In the more than 15 years since ArtsQuest debuted its campus at SteelStacks, comedy shows have struggled to find a home there.<\/p>\n
Comedy has been presented in Musikfest Cafe, the Blast Furnace Room, Frank Banko Cinemas, the Brew Stage and the Bethlehem Visitor Center.<\/p>\n
With the opening of ArtsQuest\u2019s new $32-million, 80,000-square-foot Creative Factory, 25 W. Third St., Bethlehem, comedy is going to be at the forefront for the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n
The Creative Factory\u2019s Joe & Corey Bergstein Theater is ArtsQuest\u2019s first dedicated comedy club.<\/p>\n
\u201cWarm Up: Stand-up Open Mic,\u201d 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10, is a platform for aspiring comedians in the Lehigh Valley on Tuesdays through Dec. 15, in the Joe & Corey Bergstein Theater. Tickets are free.<\/p>\n
The open mic is one of more than 30 comedy events scheduled in the theater, which seats up to 150 and has three screens for spoken-word performances, poets and student education.<\/p>\n
Dedication events<\/p>\n
The first comedy show is three days after the Creative Factory\u2019s public art installations dedication, 2 p.m. Nov. 7. An artists panel discussion will follow in the theater.<\/p>\n
The official dedication of the Creative Factory, which still is under construction, is Jan. 19, 2027, with details to be announced, says ArtsQuest Communications Manager Tehani Boyer.<\/p>\n
By that time, two dozen comedy events will have been held.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we continue bringing the Creative Factory powered by PPL to life, we\u2019re excited to introduce audiences to what will become the Lehigh Valley\u2019s premier destination for live comedy,\u201d ArtsQuest Chief Programming Officer Patrick Brogan states in a press release.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years, we\u2019ve hosted comedy throughout our campus, but we\u2019ve never had a venue specifically designed for it,\u201d Brogan continues.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Joe & Corey Bergstein Theater gives us the opportunity to build a consistent comedy series, attract nationally-touring performers and create an interactive experience on a smaller scale where audiences can connect with some of today\u2019s most exciting comedians,\u201d states Brogan.<\/p>\n
Balancing acts<\/p>\n
ArtsQuest Programming Specialist Addyson Young, who oversees the organization\u2019s presentation of comedy, says, \u201cAt ArtsQuest, we always talk about access to the arts. With that philosophy in mind, we\u2019re really trying to strike a balance between the nationally-touring and even internationally-touring comics coming in and having that high-caliber art coming in, and then also making sure it\u2019s a space for our local performers as well to be able to get on stage and then experience comedy from all over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brogan notes that the theater will offer nationally-touring comedians every Friday and Saturday year-round.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s \u201cat minimum,\u201d Young says. \u201cAnd you know anything else that can work out on, like, a Wednesday night. If someone\u2019s coming through, we want to be able to be the place for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWarm Up: Standup Open Mic\u201d nights is \u201canother one that we started over here at the Visitor Center,\u201d says Young.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat program has grown, and we\u2019re really excited to bring it back. Comics have more opportunities to sharpen their tools and get more stage time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat adds a mentorship part to it. We have a host in residence who is selected by a committee and whoever the host mentor is for that season shows them the ropes.\u201d The shows culminate in the show, \u201cToasted.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the first \u201cWarm Up: Stand-up Open Mic,\u201d the first feature comedy presentation in the theater is \u201cComedy to Break the Stigma,\u201d 6 p.m., 8 p.m. Nov. 14, a stand-up comedy showcase to bring awareness to mental health, with a portion of proceeds to benefit the non-profit organization Aevidum.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally excited about that one partnering with Aevidum, which is a mental health organization helping those with some mental health struggles,\u201d Young says.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that is one of our local comedians who came to me with this show; he\u2019s done it before elsewhere. So again: that mix of like having local and regional comics coming in doing comedy for a good cause.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 7 p.m. Nov. 18, there will be a \u201cgraduate show\u201d of a multi-week \u201cSketch Comedy Writing 101\u201d class and at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19, a \u201cgraduate show\u201d on the Sanford Meisner Technique, which uses improvisational tools for acting for stand-up comedy, film and theater.<\/p>\n
First headliner<\/p>\n
At 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 will be the theater\u2019s first headline performer, Gauri B, who has performed in comedy clubs and festivals around the world, and who Young says is the \u201ckind of person that has a lot of social media\u201d and whose clips on social media have hundreds of millions of views.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so excited for the acts we have coming up,\u201d Young says, pointing to Kirsten Michelle Cills from Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20. \u201cI\u2019ve seen her a ton just on my phone, so it\u2019s cool that we get to have her here in person,\u201d says Young.<\/p>\n
Young mentions Winston Hodges, 8 p.m. Nov. 22, who she notes was a Top 6 finalist on Kevin Hart\u2019s Netflix show \u201cFunny AF,\u201d and whose online videos have been viewed a combined more than 30 million times.<\/p>\n
Other scheduled featured performers are Philadelphia native Chanel Ali from Netflix\u2019s \u201cDash and Lily,\u201d 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4, who has released two Comedy Central specials and an album.<\/p>\n
Nataly Aukar, 6 p.m., 8 p.m. Dec. 5, is featured in the Netflix \u201cJoke Festival\u201d and on \u201cDon\u2019t Tell Comedy,\u201d and can be seen in the Netflix feature \u201cThe Life List.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carmen Lynch, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18, has more than 280,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram combined, has toured Europe with comedian Louis C.K. and appeared on \u201cThe Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,\u201d \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert,\u201d \u201cThe Late Show with David Letterman\u201d and has three comedy specials on YouTube.<\/p>\n
\u201cOlden Girls: A Drag Comedy in Two Acts,\u201d a parody of the TV show \u201cGolden Girls,\u201d is set for 7:30 p.m. March 19 and March 20, 2027.<\/p>\n
Improv Fest<\/p>\n
ArtsQuest\u2019s popular SteelStacks\u2019 \u201cImprov Comedy Festival\u201d returns Jan. 22-25, 2027, moving from the ArtsQuest Center\u2019s Blast Furnace Room to the new theater.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the things that have done well here at ArtsQuest\u201d will return, including \u201cThis is How We Roll,\u201d a \u201cDungeons & Dragons\u201d-themed improv show that Young says has had \u201creally great numbers. They did a show at Musikfest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually had to close the Red Cinema; it hit capacity. So many people were excited to see that show,\u201d says Young.<\/p>\n
The Creative Factory continues The Improv JAM-BER-REE, a free monthly event for individuals and teams. Sign-ups to participate will be at the desk of the visitor center.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s an improv jam for anyone who either has experience or doesn\u2019t have experience can just come on stage, try it out,\u201d Young says. \u201cImprov is all about just giving it a try.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen great turnouts for that here and seeing a lot of jams pop up around the Lehigh Valley for more opportunities for people to again just give it a try. It\u2019s really awesome that we\u2019re bringing that over as well,\u201d says Young.<\/p>\n
Bigger-name comedy headliners will continue in Musikfest Cafe, including Emmy Award-winner and two-time Grammy Award nominee David Cross, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11, and Tim Meadows, who spent 10 years as a \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d cast member, 7 p.m. Jan. 10, 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started doing comedy in the movie theaters, which was also great in its own way. We had to wait for movies to be done, so all of our shows had to start at like 10:30 at night, which can be a little difficult,\u201d Young says.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting that Visitor Center space really helped us be able to grow our programming. Even being able to do two shows in a night was huge. Being able to expand like that was really awesome.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut 1792222690 the main hub will be the Creative Factory,\u201d says Young.<\/p>\n
Ticket information: https:\/\/www.artsquest.org\/performing-arts\/comedy\/<\/p>\n
PRESS PHOTO BY JOHN J. MOSERThe Creativity Factory Powered by PPL has ArtsQuest\u2019s first dedicated venue for comedy: the Joe & Corey Bergstein Theater.<\/p>\n
Gauri B<\/p>\n
Kirsten Michelle Cills<\/p>\n
Winston Hodges<\/p>\n
Chanel Ali<\/p>\n
Nataly Aukar<\/p>\n
Carmen Lynch<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the more than 15 years since ArtsQuest debuted its campus at SteelStacks, comedy shows have struggled to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-308589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}