comedy Calling all fans
Carol Burnett tops a star-studded lineup at SF Sketchfest.
San Francisco Sketchfest, the annual gathering built on all things comedic, can reflect on its impressive legacy when it opens for its 18th year today with a tribute to Margaret Cho.
Like past seasons, this year’s edition of what’s also called the San Francisco Comedy Festival features the kind of cast reunions (“Best in Show,” “Schitt’s Creek”), tributes (Neil Patrick Harris, “Office Space” 20th anniversary) and alternative comedy or pop cultural curios (“Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist”) that have made it such a go-to destination for comedy fans.
And while the political and entertainment worlds are focusing these days on the advancements of women, Sketchfest has always celebrated female performers.
This year’s lineup includes tributes to Cho, Carol Burnett and Julie Klausner and appearances by the likes of Busy Philipps, Jenny Slate, Laraine Newman and legendary “SCTV” veteran Catherine O’Hara. But such representation is nothing new to Sketchfest, which happened to honor a female performer (Amy Sedaris) in its first-ever tribute show in 2004.
“It’s something that’s always been important to us,” Sketchfest co-founder and co-producer Janet Varney said about the festival’s inclusive lineup. “But perhaps there’s just this sort of zeitgeist, this demand for it. I think the recognition is there. Maybe women are more excited to get on the stage, or excited to perform with their fellow female comedians. It’s a no-brainer for us to have them.”
Another noted female performer at this year’s Sketchfest is Jane Lynch, who will participate in 20th anniversary tribute to “Best in Show” on Jan. 19. Lynch, the subject of her own Sketchfest tribute last year, is currently getting praise for her turn as Sophie Lennon, a fictional comic on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” who achieves fame by performing in a fat suit and playing up demeaning female stereotypes for yuks.
While the state of comedy for women had more barricades in the past, things “haven’t really changed,” Lynch said in a phone interview. “I think there are pockets where it’s changing and there are really great female comics.”
Sketchfest routinely includes women in its lineup, both legendary performers and up-and-comers. Perhaps the biggest booking in this year’s schedule is the Burnett tribute. “Schitt’s Creek: Up Close & Personal” might be the more buzzworthy entry, but booking Burnett was so important to the Sketchfest brain trust.
“She was probably my first exposure to sketch comedy,” said David Owen, who co-founded and co-produces Sketchfest with Varney and Cole Stratton. “We never in our wildest imaginations thought we’d have her at our event.”
Sketchfest is something of a big old comedic sandbox for millennials, and “The Carol Burnett Show,” which predates much of what they might have been exposed to, is still something they acknowledge, said Varney.
Varney, who maintains her performance career along with producing the festival (she’s creator and star of “Fortune Rookie” on IFC) said that you can’t underestimate Burnett’s impact on female performers in comedy — or just about anyone who has taken the stage at Sketchfest.
“I do think that young people who have never seen Carol Burnett perform still understand that she is legendary,” Varney said, “She and Tracey Ullman were massive influences on me, for example, and that for me sort of tipped over into Kids in the Hall. She is one of the game changers.”
Lynch is elated by Sketchfest’s programming philosophy, but says there is plenty of room for improvement elsewhere. She pointed to a commercial she heard on Sirius radio that hailed its 10 top comics.
“And they mentioned 10 guys — but no women,” Lynch said. “It’s the state of the world. But as long as there are festivals that are being thrown like this one — that just makes me happy.”