2026 Comic
Submissions

September 4 - Submissions Open
November 30 - Submissions Close
January 14 - Accepted Comics Notified

March 26-28, 2026 - Raleigh Comedy Festival

if Selected
you will get...

Blurred image of empty chairs facing a stage with red lighting

What we’re looking for...

Your best, undedited ~5-minute tape.

You don't need to start at the beginning of your set — we just want to see your best, funniest, most polished set, in front of a live audience.

Videos can be shorter or longer than 5, but our judges will only watch ~5.

Links should be publicly available on YouTube, Vimeo, or Google Drive.

2026 Comic
Submissions

feature comic
submission

— $25 —

local comic
submission

Live in NC? Great news! We've created this new category exclusively for North Carolina-based comics.

This free submission category is a way for us to better celebrate and highlight homegrown talent.

— $0 —

Frequently Asked Questions

  • At least 2 sets over 3 days, with opportunities for more.

  • We aim for at least 8-10 minute sets.

  • While the festival will have a roaming videographer, sets will not be recorded. You are welcome to film your own sets, however.

  • We will notify all comics that submit whether they were accepted or not.

  • We have hired a panel of impartial, third-party, and anonymous judges. They are watching and grading every video based on a rubric used by several other comedy festivals around the country.

    At a high-level, judges will be looking at joke quality, stage presence, and audience response.

  • If you’re local, you’re welcome to apply to both Feature and Local submissions.

    If you’re accepted as both a Feature and Local, we’ll give you the option of either.

    Locals that only apply as a Feature, but are not selected, will automatically be considered for Local Submissions.