{"id":238242,"date":"2026-04-07T04:45:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T04:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/238242\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T04:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T04:45:13","slug":"moontower-comedy-features-household-names-weird-dms-and-rising-texas-comics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/238242\/","title":{"rendered":"Moontower Comedy features household names, weird DMs, and rising Texas comics"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week, hundreds of comics from around the country will filter into Austin for the Moontower Comedy Festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n

First started 15 years ago, the festival has since grown into one of the biggest comedy events in the country, spanning a dozen venues and running from April 7-18.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s festival features nationally known acts like Marc Maron, Kathy Griffin, and Roy Wood Jr.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to headliner standup shows, Moontower has also made an effort to highlight non-traditional acts and Austin comedians.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super excited. I love Moontower so much,\u201d said comedian Angelina Martin<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s always been such a huge part of the Austin comedy scene and the national comedy scene in general.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin runs several shows around Austin and one of them, Slide in the DMs, was added to this year\u2019s Moontower lineup.<\/p>\n

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Martin performs at East Austin Comedy Club. Courtesy of Angelina Martin<\/p>\n

For each show, comedians and local celebrities share strange messages they\u2019ve sent or received. Then, a cast of improvisers build a scene based on the messages.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not all really dirty stuff. Sometimes it\u2019s weird in a different way,\u201d said Martin. \u201cOne time we had the guy who had sent the comedian messages that we were showing on screen. He was in the audience and he stood up and took credit for his weird messages.\u201d<\/p>\n

She first got the idea for the show as a way of marrying her love of standup and improv. Martin\u2019s work has been featured on Comedy Central and SiriusXM.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m one of those people who considers comedy art, which I know makes some people groan,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u00bb GET MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE:\u00a0Sign up for Texas Standard\u2019s weekly newsletters<\/a><\/p>\n

One of Martin\u2019s early memories of wanting to be an entertainer comes from her high school drama class, where she wrote a comedic monologue about how grateful she was to \u201cbe ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do remember saying how freeing it was that I didn\u2019t have to worry about going on dates and I could just watch \u2018Arrested Development\u2019 with my parents,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n

Her monologue lit up an auditorium, raised mild concern about her self-image, and gave her a feeling to chase for the rest of her performance career.<\/p>\n

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