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The Coolest Kids in School: The Surprising Influence of the National College Comedy Festival

by | March 15th, 2011

Before becoming an executive producer for 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation, David Miner was just a Skidmore sophomore who loved comedy. In 1988, Miner’s life was changed when he saw improvisational theater in his hometown of New York City.

“It blew my mind,” he said, “So the next fall I decided to start a group like that.” The Ad-Liberal Artists (“I clearly had trouble coming up with a name,”) are now one of the oldest college comedy groups still performing.

After about a year with the “Ad-Libs,” Miner was already planning a festival. The Internet was in its infancy, so he had to cold call different colleges in an attempt to find more groups. He had no idea if any others existed. At age 19, he was seriously ambitious and uniquely idealistic; he wanted to create an environment where comedy was academic, a show that entertained an audience, and enough profit for the festival to exist the following year. From that, the National College Comedy Festival (or ComFest, or NCCF, or a bunch of other names) was born. Twenty-two years later, with the festival still thriving and thousands of comedians having adorned his stage, it’s fair to say he succeeded. READ MORE

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