20th Nantucket Comedy Festival Kicks Off On Thursday

The 20th annual Nantucket Comedy Festival kicks off Thursday, featuring a series of comedy events and an award presentation dedicated to late Nantucket High School teacher Page Martineau.

The Nantucket Comedy Festival benefits Stand Up and Learn, a comedy education program for children. The curriculum for the program, which has been taught for years by Nantucket Comedy Festival executive director Kevin Flynn, is now available nationwide for the first time.

“This is the first time that the curriculum is being used by teachers to teach it rather than me teaching it,” Flynn said. “The big news this year is that we have built this website and everything is there for teachers to utilize.”

Flynn said that Nantucket’s support for Stand Up and Learn through the comedy festival was instrumental in its success.

“The people of Nantucket have helped me to develop this with their support over the years,” he said.

The festival begins with a women’s comedy night headlined by stand-up comedy icon and television star Judy Gold. In honor of the festival’s 20th anniversary, the event will include a Roaring 20s-themed opening party.

During the event, Martineau, a long-time Nantucket High School English teacher and the advisor for Veritas, the high school’s student newspaper, will receive a posthumous award.

“She helped with the curriculum [for Stand Up and Learn] early on in the process, way, way back. She was great,” Flynn said. “We have to honor her and give thanks to someone who was a giver.”

Martineau’s daughter will accept the award on her behalf.

“[Martineau] played an important role in helping shape the program in its early years, sharing her time, energy, and belief in the power of comedy to help young people find their voice,” a promotional email from the festival reads in part. “Her contributions helped lay the foundation for what Stand Up & Learn has become today: a program that builds confidence, creativity and connection through laughter.”

Friday features a screening of the new stand-up comedy documentary film Townie, followed by a question-and-answer session with star Steve Sweeney, executive producer Peter Farrelly, and director Ian Barrett. The screening is followed by a “Legends of Comedy” event with past festival favorites including Sweeney, Jackie Flynn, Jimmy Dunn, and Tom Cotter.

Then, on Saturday, the annual SmACKdown comedy competition between Boston and New York returns, hosted by Emmy-winning journalist Bob Ley. New York will be represented by Brian Scott McFadden and Vladimir Caamaño, while Boston will be represented by Dan Boulger and Tom Dustin.

Tickets for the Nantucket Comedy Festival are available here.