Every Comedy Festival With Open Submissions in April
- Jason Farr
- Apr 1
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago

We combed the internet for comedy festivals that have open submissions during the month of April so you don't have to! We have improv, stand-up, sketch and more covered below! Just click the names of the festivals to follow their link! We'll be updating throughout the month as new info comes in so be sure to check back!
Stand-Up
Gas Money Fest (Waterloo, IA) - Deadline Apr. 1 (show date Aug. 23)
'Motor City Comedy Festival (Detroit, MI) - Deadline Apr. 15th (show dates Sept. 17-21)
Comedy Chateau International Comedy Festival (Hollywood) - Early Bird extended until Apr. 30th (show dates June 21-28)
Rubber City Comedy Festival (Akron, OH) - Deadline Apr. 30th (show dates June 25-28)
Funny Is Female (Oak Park, IL) - Early Bird ends Apr. 30th, overall Aug. 1st (show dates Oct. 23-26)
Loons on the Lake Comedy Festival (Minneapolis) - Deadline May 1st, submit soon (June 4-7)
Sac Town Comedy Get Down (Sacramento, CA) - Deadline May 1st (show dates Aug. 7-9)
Burbank Comedy Festival - Deadline May 1st (show dates Aug. 9-16)
Laugh Out Loveland Comedy Festival (Loveland, CO) - Deadline May 31st (show dates July 31-Aug. 3)
Big Diamond Comedy Festival (Bentonville, AR) - Deadline May 31st (show dates Oct. 2-4)
San Francisco Comedy Competition - Deadline June 1st (show dates in September)
Colorado Queer Comedy Festival - Deadline June 1st (show Oct. 2-4)
Seattle International Comedy Competition - Deadline June 1st (show dates in November)
Asheville Comedy Festival - Deadline June 14h (show dates July 31-Aug. 2 & Aug. 7-9)
Mountain Fresh Comedy Festival (Breckenridge, CO) - Deadline June 15th (show dates Oct. 9-11)
Fountain City Comedy Festival (Kansas City, MO) - Deadline June 15th (show dates Oct. 23-25)
Colorado Queer Comedy Festival (Boulder) - Deadline June 30th (show dates Oct. 2-4)
World Series of Comedy (Various cities) - Main Event deadline Aug. 18th (Main Event show dates Sept. 21-27)
Hubcap Comedy Festival (New Brunswick, Canada) - Deadline Aug. 31st (show dates in January)
Stand-Up/Film
Laugh After Dark Comedy Festival (Las Vegas) - Standard deadline Apr. 30th, overall June 30th (show dates Oct. 27-29)
Stand-Up/Digital Shorts
Bend Comedy Festival (Bend, OR) - Regular fee ends Apr. 30th, overall May 15th (show dates Labor Day Weekend)
Sketch
Portland Sketchfest - Deadline Apr. 4th (how dates July 24-26)
Video Sketch/Feature, Short, & Animated Film/Pilot/Web Series/Music Video
LA Comedy Film Festival - Deadline July 19th (show dates Sept. 5-15)
Short Film
Funny Under Fifteen Minutes (Hamilton, NY) Early Bird ends Apr. 8th, overall Feb. 8, 2026 (show dates Mar. 13-15, 2026)
Knox Comedy Film Festival (Knoxville) Deadline May 31st (show date Aug. 2nd)
Short Film/Animation
Short Com International Comedy Film & Animation Festival (UK) - Regular deadline May 9th, overall Aug. 11 (show dates September 26-October 5)
Stand-up/Improv/Sketch/Short Film
Portland Maine Comedy Festival - Early Bird ends Apr. 30th, overall May 9th (show dates July 17-20)
Stand-Up/Sketch/Musical/Drag
Asian Comedy Fest
NYC - Deadline Apr. 4th (show dates May 6-8)
LA - Deadline Apr. 4th (show date May 27th)
Stand-Up/Improv/Sketch/Music/Storytelling/Variety/Burlesque/Drag
Madison Comedy Week - Deadline Apr. 13th (show dates Aug. 3-9)
Stand-Up/Improv/Sketch/Musical/Storytelling
Laugh Riot Grrrl Festival (Los Angeles) - Deadline Apr. 1st (show dates June 3-8)
Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe - Deadline Apr. 9th (show dates Aug. 1-25)
Hollywood Fringe - Deadline Apr. 15th (show dates June 12-29)
Edmonton Fringe - Deadline Apr. 14th for BYOV applications, Apr. 28th for Busker applications (show dates Aug. 14-24)
Greater Manchester Fringe Festival (England) - Brochure deadline May 1st, overall June 1st (show dates July 1-31)
Stand-Up/Improv/Sketch/Variety
Columbus Comedy Festival - Deadline Apr. 9th (show dates Sept. 4-7)
Flyover Comedy Festival (St. Louis) - Deadline May 31st (show dates Oct. 16-19)
Stand-Up/Improv/Sketch
Blue Whale Comedy Festival (Tulsa, OK) - Standard fee ends Apr. 15th, overall Apr. 30th
Stand-Up/Improv
Battlers Knob Comedy Festival (Philippi, WV) - Deadline Apr. 1st (show dates June 26-28)
Rise Comedy Festival (Denver, CO) - Deadline June 1st (stand-up show dates July 25&26, improv show dates July 31-Aug. 2)
Improv
Fun & Dumb Improv Festival (Brooklyn) - Deadline Apr. 6th (show dates July 10-13)
Royal Improv Festival (Charlotte, NC) - Early Bird ends Apr. 8th, overall Apr. 20th (show dates July 24-27)
Detroit Improv Festival - Deadline Apr. 30th (show dates Aug. 6-9)
Secret City Improv Festival (Oak Ridge, TN) - Deadline June 15th (show dates Oct. 2-5
Not Festivals, But Cool
All the Laughs Comedy Awards (ATL) - Cheaper Fee ends June 1st, overall Aug. 1st (show dates Sept. 26-28)
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