the essential
The Laughter Festival and its springboard for discovering young comedians began Thursday evening in front of a jury chaired by Jeanfi Janssens. A meeting before the start of the competition allows participants to discover themselves and the issues at stake.
Laughter Festival 2024, the 32nd edition is well and truly launched a few hours before the first entries on the stage of the Georges-Leygues theater of the first 2 candidates. There are 6 of them trying their luck to win one of the prizes awarded during this festival, “which is gaining momentum in the world of scenes dedicated to humor,” says festival president Tony Feijoo, very seriously.
The candidates are called Marion Manca, Anne Gilbert, Kostia, Vincent Pagé, Zae; they come from Clermont-Ferrand, Paris, Marseille, Belgium or Africa. Some have a job on the side, one is a midwife, the other is a postman. For some, it is their first springboard into humor, others are already regulars…
“When making our selections,” adds Tony Feijoo, “we have 3 main criteria. The first is writing; the second the occupation of space; the third, it’s simple, is the reactions of the public. And during this edition, like the previous ones, we have 6 very different universes.”
“The difficulty of presenting a complete 20-minute show”
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, 2 candidates are the opening act for the headliners. “They have already had a taste of the theatre stage during the partners’ evening, during which they all performed. For this springboard for comedy, we require all candidates to present a show lasting no more than 20 minutes. For some, it will be a question of reducing a show that they have already mastered. For others, who are only used to Comedy Clubs and their very short stage format, it is a question of creating a real show from their sketches. In both cases, it is a difficult exercise, but it is very educational. And everything they learn here will help them grow.”
A final encouragement from Jeanfi. Come on, the festival can begin, it’s time to get ready to go on stage.
