstock. In addition to stand-up comedy, the festival includes panel discussions, talks, workshops, films, and parties.

On Friday, September 23, at 8pm, Susie Essman will host Laughingstock!, with a lineup of stellar female comedians including Karen Bergreen, Kendra Cunningham, Jaye McBride and Liz Miele. Gilbert Gottfried will headline Saturday, September 24, with a night of stand-up, joined by veteran comic Eddie Brill, who will open the show.

The Simpsons co-creator Mike Reiss will host “Secrets of the Simpsons,” an inside look at 25+ years with the show, on Saturday night at 9:30pm.

The fourth annual Woodstock Comedy Festival will continue its mission of “comedy for a cause,” donating all net profits to charities that aid survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. The full schedule of all shows, panels (one of which features Gilbert Gottfried) and films planned for the 2016 Woodstock Comedy Festival is below.

 

2016 WOODSTOCK COMEDY FESTIVAL FULL SCHEDULE

 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016

SHOW: LAUGHINGSTOCK! Hosted by SUSIE ESSMAN

• Time: 7pm doors/ 8pm show
• Location: Bearsville Theater
• Tickets: $50 GC, $35 RES, $20 GA/Standing
• About: A hilarious night of stand-up comedy hosted by Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Susie Essman. Featuring standup from Karen Bergreen, Kendra Cunningham, Jaye McBride, and Liz Miele, plus Katie Hannigan, the winner of the 2016 WCF New Faces of Comedy standup contest

Opening Night VIP Party

• Time: 10pm
• Location: Cucina Barn
• Tickets: By invitation or $20 at the door

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016

PANEL: Era of the Comedy Podcast

• Time: 1pm
• Location: Woodstock Artists Association and Museum (WAAM)
• Tickets: $10 cash at the door
• About: From Gilbert Gottfried to Jake & Amir, all comedians seem to be dying for a

podcast! Moderated by Eddie Brill, panelists include Jonathan Braylock (Black Men Can’t Jump Podcast), Laura Lane (This Is Why You’re Single podcast), Marcus Parks (Last Podcast on the Left), and Nic Rad (HeadGum podcast network producer)

 

PANEL: How Offensive is Too Offensive?

• Time: 2:30-3:30pm
• Location: Woodstock Artists Association and Museum (WAAM)
• Tickets: $20 cash at the door
• About: Freedom of speech for comedians. From Lenny Bruce to the present day. How

has it changed? Moderated by Bob Small, with clips from his film “Uncensored Comedy, panelists include WCF 2016 headliner Gilbert Gottfried, Marcus Parks (Last Podcast on the Left), and Henry Zebrowski (sketchgroup Murder Fist, Last Podcast on the Left, star of Adult Swim’s Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell and NBC’s Heroes Reborn).
SHOW: WCF Headliner GILBERT GOTTFRIED with Eddie Brill

• Time: 7pm doors/ 8pm show
• Location: Bearsville Theater
• Tickets: $60 GC, $40 RES, $20 GA/Standing

 

SHOW: Secrets of the Simpsons

• Time: 9:15pm doors/9:30 pm show
• Location: Bearsville Theater
• Tickets: All tickets $25
• About: Simpsons’ writer four-time EMMY winner Mike Reiss reveals 25+ years of stories,

secrets and scandals

 

Saturday After Party

• Time: 11pm
• Location: Commune Saloon (Bearsville Complex)
• Tickets: By invitation or $20 at the door

 

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2016

WCF FILM PROGRAM

• Location: Mescal Hornbeck Woodstock Community Center, Rock City Road
• Film Program Tickets: $10 cash at the door, includes both films

 

FILM: Can We Take a Joke? Director Ted Balaker

• Time: 1pm
• About: Documentary “about instant outrage and its impact on free speech” with Gilbert Gottfried, Penn Jillette, Lisa Lampanelli, Jim Norton and others. Run time 74 minutes

FILM: In The Name of Comedy. Director Brett Eidman

• Time: 3pm
• About: Documentary about Brett Eidman’s experience being threatened and blackballed for a staged event he did, with Lisa Lampanelli, Johnny Lampert. Run time 17 minutes; Q&A following the films with Brett Eidman and others

 

About Woodstock Comedy Festival

 

The Woodstock Comedy Festival (WCF) is a 501©(3) not-for-profit corporation with a mission: Comedy for a Cause. A weekend of laughter to benefit two charities that are no laughing matter, Family of Woodstock, for survivors of domestic violence, and Polaris, for survivors of human trafficking. The festival is held every September in Woodstock NY, a town steeped in history, music, culture and the arts. Shows go up at local venues around Woodstock, and the comedy ranges from stand-up to sketch, from improv to open mic, from panels to films.