Comedians Drive to the End of the Continent for Dogs and Cats
Comedians Dan Frigolette, Andrew Frank and Sonya Vai will drive from Las Vegas to New York City in the name of comedy and charity this Spring.
The Comedy’s Best Kept Secret Tour will embark on a 27 day journey to produce and promote amazing comedy shows all white raising money for dogs and cats via the Liberty Humane Society. The tour which prides itself on displaying the funniest comedians, who are yet to become household names, has been written up in 32 cities in just 48 months.
Comedian Dan Frigolette, whose accolades include appearances on Boardwalk Empire, Wendy Williams Show, W. Kamau Bell Show, Comedy Time TV, and been featured on the Artie Lange Show, Sexy Beasts, and in Time Out NY is the creator of the tour. This will be his fourth time driving across the country. Just one year ago, he embarked on a trip that encapsulated 42 days, with 42 shows and 19 city stops on its way to Anchorage Alaska. Frigolette also produces the Hoboken Comedy Festival, NJ Funnyfest, and a multi-city stand up comedy contest also represented in this tour called Make Me Laugh. In 2015 these shows raised more than $8,000 for the animal shelter based in Jersey City NJ.
“We chose the Liberty Humane Society due to it’s proximity to my home, their consistent activity in the community time and time again as a pillar of animal activism, their low cost vet clinics, and their dedication to adoption services” says Frigolette. “Where I would love to be to support every local Animal Charity we come in contact with, I felt it more impactful to consolidate our support to one charity that goes above and beyond to help the community.”
With stops in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Springfield, St Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Rochester, and Glens Falls, it will be the most comprehensive non-stop tour for most of the comedians on board.
The Tour, will take longer breaks to produce multiple shows in Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, and St Louis, to run the stand up comedy contest -Make Me Laugh. The contest recently finished it’s second annual stop in Albany NY, where over 100 performers participated over two weeks. Contestants were dwindled down over six shows for more than 800 audience members, and a half dozen local celebrities as judges. In each city, judges and comedians are compiled to make the experience one of a kind.
One winner in each city will be crowned Make Me Laugh Champion and given the opportunity to join the Comedy’s Best Kept Secret Tour as they travel east. If availability does not align then those winners will be asked to come on board for the comprehensive tour in 2017, and given a myriad paid gigs throughout 2016. Other prizes include name and face in local publications, head shots donated by local photographers, and paid gigs nationwide.
Make Me Laugh has found the funniest comedians in Albany NY, Binghamton NY, Syracuse NY, St Louis MO, Denver CO, San Francisco CA, and Anchorage Alaska to date. “The hope is to expand our reach and the opportunities for comedians in cities outside of LA and NY where the most opportunities exist” says Frigolette. “Oftentimes there are only a few performance opportunities in ‘non-major” cities, which makes less talented individuals view comedy as a career option, we are doing what we can to encourage funny people to keep at it” he says.
Andrew Frank happens to be one of those winners, finding himself Make Me Laugh St Louis Champion in 2015. The St Louis resident, 25, made it through three rounds of auditions, semi-finals to win the Finals by a sudden death joke off. Over the course of the contest Andrew performed more than 35 minutes of original material. Upon winning he joined the 2015 tour through 15 cities and 35 days ending in Alaska. Andrew, who was lucky enough to join the Comedy’s Best Kept Secret Tour halfway through the trip in 2015, finally embarks on the tour in its entirety this year, trading off night by night as either headliner or feature comedian with producer Frigolette.
Since winning in 2015 Andrew has headlined in all the major comedy clubs in the Mid West, and became a finalist in the televised competition “Trial By Laughter” based in Morty’s Comedy Joint in Indianapolis Indiana.
Sonya Vai, a Los Angeles based comedian joins the tour this Spring after being invited to the Hoboken Comedy Festival and San Diego Comedy Festival. This will be her first serious comedy road trip. She will emcee and feature as needed.
It’s every comedian’s dream to tour the United States, the Comedy’s Best Kept Secret Tour will do it continuously throughout the early Spring.
Tickets to all 25 shows can be found on www.ComedysBestKeptSecret.com and www.LaughUSA.org and cost between $10 and $15, city and venue information can be found on the web and below.
The tour has also donated more than 2500 tickets to various charities including Veteran Ticket Foundation which gives event tickets to Currently Serving Military, Veterans and their Families as well as immediate family of troops KIA.