Gadling

Norfolk, Nebraska, hometown of Johnny Carson of the Tonight Show, will host the first ever Great American Comedy Festival as a tribute to Johnny and the stuff that makes us laugh. Comedy big time professionals like Robert Klein and Eddie Brill will perform throughout June 16-22. Others have been performed in venues like the Tonight Show, David Letterman and the Last Comic Standing.

For people who aspire to break into comedy there's a chance for you to get discovered at the Amateur Hour Competition.

If you want to hone your craft, there are workshops to help make you more funny than your friends tell you that you are. Eddie Brill who is David Letterman's talent coordinator is offering a one-day workshop. For speech and drama teachers, there's a free improv workshop. If you want to up your odds on making it on a game show, there's even a workshop to help you do that.

If you're between 14-19, you can attend a week long comedy youth camp. This looks like a terrific opportunity for some young person, and as week-long camps go, the price is right. Now, if they'd only do an adult version.

The festival is designed so you can see as little or as much of it as you want. You pay for tickets to the events you want to see and some are free.

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Festivals and Events, United States