The Coral Gables Comedy Festival is bringing a night of laughter to the Cosford Cinema on March 31. Audiences should expect endless jokes and knee-slapping throughout the evening.
The festival will be held courtesy of Comic Cure, a business co-founded by University of Miami alumnus Benjamin Leis. Comic Cure holds festivals to display talented Floridian comedians and to raise money for various local charities.
“As a UM alumnus, it’s not only rewarding to bring my work back to the very campus that taught me so much, but I feel it’s my responsibility to provide a learning opportunity for students,” Leis said in a press release. “UM and the School of Communication have such amazing programs, organizations and offerings. We hope to highlight a few that evening.”
A portion of the proceeds from the Coral Gables Comedy Festival ticket sales will go to the School of Communication’s Public Relations Experience Program (PREP). PREP allows students from various communication majors to apply their classroom lessons to the professional world in a supervised workforce for course credit.
This is not the first time Leis has given back to his alma mater. After pursuing his degree in broadcast journalism and political science at UM, he worked for the Alumni Association for about five years. Now, Leis actively works to bring laughter and goodwill to the Miami community.
“If laughter is the best medicine, then Comic Cure is the pharmacy,” Leis said.
Part of Comic Cure’s role as the pharmacy of comedy is to bring comedians like Carl Rimi to the spotlight. Rimi has appeared on television shows and movies, always bringing high-energy performances to the stage with a focus on intellectual humor and impressions. One of his routines highlights the irony of trying to appear tough while growing up in a posh, gated community. Along with his upcoming appearance at Cosford, Rimi has also performed at festivals like the 2013 South Beach Comedy Festival and the 2011 Las Vegas Comedy Festival.
More than 20 comedians, including Rimi, will perform at the Coral Gables Comedy Festival. They will be divided between two show times, and each comedian will have three minutes to impress the crowd with stand-up routines, jokes and punch lines. The audience will then choose the winner of a grand prize and “bragging rights.”
If You Go
What: Coral Gables Comedy Festival
When: March 31. Doors open at 6 p.m. First show is at 7 p.m., second show is at 9 p.m.
Where: Cosford Cinema
Cost: $20 General Admission, $30 at the door. $10 for students. A portion of ticket sales will benefit the School of Communication.
Feature image courtesy Pixabay user HugoAtaide.