March 2025
Congratulations! You just got a free monthly digest of emerging comedy! Look at you! Wow.
Rejoice, Cramer readers: A low budget indie comedy* won Best Film at the Oscars.
*OK fine, it “blended genres”
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m feeling motivated to make, celebrate and signal boost more of those!
On that note: Just one more quick, fun announcement before diving into this month’s tips and clicks for “where to look if you’d like to laugh…”
After nine showcases at the Bell House in Brooklyn, Newcomers is officially coming to LA! Submissions are currently open for standup comedians on the west coast who would like to showcase in May 2025.
With that: let’s ride.
New York
Tootsie’s Video Vault is a yearly live showcase for weird, funny, and inventive filmmakers to come together and showcase brand new work. They recently closed submissions for their 4th annual screening (set for June 6th at Littlefield) — UNLESS YOU ARE READING THIS! Newsletter readers are getting an *exclusive* invitation to apply late — all you have to do is include the phrase “Cramer sent me” in your application… and hurry! You MUST apply by end of today.
Washington D.C.
The 2nd annual DC Sketchfest will feature 36 comedy acts from all over the country and Canada. It's four days of sketch shows, characters, funny songs and more — and all of the shows will be livestreamed.
Los Angeles
The Bergamot Comedy Festival kicks off at The Crow on March 31st, and it runs thru April 5th. The fest includes myriad showcases featuring over 50 performers from all around the country, panels, and parties. Nowhere in LA has parking this easy or community vibes this genuine, so we highly recommend planning a trip to Santa Monica!
Shipping: A Musical returns to the Elysian on March 22nd and 23rd! With a book by Jen Jackson (Animal Control, Miracle Workers) and Louisa Kellogg (The Onion, Crank Yankers), music by Brian Heveron-Smith (Fanny, Chris Fleming: Hell), and directed by Cassie Ahiers (The Second City, Nickelodeon), Shipping is a banger-packed one-act musical about “inter-species friendship, joining the ocean’s hottest all-whale pop group, and the invention of the dildo.”
Chicago-based comedian Grace Bahler is bringing her inventive show format BRAIDED to Los Angeles for one night only (March 14th at the Elysian), featuring intertwining sets from a trio of insane headliners: Sabrina Wu, Niles Abston, and Sophie Buddle.
Let Danny Jolles be an example to us all: don't wait for permission...just make the thing! Known for self-producing and releasing his stand-up specials on YouTube, Danny is now bringing that same DIY energy to his narrative work. His latest project, NOBODY CARES, is a sharply funny and unexpectedly poignant short film about loneliness and the extreme, awkward lengths one man (Danny) will go to in search of connection. After premiering at the HollyShorts Film Festival last summer, the film is now available for all to watch on YouTube.
You could be a singer-songwriter — like Melanie Herrera — but if you consistently publish funny content and commit to a bit as golden as The Nepo Baby Vocal Warmup series, you’re gonna get attention (and subsequently, at least from us, a follow on Spotify).
Jordan Stone is a director and editor based in LA who “makes videos that are hard to describe.” We became aware of him (and his awe-inspiring digital content) thanks to a recent collaboration with Nick Kroll.
Detroit mainstay stand-up Sam Tallent (Chubby Behemoth Podcast) is back with season 3 of his YouTube travel show WIDE WORLD. A sharp and surreal antidote to glossy celebrity travelogues, Tallent and his friends have explored picturesque locations like Tokyo and Paris in previous seasons. This season, however, they've switched it up and have taken the show to Eastern Colorado, adding a meditative layer to the quirky, DIY road show.
You guys. Hard to talk about anything funny in the animation world right now without going totally superlative about Common Side Effects. I mean. You guys. Are you watching it? Just watch it.
That’s it for this month.
Thanks!
This month’s newsletter features contributions from:
Carly Hoogendyk
Anjona Ghosh
Casey Hodgkinson