Laughing for a cause at Iowa City Flood Water Comedy Festival

Floods aren't laughing matters, but laughing does matter to the organizers of the third 'somewhat annual” Floodwater Comedy Festival surging through downtown Iowa City venues March 1 to 3.

The event began in 2015, when two University of Iowa theater students launched the idea, said Mike Lucas of Iowa City, one of this year's festival producers. 'They weren't necessarily comedians, but they wanted to create a festival that appreciated all form of comedy,” including improv, standup, sketch comedy and videos.

One of the founders told him the name emerged from a brainstorming session in which they noted they moved to Iowa City when the theater department was heavily affected by the Floods of 2008.

The festival ran in 2015 and 2016, then went on hiatus in 2017. And now the baton has been passed from students to area residents who can sustain it from year to year. Students still have a presence in the planning, with Leela Bassuk, Elaine Stewart and Jessica Misra serving as student producers, alongside adult producers Lucas, Alosha Robinson, Andy Landgrebe, Devon Friese and committee member Matthew Jacobsen on graphics. The idea is to unite students and community in all phases, from presenters and sponsors to artists and audiences.

Lucas, 47, an engineer from Iowa City, has worked the regional standup comedy circuit, opening for headliners 'all over the Midwest, in clubs, casinos, bars, basements and garages,” he said, noting that it's a 'very active scene.”

He's excited about the slate of comedians lined up for this year's festival:

' Carmen Lynch, a Spanish-speaking comedian out of New York, has worked the late-night television talk shows and 'Inside Amy Schumer” and 'The Good Wife.” She also has entertained the troops in Iraq and Kuwait and performs for Spanish-speaking audiences. Her album, 'Dance Like You Don't Need the Money,” was named 2017 comedy album of the year by SiriusXM Comedy.

' PREACH! from Chicago, blends improv and spoken word. 'This is a very diverse group of folks,” Lucas said. 'The founders of the festival made it one of their tenets to bring diversity to Iowa City, so we really try to embrace that. (PREACH members) do a lot of stuff with social issues combined with improv.”

' Sam Tallent, a Denver native now based in Las Vegas, has worked alongside Dave Chappelle and Dana Carvey, to drop a few names. 'He's one of my favorite comedians that I've ever seen live,” Lucas said. 'He's very good at improvising in the moment and just having a really good time with the crowd. He's very interactive” and won his segment on Comedy Central's 'Roast Battle.”

The nonprofit festival is bringing in more than 50 local, regional and national comedians, performing at nearly 20 events listed at Floodwaterfest.com/schedule. Audience members can buy an all-festival pass or individual event tickets through the website. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Johnson County Crisis Center and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

GET OUT!

WHAT: Floodwater Comedy Festival

WHEN: March 1 to 3

IOWA CITY VENUES: Public Space One, 120 N. Dubuque St.; The Mill, 120 E. Burlington St.; Blue Moose Taphouse, 211 Iowa Ave.; Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S. Linn St.; High Ground Cafe, 301 E. Market St.

HEADLINERS: Carmen Lynch, 8:30 to 10 a.m. March 1, The Mill; PREACH! 10 to 11 p.m. March 2, Blue Moose Taphouse; Sam Tallent, 8:30 to 10 p.m. March 3, The Mill

TICKETS: Full Fest Passes, $55 ages 19 and up, Floodwaterfest.com; for individual ticket prices, click on links at Floodwaterfest.com/schedule

DETAILS: Floodwaterfest.com

l Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com