Within a 24-hour period last week, the number of Chicago comedy festivals doubled, at least press release–wise. 

First, I received an email from Jam Productions, which handles large-scale stand-up shows (Frank Caliendo, for one). Their release detailed the new Just for Laughs: A Very Funny Festival! (The exclamation point is part of the title.) Then again, "detailed" is a strong word, in that the release contained very little information on the fest itself—which is slated for the summer of 2009—other than it’s an offshoot of Montreal’s Just for Laughs fest (now 25 years old), will have a few Second City improvisers on the stage and feature a TBS-sponsored showcase, hosted by Ellen Degeneres.

I certainly can’t think of a better network to affiliate Chicago comedy with than the one that brought the world such comic gems as Frank TV. Hell, if we’re so lucky, we may be "graced" with Mr. Caliendo’s presence as the president of TBS has a quote in the release that says "[The fest] is a perfect opportunity for us to showcase some of the best talents in the comedy industry and to expand the reach of the TBS brand in exciting new ways."

The next missive to hit my inbox was the release for the Chicago Comedy Fest—winning the 2008 award for Most Generic Named Festival, taking the throne away from 2007’s Chicago Event With Suggested Donation.

This three-day chortle triathlon (chortathlon?) will hit the cultural mecca of Navy Pier in the fall of 2008. Not much is known about this one either, except that the "Blue Ribbon Advisory Board" who I assume chooses the talent, is made up of Jim Belushi, Bernadette Birkett, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Brad Hall, Tim Kazurinsky, Richard Kind, Tim Meadows, Harold Ramis and George Wendt. The organizers have been developing this event for two years, specifically for, as producer Jason Brett said in this super-boring Hollywood Reporter article, "honoring our city’s comedy community and giving it the spotlight we feel it so richly deserves."

Here’s the thing though: yes, Chicago has a storied history in comedy, so it makes sense that these festivals would want to root themselves in our home town. And, yes, despite that history, there’s no industry in Chicago, meaning talent here is rarely scouted for TV and film projects unless the producers make a special trek out here. So any big-time festival drawing national attention is bound to be a good thing for the Midwest. But I see both of these festivals affecting the city like the Olympics would—making a lot of noise, then leaving a mess for us to clean up.

I’ve come to a conclusion after sitting in the audience at Chicago comedy shows three-to-four times a week for the last almost-two-years: normal, non-performing, non–comedy obsessed theatergoers attend a comedy event roughly once every six months. And when they go, they go for broke, buying Second City tickets or taking second mortgages for primo Chris Rock seats. If we’re lucky, they catch a Harold or a Lakeshore Theater show here and there. But I’d venture to say that the audience for the majority of Chicago comedy shows is actually pretty small.

Now that there are huge, corporate sponsored events taking place, those occasional comedy-goers will probably want to hedge their bets. After all, what’s worse than bad comedy? Nothing. Nothing at all. So those same audiences will still hit up only the biggest-name shows, thus decreasing the chance that they’re going to go out again anytime soon as their once-every-six-months quota has been filled. Brett’s quote about shining the spotlight on Chicago only works if mostly Chicago people perform. All I can do is speculate at this point, but given that one fest’s sponsored by a TV station and the other’s taking cues from national stars, I’m doubtful that’ll be the case.

Jonathan Pitts, the executive producer for the Chicago Improv Festival (and, in full disclosure, a producer for the Chicago Comedy Fest), has said (in so many words) that he employs a few tactics to curb this: He bills smaller-known acts with celebrities, so people who show up are at least exposed to something they’ve never seen before. I’m hoping that both festivals will do the same. There’s a lot of talent in Chi-town, and if these festivals can open people’s eyes to some of it, that’d be a nice perk. Additionally, offering an opportunity for national exposure could inspire comics around here to get with the program. Not sure if an annual fest will have that kind of staying power. So when’s someone going to produce a similar, industry-savvy event that happens a few times a year?