North Coast Comedy Festival at Asylum NYC

North Coast, New York’s premiere hip hop improv group since its start in 2009, is excited to announce additional acts performing at the inaugural North Coast Comedy Festival, October 5-10, 2021 in New York City. A 5$ opening night show with North Coast themselves, Will Hines performing with Connor Ratliff, and the self-proclaimed "gay church" that is Sparkle Hour with Philip Markle, are just a few of the newly announced acts poised to perform at this exciting, first-ever, North Coast Comedy Festival. The festival has also announced a full festival pass, available for $180 while they last. (Full schedule below and here)

Bringing together a diverse and eclectic group of performers from around the globe to celebrate and support the comedy industry that has suffered so much this past year, the festival will book 6 days of back-to-back improv, stand-up and sketch performances, with an emphasis on musical comedy. All scheduled shows and festival events will be hosted at Asylum NYC in Chelsea. The schedule and confirmed acts are detailed in the schedule below. Additional performers and line-up will be announced soon, with 3 shows per night, 18 shows total over the course of the 6-day festival.

Curated by Victoria Gagliano, RJ Williams, and Douglas Widick with a combined 20 years of experience on the New York and London theatre scenes, the North Coast Comedy Festival aims to highlight and support some of the most exciting and impactful comedy teams in the business, while also giving back to the audiences of New York City and beyond whom they love so much.

The motivations behind launching North Coast’s own improv festival, said Douglas Widick, had to do with memories of performing on the road: “we’ve been to all night beach parties in Sarasota, performed in a giant church in Amsterdam, and ate shark meat with improvisers in Iceland. We’ve been handed an amazing set of experiences by other festivals, and it was time to take all that we learned and give back to the community that’s given us so much.”

Victoria Gagliano who has been producing theatre in festivals abroad for the last 5 years, including the Edinburgh Fringe in Scotland, said, “I hope to use my experience and passion to recreate the exciting, diverse and eclectic style of these world-renowned festivals here in my hometown of NYC.”

North Coast Comedy Festival will be partnering with its venue, Asylum NYC (aka Improv Asylum) who have recently taken over the old UCB Chelsea Space on Manhattan’s west side. In addition to the shows and performances, the Festival will include specially curated networking events, panel discussions, workshops, and after-show drink events for the artists and attendees according to ticketing.

Tickets will be $20 individually, $10 to livestream, and there will also be festival packages for purchase including full-festival passes and VIP events.

Tuesday 10/5

7pm: Women Aren't Funny Showcase (hosted by Deanna Giulietti, Esther Fallick, Milly Tamarez & Improv from the North Coast Ladies)

8:30pm: Anybody! An Improvised historical hip hopera in the style of Hamilton

10pm: 5$: WE OUT HERE: Opening Night Hip-Hop Improv Jam ($5)


Wednesday 10/6

7:00pm: Jesse Roth Presents the Shuffle (current line up includes We Stan Together, Matteo Lane, Dana Donnelly, Roy Wood Jr.)

8:30pm: BCC presents: The Sparkle Hour with Annabel and Sabina Meschke, Eric Yates & Kyle Harris, Rachel Coster and Ian Lockwood

10:00pm: The Omega Variant- Hosted by Boris Khaykin


Thursday 10/7

7:00pm: Vern

8:30pm: Nate and Hila’s Eco Rap Spectacular

10:00pm: I Love NY Improv: Featuring Squirrel & Magnet Theaters


Friday 10/8

7:30pm - The Sketch Happening - A NCCF Sketch Showcase featuring Simple Town, Girls With Brown Hair, Dinner For One, Dylan Adler and Kyle Gordon

9:00pm: Astronomy Club

10:30pm: ALL STAR SHOW: Will Hines, Douglas Widick, Monique Moses, Melanie Rubin, RJ Williams, Rachel Rosenthal, and more


Saturday 10/9

7:30pm: AzN PoP!

9:00pm: Anybody! An Improvised historical hip hopera in the style of Hamilton

10:30pm: Will Hines "A Walk On The Mild Side" with Connor Ratliff (TCGS, Search Party)


Sunday 10/10

5pm: Comedy After Covid [industry Panel]

7:00pm: Astronomy Club

9:00pm: North Coast: Flagship Show