But, it’s not all fun and laughs. The seven-day not-for-profit event is a government-initiative established to hone the skills of an untapped — and rather unconventional — vocation in the Middle East.
“My vision is that comedy is much more than telling jokes," claimed Omar Maani, the Mayor of Amman whose office has been presiding over the festival since its inception in 2008.
“We believe in this artistic dimension as it paves the way for talented Arab youth with aspirations to become stand-up comedians, allowing them to gain the necessary skills and experience to make their dream a reality,” he added.
The idea to create a platform for emerging Arab talent started about two years ago when King Abdallah of Jordan approached Palestinian-Italian-American comedian, Dean Obeidallah, after his first comedic performance in Amman.
“They were aware of the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival I co-founded and asked me if I’d be interested in helping them set something up in Amman,” stated Obeidallah, Executive Producer of the ASCF. “It was completely their initiative.”
Obeidallah works alongside the mayor’s office to execute each year’s festival. “They’re very much involved. They deal with everything: Finding sponsors, dealing with advertising and selling the tickets. I focus on the creative side, which is mostly booking the talent,” he explained.
Even then, Obeidallah confessed, the mayor’s office is very much hands-on. “We go through the potential comedians and they give their input.” Not in regard to censorship, he explained, but as an informal focus group that gives their opinions of who will translate into more laughs in the Middle East.
An extensive history of famous comics and politically incorrect jokes said by your uncles over family gathering makes Arab humor truly unique. The Egyptians are known for their dam khafeef (sense of humor), and have produced many comedic legends over the years from yesterday’s Ismail Yasin to today’s star, Adel Imam. Slapstick humor still dominates the TV airwaves in most Gulf cities. Saudi Arabia has their own famous Cheech and Chong, Abbott and Costello, or for you, younger generation, Farley and Spade. The funny duo appears on “Tash ma Tash” whose satirical 30-minute show premieres every Ramadan and is now in its 17th season.
“What we know as stand-up comedy — standing on a stage and telling jokes — is a new phenomenon in the Arab world,” explained Obeidallah, adding that the festival is a means to empower young people in the arts and teach them about stand-up. “Stand-up acts as an incubator for different forms of comedy.”
The festival held an open audition for aspiring comedians from the region, giving them an unprecedented opportunity to perform their routines in front of thousands.
"We had for the first time in festival history an ‘All Jordanian’ Show and overall, we had more comics from the region performing than ever before,” revealed Obeidallah. “I anticipate that next year will feature even more Arab comedians performing in English and Arabic."
The regional comics that performed were Saudi Arabia’s very own Ibraheem Al-Khairallah and British National Rehman Akhtar, Egypt’s Ola Roshdy, Mohamed Salem and Motaz Attalla, as well as ten comedians from Jordan, including main attraction Nabil Sawalha.
Aware that there is still an extreme deficiency in full-time stand-up comedy clubs in the Middle East, Obeidallah feels that such events allow Arabs to show off their innate sense of humor. “It’s not something we often see reflected in American media, but Arabs and Jordanians are funny and they love to laugh — especially at themselves!”
Thus, the festival serves a dual purpose: To nurture the talent in the Middle East, while simultaneously exposing the rest of the world to it.
“More young people than ever are starting to perform stand up in the region — in both English and Arabic,” stated Obeidallah. He believes the world is getting smaller with YouTube, which is a great for exposing oneself to people who would otherwise have no access to a large audience.
There is no doubt the ASCF is setting the foundation for future comedic enterprises in the region. The fact that it was never set up with the intention of being a profitable venture greatly changes the dynamics of the event. With no sleazy producers trying to make a quick buck or agents eager to exploit young talent, the festival is simply there to promote comedy and nurture the budding industry.
Obeidallah admits he’s already seeing an impact. “Stand-up comedy is no longer simply a Western entertainment form being imported to the region. Locals no longer wait for comics from the West to perform… now the young Arabs are performing in and producing shows themselves.”
Now in its third edition, the festival has succeeded in the becoming the largest comedy event the Arab world with over 25 of the world’s top comics performing in eight shows to a crowd of nearly 4,000 people.
The talent is an international blend of well-known comedians from the US, Europe and the Middle East, including: African-American comedian (Saturday Night Live), Latin-American Gabriel Iglesias (Comedy Central special “”), UK-based Iranian (Sex in the City 2), Palestinian-American (“The Axis of Evil” comedy tour), Britain-born (NBC’s Today Show) and many more.
While an immediate resolution in Middle Eastern politics may seem bleak at the moment, at least we know we can always make fun of each other’s mothers and laugh about it. Egypt, you’re up next.
