The 2022 Laugh or Die Comedy Fest took place on July 9th, 2022 inside of a REAL CASTLE, NIU's Altgeld Hall!  The festival featured special guests, comedians and outstandingly hilarious comedy films! 

Darren Marlar joins the 2022 Laugh or Die Comedy Fest as the Official Host!

Since 1990, Darren Marlar has been providing quality audio recordings to clients around the world. He has voiced thousands of audiobooks, radio commercials, TV spots, movie trailers, videos, podcasts, corporate presentations, phone prompts, and more! He does all this with his trademark humor, upbeat attitude, friendly customer service, and professional work. His years as an actor both onstage and onscreen allow him to bring a realism and genuineness to projects not often found in full-time voice artists. Darren Marlar is best known today as the creator and host of the immensely popular podcast and syndicated radio show, “Weird Darkness”.  Learn more at www.weirddarkness.com 

Philo Barnhart is a world-famous animator known for his unforgettable images in Disney movies such as The Secret of NIMH, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and other timeless Disney films, toys and books.  Philo will be a special guest at the 2022 Laugh or Die Comedy Fest and will have some of his original art available for purchase!  Be sure to take home something amazing to display with pride by one of the worlds most adored animators! 

Sam Howard is an actress- comic-screenwriter-mom and the creator and host of The Sleep with Sam Howard Show, a talk show and podcast that raises awareness about sleep disorders like Narcolepsy and promotes good sleep health for all.

From Chicago, Ariel Julie combines sass and crass in her brutally honest style of comedy and story telling. She’s been featured at Zanies and Laugh Factory, Chicago, headlined in IL, IN, OK, TN, TX, and WI, and opened for Steve Rannazzisi, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Sam Tallent. You can see her this summer featuring at the North Carolina Comedy Festival 2022, Madison Comedy Week 2022, Sixth City Comedy Fest 2022 in Cleveland, OH, and the Laugh or Die Comedy Festival in Dekalb, IL.

Mike Stricker is a nationally touring stand up comedian from Chicago.  So far in 2022, he’s performed in New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, and more.  He’s also worked with Victoria Jackson from Saturday Night Live and has been on tour with WWE’s Mick Foley.  Mikes comedy is a ball of silly energy.  If you are looking for politics or divisive comedy, go see someone else.

Brian Johnson has been doing comedy on and off since 2006. He grew up in Antioch IL which unfortunately is the hometown of Kyle Rittenhouse, and yes its true everyone from Antioch is just as evil and racist as Kyle Rittenhouse...except him. He first realized he wanted to be a comedian freshman year in high school when for an English class assignment he did an impersonation of Boy George that everyone thought was funny and he realized "hey I could be a comedian someday."  His style of comedy "straight jacket comedy is a mix of one liners, improv Q and A, stories, and other jokes.  His career accomplishments include but are not limited to finalist in the 2009 Highland Park Comedy Festival, Comcast on Demand in 2009 at Lincoln Lodge, opened for Kool Bubba Ice, and is currently a cast member on the reality show 1ADEM comedians that airs in 13 countries.  He is known to be one of the nicest comics on the Chicago Comedy Scene and currently resides in Grayslake IL

Joseph Christopher performs comedy all over the IL/WI brat belt; he takes mustard and saurkraut. He delights crowds with sharp, concise jokes and a lovable grin. He recently cried during an episode of Bar Rescue.

Incomparable. Unpredictable. Tour de force. Jayson Acevedo has opened for Tim Meadows (SNL), Chris Redd (SNL) & Jeff Ross (Comedy Central) among many others. Acevedo’s comedy has proven to translate well internationally, having told jokes in five countries & throughout comedy festivals from LA to NYC & beyond such as The NBCUniversal/Second City BreakOut Comedy Festival (Chicago), Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Scotland) & this August at the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival in Jamestown, NY just to name a few! Acevedo continues to perform regularly throughout Chicago at venues like The World Famous Laugh Factory, Zanies, Second City, & more. Follow him home or everywhere @jaysonavocado or jaysonavocado.com to view more photos of his hair!

Full list of 2022 Nominees and Winners below!  Congrats everyone!

BEST FILM

PRETTY METAL
DOWN TO CLOWN
THE MYSTERY MURDER
WHAT'S SO SCARY?
***WINNER***LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT***WINNER***

BEST DIRECTOR

NICK VOLKERS - GOOD ENOUGH
BRIAN LACHOWSKI - DOWN TO CLOWN
MIKHAIL TOT - PRETTY METAL
***WINNER***ANTHONY MILTON & JOE BANNISTER - THE MYSTERY MURDER***WINNER***
ANDREW D PRINGLE - WHAT'S SO SCARY

BEST WRITER

ZACHARY TRUSSEL - THAT NIGHT
ANTHONY MILTON, JOE BANNISTER & RYAN SERR - THE MYSTERY MURDER
***WINNER***ELLEN C BURR - LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT***WINNER***
NICK VOLKERS - GOOD ENOUGH
ED TOOLIS - THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT

BEST ACTOR

***WINNER***JULIE ALEXANDER - THAT NIGHT***WINNER***
DAVON ROBERTS - DIGGERS
BROWN FROWN THE CLOWN - ROCK HARD WITH THE CLOWN
PETE BERWICK - GOOD ENOUGH
BRODY BOWMAN - CUT THE WIRE

BEST ACTRESS

ALLISON NORRIS-AUSTIN - LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT
EMILY SHULMANOVICH - MAYBE NEXT YEAR
***WINNER***JENNIFER TAYLOR - GOOD ENOUGH***WINNER***
MARY JESS PRICE - THE TURKEY
ALLISON GRISCHOW - KITCHEN SPACES

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

PRETTY METAL
***WINNER***THE MYSTERY MURDER***WINNER***
GOOD ENOUGH
LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT
ROCK HARD WITH THE CLOWN

BEST EDITING

***WINNER***MAYBE NEXT YEAR***WINNER***
THERE MAY BE GHOSTS
WHAT'S SO SCARY?
DIGGERS
THE MYSTERY MURDER

BEST SOUND

THE TURKEY
THAT NIGHT
THE MYSTERY MURDER
***WINNER***PRETTY METAL***WINNER***
GOOD ENOUGH

BEST MUSIC

DOWN TO CLOWN
THE TURKEY
***WINNER***DING-DONG!***WINNER***
THEY MYSTERY MURDER
THAT NIGHT

FESTIVAL DIRECTOR'S CHOICE

THERE MAY BE GHOSTS
LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT
I'D RATHER NOT
THE MYSTERY MURDER
***WINNER***DOWN TO CLOWN***WINNER***

SCREENPLAY CONTEST FINALISTS

KURT AN DLUNA VS SEXUAL INADEQUACY BY JACQUES SPAUL
OPERATION WEEK WACKER BY WENDY EIBEN
***WINNER***REALLY SOMETHING SPECIAL BY PETER HARDY***WINNER***
DOLORES BY MICHAEL SEABOLT & GREG SCHROEDER
DELAYED BY STANLEY EISENHAMMER

SATURDAY JULY 9TH

11:00AM DOORS OPEN

11:30AM BLOCK A - COMEDY FILMS (2H45M)

• BUK BY BARNES & NOBLE (1M)
• I'D RATHER NOT (6M)
• DIGGERS (10M)
• DOWN TO CLOWN (13M)
• MAYBE NEXT YEAR (14M)
• ROCK HARD WITH THE CLOWN (36M)
• THERE MAY BE GHOSTS (87M)

02:30PM BLOCK B - COMEDY FILMS (2H15M)

• DING-DONG! (13M)
• THE MYSTERY MURDER (15M)
• THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT (26M)
• THAT NIGHT (84M)

05:00PM BLOCK C - COMEDY FILMS (2H15M)

• GOOD ENOUGH (5M)
• LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT (7M)
• CUT THE WIRE (9M)
• KITCHEN SPACES (9M)
• PRETTY METAL (11M)
• WHAT'S SO SCARY (11M)
• THE TURKEY (84M)

07:30PM BLOCK D - COMEDY ENTERTAINMENT (1HR15M)

• JAYSON ACEVEDO - STAND UP COMEDY
• JOSEPH CHRISTOPHER - STAND UP COMEDY
• BRIAN JOHNSON - STAND UP COMEDY
• MIKE STRICKER - STAND UP COMEDY
• ARIEL JULIE - STAND UP COMEDY
• SAM HOWARD - STAND UP COMEDY

08:45PM AWARDS PRESENTATION (45M)

09:45PM CLOSE OF FESTIVAL

PLEASE NOTE: THERE IS A 15 MINUTE INTERMISSION TIME BETWEEN FILM BLOCKS.  TICKETS ARE GOOD FOR THE ENTIRE FESTIVAL DAY.  TICKET HOLDERS ARE ABLE TO COME AND GO ALL DAY LONG.

WARNING: FILMS AND COMEDY ENTERTAINMENT ARE TYPICALLY AIMED AT AN ADULT AUDIENCE AND MAY CONTAIN A DEGREE OF GRAPHIC SCENES, ADULT SITUATIONS, ADULT LANGUAGE AND VULGARITY.  ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED.  VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Check out the awesome 2022 Film Selections!

Any night out in a big city has the potential to be a good night, the risk of being a bad night, and typically ends up somewhere in between—but only some nights can claim to be That Night.

The night where little choices lead to big decisions, chance encounters to second chances, Uber drivers keep themselves busy in the strangest of ways and taking the wrong pill can be really bad for the upholstery.

For Stacy, an artist with one eye on the future of design and the other stuck looking hopelessly at his ex-lover, that night is tonight. 

Two middle-aged quirky singles are at the same restaurant waiting, fretting, getting anxious to meet the other one they connected with on OK-cupid with a 90+ compatibility rating. Twenty minutes later, they can’t stand it anymore and text to see who has the better table. After his sip of liquid courage and a slip on split beer and her last swipe of lipstick, they meet. His compliment and her lack of conversation leads them to “laying all the cards on the table.” They go back and forth with his wants, her needs, their compatibilities, leading to a kiss until he declares, “I talk to my mother every day.” Among all of the outrageous revelations of themselves this is the deal breaker. His phone rings.

With a timeshare on the line, three couples compete to set up their single friend by midnight on New Year's Eve.

When 5 friends share what scares them the most, a visitor might be the answer.

A young woman brings her new boyfriend home to meet her not-so-tolerant parents for dinner.

In an effort to give filmmaking one last try, failed director Kipp Swanson accepts a job to document the alleged horrors of a local haunted home. He assembles a team of inept "ghost hunters", including his reluctant ex-girlfriend.

Realizing his comedy career is going nowhere, a cough syrup addicted clown quits drinking and starts a band in order to get the attention of his estranged wife.

Kevin, Emmett, and Ronnie are clowns struggling to find work in a world that is afraid of them. After running over and killing a homeless old man in their clown car, the three clowns have to find a way to dispose of the body to prevent further defamation of clowns.

While on their first mission, two rookie agents are put to the test on a mission gone wrong.

A friendsgiving goes awry when the relatives show up uninvited... What do you give up and gain for family?

Rita and Marty are planning a last “last hurrah” friendsgiving party before she gets knocked-up with a baby. Unexpectedly, her very mid-western relatives show up, his dream girl is a plus-one, a female best-friendship unravels, and a gray divorce looms large. Set against an impending “snowpocalypse” storm, the party-goers are trapped in the apartment, forced to deal with bombs of love and friendship… and what we give up and gain to start a family.

Ben struggles through his insignificance after his best friend gets him a job at a local graveyard, where he encounters pranks, mourners and the inevitability of the inevitable.

Pretty Metal is a proof of concept dramatic comedy about a rising female pop group of high school besties who reinvent themselves as a heavy metal band in order to chase fame and fortune after their star member leaves them. Pretty Metal explores the themes of redemption, family, and control. Audiences will be amazed to learn that this film was made in July 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Roy and Joy Wernecke show local TV host Mark Messina some secrets to cooking a perfect Thanksgiving dinner.

Lyle, a frustrated Mormon missionary and Sarah, a lonely housewife of a televangelist, have long been chained to the harsh trappings of strict religion and forced to suppress their innermost sexual desires. Can the firm guidance of their religious tutors keep their “sins” at bay? Should it?

A young couple gets asked a Would You Rather question by a mysterious homeless man pertaining to a situation where, if caught in a pinch, would they rather poop in the bathroom at a party and clog the toilet or go poop outside in the bushes. Unknowingly, he has cursed them to live out their respective answers at a party later that night.

Mark thinks he throws the best parties and he's invited his friends to prove it. A fancy mansion. A murder mystery. And his best bud by his side. The only thing that could go wrong is the guest list.

For the last 150 thousands years, mankind has longed for a time when all of human knowledge and wisdom could be at his fingertips. And with the internet and mobile devices, that time has finally come.
However, there have been some unexpected consequences.

With its interactive user interface and pre-loaded content, buk is the new (and best) alternative to traditional e-readers.

Learn about our 2022 Laugh or Die Screenplay Finalists below soon and see who wins best screenplay at the festival!

by Jacques Spaul

A couple's struggle for sexual satisfaction leads them to try a plethora of kinks

by Wendy Eiben

Judy Daniels wants to return the South Watertown Garden Club to the glory days of yesteryear. But she'll need to win an election to do it. It's satire, people. Satire

by Michael Seabolt & Greg Schroeder

THAN (20’s) is having trouble sleeping. Every night, while he’s getting ready to go to sleep, a GHOST lies down in bed with him. It scares him, but he also misses the Ghost when it leaves, for its appearance and smell remind him of his dead girlfriend Dolores.

Ethan’s THERAPIST (50’s) is concerned when Ethan tells her this. She asks Ethan if he could describe Dolores to her in more detail, since he’s been tight-lipped about talking about her in any detail. Ethan gets suspicious, wondering if his mother had asked for the Therapist to extract details about Dolores from him. The Therapist insists that, despite the fact that Ethan’s mother recommended her to him, she does not share details about their sessions. Ethan is frustrated, but he understands his mother’s concern – Dolores committed suicide a few weeks back, and his resulting feelings of guilt and grief are taking a toll on him. The Therapist asks Ethan if he has tried writing his feelings down, to get his feelings and regrets out of his head and onto paper. Ethan agrees it’s worth a shot.

That night, Ethan writes a short note on a piece of paper, still unable to go into much detail. We see that Ethan is experiencing a disconnect between his perception vs. actual events, revealing that he is losing his grip on reality and putting the validity of his interactions with the therapist into question. Ethan gets upset after being unable to properly communicate with his mother on the phone, and he encounters a DEMONIC FORCE in the bathroom. It attacks him, and he resists at first. But ultimately, it resembles Dolores’s ghost, appears to be caring, and Ethan gives in. His wrists are slashed in the bathtub, and he dies, having committed suicide in the same manner as Dolores. The Therapist arrives at Ethan’s house, concerned that he has missed multiple appointments. She finds Ethan’s body. As the Therapist calls 911, we see Ethan’s letter to Dolores on the bathroom floor, in a pool of dried blood, its text resembling a suicide note.

by Peter Hardy

Having just made love for the first time, a woman finds out something surprising about the man she's with.

by Stanley Eisenhammer

Boy and girl share an outlet at an airport while waiting for their delayed flights.

Learn about our 2022 Laugh or Die Screenplay Semi-Finalists below soon!

by Patrick B Hopkins

A day in the life of meme artist Frankl Jelklerdorf.

by Jamila Jackson

A woman who rocketed to the top in the 80s cutthroat world of chalkboard sales recounts her success, but an archnemesis from the past might erase her accomplishments.

by Andrew Ortiz

A diverse staff from a seemingly top notch Hotel in Philly do their best to keep things running smoothly under absurd circumstances.

by John Wrigley

Socially inept and terminally naïve Vincent Stubbs becomes principal of his former high school, and hires his cynical loner best friend Eileen as his vice principal, in a last ditch attempt to fix his adolescent past. But they find out that whether they're students or principals, high school still eats them alive.

by Max Lehman

A Sci-Fi Parody where time travel action flick meets a stoner and their love of fast food.