Yawp Mag ISSUE 19 Getting Ready for the Comedy Festival | Page 25

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RAW Comedy', which is Australia's biggest open mic comedy
competition. Winner 2013: Demi Lardner

Also featured is 'Class Clowns' (a national comedy
competition for high school students) and 'Deadly
Funny', a workshop and showcase program
which is essentially creating a new career path for
indigenous comedians.
The MICF remains one of the most exciting and
unique events held in Australia. MICF director
Susan Provan said in 2008 that there is still room
for the MICF to grow, as she compared the MICF
to the Edinburgh Fringe, which averages 2000
shows and one million ticket sales per festival.
Australia, Provan has said: "Big musicals come
and go, and so do contemporary music shows,
but the Comedy Festival is unique in Australia
because it can be relied upon every year".

(photo’s: Jim Lee)

The 2013 MICF included the largest program of
events (459 shows) and announced a record
position as the leading Australian festival. In the
same year, the nationally broadcast TV specials
attracted over 2 million viewers. These promising
statistics appear to make way for an ever greater
future for the MICF.