Frequently Asked Questions

  • PMCF is the country’s most scenic, summery comedy festival taking place this September 5th - 8th all over Portland, all weekend long. Featuring 100 of the BEST up-and-coming comics from all over the country and the local scene alike, there’s shows for everyone. Each year, we feature several touring comics who you know and love along with a nationally headlining comedian performing at Aura, right downtown.

    It has run successfully for the past 8ish years right here in Sunny Portland, Maine. No, we are not located in Oregon.

  • All over Portland, all weekend long! We love finding unique and exciting venues like breweries, bars, tattoo parlors and coffee shops, but are always thrilled to present at some of the BEST traditional venues in the city.

    We’re also planning on having some specialty showcases featuring the Best of the Fest, roasts, our ever popular Comics on Chronic, and showcases which feature members of historically marginalized groups. This is all currently in the works and details are not available.

  • We would love to have you! Send an email to Greg at portlandmainecomedyfest@gmail.com and he’ll get back right away with details.

  • Submissions run through Memorial Day - May 27th. Check out our submissions page for more info.

  • There’s a reason why everyone and their grandma comes to Maine in the summer - it’s BEAUTIFUL! Ever seen a lighthouse? Ever worn a sweater over your shoulders? Ever eaten a lobster roll? Being in Maine in the summer is just awesome. Expect 67 and sunny for three days of the fest with one day being 52 and drizzling. We’re nothing if not honest.

    Beyond that, Portland boasts one of the best craft beer scenes known to man with nationally known breweries like Allagash and breweries you’ve never heard of that still rock like Goodfire. Not a drinker? The food scene is incredible with awesome seafood spots, killer pizza parlors, and some surprisingly good Thai food.

    Then, there’s the people. Maine is a tourist state but you wouldn’t know that when you talk to locals, which, if you can hear an accent you’ll know who you’re dealing with. Everyone’s friendly and fun and nice, and aside from the fishermen and comics, pretty good looking. It’s the spot to be at the end of August and the audiences eat up comedy like they eat up lobster rolls. You’ll perform in some incredible, unique rooms, meet some incredible folks, and network with some of the best comics in America. What’s not to love?

    Beyond a great trip up to Portland, we’ll have some fantastic headliners, craft panel-discussions, swag bags, networking events, and more all weekend long! We also boast one of the highest acceptance rates in the country and do our best to include as many comics as possible with as much stagetime as we can get you.

  • We are planning to have all comics perform twice, 10 minute sets. Sketch and improv groups will perform 20-30 minutes on one or two shows. This is dependent on venues, schedules, etc, and does not serve as a guarantee.

  • The Portland Maine Comedy Festival is SUPER excited to continue last years tradition of accepting sketch and improv groups! We’re upgrading this year’s experience and taking into account the technical needs of some of these shows. If you do something else like burlesque, drag, or magic, we’re happy to consider all forms of comedy! Reach out if needed.

  • Totally! Be sure to fill out BOTH submission forms and submit tapes for each. Applying to both mediums does NOT affect your acceptance status to the fest. Please reach out with any questions.

  • Nope! Everyone has to reapply to the fest each year. Even if you were accepted last year and couldn’t make it.

  • We are planning to select a few early-bird comics to the fest in April, with the rest of the notices rolling out in June. This will include a wait list. We are anticipating accepting 75-100 comics this year - a bit fewer than last year.

  • Unfortunately we are a very small team managing a larger festival and do not have the capacity to review and provide feedback for everyone.

    Comedy is really subjective, and just because we didn’t choose your submission does not mean you’re not a good comic.

  • No.

  • Absolutely! We’re currently organizing talkbacks, panel discussions, workshops, writing sessions, networking events, improv jams, and more!

  • We watch the tapes and see who’s funny! Best advice we can give is to follow directions - we received 300 submissions last year, and with a small team we can’t always watch more than 5 minutes of your tape. Put your best stuff up top. Make sure that the link works and that the sound is good enough for us to hear you. There’s no formal rubric we use or anything - be funny, send us your best stuff, and you’ll have a great chance.

  • We are partnering with the centrally located Holiday Inn By The Bay to provide rooms at a HUGE discount!