Comedy@Trades

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Comedy Festival

Profiles

Profiles

A Lot of Bread

'A Lot of Bread' is Lucy Shaw (aged 21), Courtney Trathan (22) and Madeleine Tucker (22). Their first full-length show, ‘All Aboard The Fizzy Train’, was part of The 2008 Melbourne Fringe Festival where it received critical acclaim and excelled in the domain of word-of-mouth publicity, garnering it an extended season due to popular demand.

Alexis Dubus

“Seamless... A Stephen Fry of filth.” Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard

Alison Bice

Alison Bice really wanted to change ‘Biography’ to read ‘Biceography’. But it didn’t happen.

Angie Pontani

Angie has taught the Pontani's unique brand of Go-Go Dancing throughout the world.

Bec Hill

Bec Hill

Bec Hill has come a long way since her first gig in the 2005 Raw Comedy competition.

Bella Union

Bella Union runs all year round as both a performance space and a casual bar, hosting parties, fundraiser benefits, theatrical performances, live comedy, forums, book launches and just about everything else you can think of.

Blackbird Productions

Kate McLennan has been working as an actor and writer for theatre and television for 8 years. In 2008 she worked as a writer and performer on Michael Chamberlin and Charlie Pickering’s news satire - ‘The Mansion’ for the Comedy Channel. She is currently appearing in ‘Beaconsfield – The Musical’ for the Melbourne Comedy Festival and was recently seen in ‘Dust’ for Hubcab Productions.

Celia Pacquola

Celia Pacquola burst onto the Melbourne comedy scene in 2006. After only a handful of gigs, but a barrelful of laughs, she was crowned the Raw Recruit, winning the prize for Best First Time Entrant in the prestigious Raw Comedy open mic competition as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

CFA Victoria

CFA is one of the world’s largest volunteer-based emergency services. There are around 58,000 volunteer members supported by over 400 career fire fighters and officers and more than 700 career support and administrative staff.

Character Comedy

The brainchild of Nelly Thomas and Tanya Losanno, Character Comedy is a space to foster character work in the Australian comedy scene.
It started humbly in a room seating 35 and was then invited to be part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
It has since grown into a cult classic and a favourite among comedy aficionados.

Courteney Hocking

Courteney will do anything for love (but she won’t do that).

Daniel Oldaker

A consummate clown, an original humorist, and a man with his finger on the pulsing heart of absurdity, Daniel Oldaker knows what's what and what'll make you laugh.

Danny McGinlay

In 2009, McGinlay will be playing in almost every state of Australia and debuting his brand new show “Food Dude” at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Dave Bushell

Dave is one of Melbourne’s most exciting comedians and has carved for himself a reputation for intelligent, literate comedy (“Dude, after seeing you, I wanted to go and buy a book!") that tries to avoid being pigeonholed.

Deborah Frances-White

Deborah Frances-White is a British comedian and writer who has played three sellout seasons at the Edinburgh Festival.

diaTribe Productions

Dale Menz (Director/Producer), Paul Menz (Writer), Elke Osadnik (Aimee), Belinda Di Vito (Tracy), Dave Kenyon (Ian), David Dellar (Gibbo), Eddie Stowers (Marty)

Eva Johansen

Renowned MC of lascivious and irreverent comedy group The Caravan of Love, Eva Johansen has stepped out on her own after a critically-acclaimed and very wet season in Edinburgh.

Geraldine Quinn

Possessor of an astonishing voice, a wicked sense of humour and a keen intelligence, this queen of hardcore cabaret is a force to be reckoned with.

Green Cyc

Green Cyc has been entertaining crowds around Victoria for the last 8 years and has quickly forged a strong reputation for fast-paced and entertaining theatre.

Heist Productions

Heist Productions is a not-for-profit theatre company associated with Melbourne University's Union Theatre.

James Dowdeswell

James “So nice you could take him home to meet your grandparents.” Metro (UK) is back in Melbourne with “No More Mr Nice Guy” after a successful run at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Joe Geia & Aubrey Maher

Joe Geia is a composer, guitarist, singer and didgeridoo player and has been recognised as one of the most influential figures in the development of contemporary Indigenous music.

Kelly Fastuca and Justin Cicero

Comedy chameleon Kelly Fastuca has been treading the boards and honing her humour for a number of years, and Give That: A Telethon for Kids Without Disabilities demonstrates many of the talents in this effervescent performer.

An accomplished writer and performer Justin’s credits include co-writing and performing in Australia 216 Not Out (MICF 04) and That Show with Those People (MICF 05).

Lawrence Leung & Andrew McClelland

Lawrence Leung and Andrew McClelland are award-winning comedians whose festival appearances include Melbourne, Edinburgh, Adelaide and Auckland.

Lou Sanz

Lou Sanz is an exciting new voice in the comedy stand-up scene and an old hand at writing. Lou has a Masters in screenwriting, a popular blog (The Problematic World of Lou www.lousanz.com) two feature film scripts in development and has performed alongside some of Comedy’s biggest stars including Judith Lucy, Adam Hills and Mark Watson.

Melbourne International Comedy Festival presents

A development initiative of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and established in 2007, Deadly Funny is a national indigenous comedy competition which provides up and coming black performers an opportunity to work in stand-up comedy.

Miss Kat Chish and Miss Jane Flanagan

Kat has been performing in the local Melbourne comedy scene for 2 years. She also likes to play dress ups and have tea parties. Jane has been a theatre and short film actor for 4 years. She prefers to match her socks to her handbag

New International Bookshop

The New International BookShop, in Melbourne’s historic Trades Hall building is one of Australia's very few progressive bookshops with a comprehensive range of new and second hand books on politics, alternative opinions and a progressive view on pressing world issues.

newherenowlive

A good place for info on gigs.

Nick Caddaye

Nick Caddaye has been a comedian-about-town for no short amount of time.

Philip Escoffey

Philip has spent ten years traveling the world, leaving the rich and royal intrigued (and occasionally embarrassingly clingy).

Richard McKenzie

Since 2002 Richard has made his mark on the Melbourne Comedy circuit, combining his background as a director with his natural acting abilities.

Rod Quantock

Rod Quantock has been working in comedy for over forty years. He has written, performed in, produced, directed and promoted hundreds of solo and ensemble comedy shows and events.

Sam Wills

Sam Wills

At last year’s Melbourne Comedy Festival, Sam was nominated for the ‘Best Newcomer’ award and won the Groggy Squirrel ‘People’s Choice’ award.

Sarah Bennetto

Sarah Bennetto is a stand-up comic from Melbourne, Australia, now living and performing in the UK. She has appeared on stage, radio and television as a stand-up comic and presenter, and is responsible for experimental comedy collective Storytellers' Club.

Scott Gooding

Scott Gooding (performer). Writing from Adam Cass, Dom Golding, Emilie Collyer, Lally Katz, Michele Lee, Ben McKenzie, Rob Reid, Robert Rorke, Nic Vellissaris, and more...

Scribe Publishing

Scribe is an independent Australian book-publishing company, founded by Henry Rosenbloom in 1976. We publish 65–70 titles a year, and specialise in serious non-fiction and quality fiction.

Spontaneous Broadway

Storytellers' Club (UK)

After 2008’s successful debut at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Storytellers’ returns with more magical eves of bedtime stories and campfire tales.

The Anarchist Guild Social Committee

The Anarchist Guild Social Committee is a collection of some of Melbourne’s most talented and awarded comedians: Richard McKenzie, Celia Pacquola, Dave Bushell, Tegan Higginbotham, Andrew McClelland, Courteney Hocking, Ben McKenzie and Nick Caddaye.

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Benefit Concert

Musicians and Festival performers come together once a year to perform the songs of a specially-chosen artist. All proceeds are donated to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. The lineup changes every year but always includes a swag of folks ready to lay it all down in tribute to the artist and the ASRC - this year will be no exception.

The Autism Victoria Benefit Concert

Dance ‘til your butt falls off,
Drink ‘til it’s time to stop,
Judge others, but not yourself,

And if all else fails, watch this dance extravaganza go completely off the rails!

The Birdmann

The Birdmann is a Vaudeville Humourist of uncommon exception guaranteed to make for a most memorable experience.

The Colors

Alon Ilsar (Keating! The Musical, Circus Monoxide, Gauche) and friends.

The Duck's Guts

The Duck's Guts are an inner-Melbourne family of 7. The youngest performer in the family is 6, the oldest isn't.

The Duskbuskers

Casey Bennetto (KEATING!, A Largely Fanciful History Of The Spiegeltent), Iain Grandage (Cloudstreet, Vamp), Aurora Kurth (Take The L Out Of Lover) and David Abiuso.

The Gigalees

Currently The Gigalees are touring throughout Australia and have their sights set on the international scene in 2009.

The Peter Mac Cancer Research Benefit Show

The Anarchist Guild Social Committee is a collection of some of Melbourne’s most talented and awarded comedians: Richard McKenzie, Celia Pacquola, Dave Bushell, Tegan Higginbotham, Andrew McClelland, Courteney Hocking, Ben McKenzie and Nick Caddaye. Every month they put on an entirely new sketch comedy show in the Bella Union @ Trades Hall to sell-out crowds. They’ve just got back from playing to packed houses at the Adelaide Fringe, and they’re calling to order their first Annual General Meeting. It's the cutting edge sketch comedy you've come to expect from the AGSC as well as special guests galore!

Proceeds go to Peter Mac Cancer Research

The Skirt Network

The Skirt Network is the brainchild of Celia Pacquola and Louise Sanz. The aim is to develop a social network for female stand-ups, writers, sketch performers, musicians, producers and directors involved in the Melbourne comedy scene, or perhaps wanting to get involved.

Tumbleweed Theatrical Productions - Alice

Brydie Lee-Kennedy (Alice), Patrick Magee (Various), Jo Bourke (Various) Sophie Miller (Musician, White Rabbit/Chess Piece)

Tumbleweed Theatrical Productions - Dolls Cabaret

Brydie Lee-Kennedy (Director), Sophie Miller (Musician), Jo Bourke (Ensemble), Kate Leaver (Ensemble), Amy Louise Hume (Ensemble), Erin Turner (Ensemble), Elise Fabris (Ensemble)

Vigilantelope

Bringing together five of the best young unsigned comedians in Melbourne, comedy cartel Vigilantelope has burst onto the festival scene and is stealing hearts, minds and biscuits from the biscuit tin.

Vigilantelope is: Vachel Spirason, Joel Tito, Nick Russell, Tim McDonald and Pat Miller.

WaterAid Australia

WaterAid Australia is an international charity dedicated to helping some of the world's poorest people escape the stranglehold of poverty and disease caused by living without safe water and sanitation.

Xavier Michelides

“Michelides is confident, brash and intelligent, with undeniable charisma and skilful delivery. A definite talent, and one to watch in the future.” Tim Richards – The Age – 7 April 2008

Yianni Agisilaou

A “sparklingly intelligent and very funny” man, through hard work and quality output Yianni has accumulated an impressive list of achievements in comedy.

Younity Entertainment

Nick Cain as Freddy Funky Fingers, Scott O'Halloran as Casper, Hannah Williams as Ofelia, Tim Budas as Stav, Natasha Jacobs as Susie Sunshine