Event

The New York Empire Comedy Arts Festival: James & JF

The New York Empire Comedy Arts Festival brings comedic acts from across several disciplines together for one week in June to celebrate the variety and diversity of comedy. From June 25th through June 30th, audiences can experience the best and most cutting edge improv, musical, sketch, stand-up, storytelling, and clowning acts that New York, LA, and Montreal have to offer. The NYECAF is the place to see the best in boundary pushing comedy. www.empirecomedyfestival.com

James & JF is Emily James and Ishah Janssen-Faith. Emily and Ishah trained in improv at Upright Citizens Brigade NYC and The Magnet Theater; and in clown with Philippe Gaulier, David Shiner, Mick Barnfather (of Theatre de Complicite), Aitor Basauri (of Spymonkey) and Avner Eisenberg. Separately, they have been making theater and performance art for the last ten years across the nation and abroad. Together, they created their first show, Channel One, and have performed it for the past two years at the Toronto & Edmonton Fringe Festivals, The North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival and in NYC at The Tank, The PIT, The Magnet Theater, Bowery Poetry Club, Triskelion Arts, The Brick Theater, Dixon Place, Gallapagos and HERE Arts Center . The enjoy blending the the styles of sketch and clown into a surreal character driven performance. More info on the company: www.jamesandjf.com

Photo credit: David Rosenzweig