Believe it or not, long before Milwaukee was routinely booking arena-level comedians, hosting multi-day residencies for world renowned comics, serving as the filming site of countless live specials, and being the proving ground for a crop of up-and-coming local humorists on the verge of breaking out, the city was something of a stand-up comedy desert.
Save for a few struggling clubs in their waning years of existence and a handful of short-lived open mics, the early 2000s were pretty much the dark ages in local comedy—especially when comparing it to how good the city has it today. Just as things seemed to be at their worst in the early aughts, one aspiring local producer took steps to improve Milwaukee’s comic fortunes one show at a time. Now 20 years and literally thousands of shows later, Matt Kemple is still bringing touring talent to town, giving local comics amazing opening opportunities, and continuing to make Milwaukee laugh.
Photo: Diego Avila
Kemple originally hails from Ohio, but he attended college in De Pere, Wisconsin. Not long after graduation, the then-aspiring actor with a theater background decided to move to Milwaukee in 2004 as a temporary stopgap before eventually winding up either New York or Los Angeles.
“I moved here because I was just kind of looking for somewhere to go and I knew people who lived here,” Kemple says. “It was just supposed to be for a year, but it turned out that I just really found something special in Milwaukee. I really love it here.”
He quickly got involved in the local theater scene, putting on small productions with friends and being hired to direct and assist with shows. Around that same time, he was involved in the production of some sketch and improv performances. Noticing a shortage of comedic opportunities in Milwaukee at that time, Kemple decided to put on the inaugural Milwaukee Comedy Festival at Bucketworks in 2005.
“There really was no real comedy scene. I don’t like to say I started it because I don’t really believe that, but I feel I stood out because I had that background experience in stage management, stage production, and putting on shows in the theater world,” Kemple says. “It really started as a group effort, but I was motivated and I was excited to see what we could do. There wasn’t any intention of it becoming anything 20 years later.”
Following the surprising success of the first-year fest, the Milwaukee Comedy Festival moved to Times Cinema in 2006, then took root at Next Act Theatre through 2014 (excluding a year at ComedySportz). Starting in 2015, the festival moved to The Underground Collaborative, a performance space Kemple started in the basement of the Grand Avenue Mall in 2012. Once “The U.C.” was open, Kemple had a dedicated space of his own where he could regularly host local stand-up showcases and book out-of-town comedians.
From 2012 until its pandemic-prompted closure in 2020, The Underground Collaborative hosted noted comedians like Todd Barry, Nick Thune, Joe Pera, Conner O’Malley, Johnny Pemberton, Jackie Kashian, Laura Beitz, Josh Fadem, Joe Mande, Shane Mauss, Eddie Pepitone, Mary Mack, and countless others. Meanwhile, Kemple—under the “Milwaukee Comedy” production umbrella—brought the likes of Andy Kindler, Sean Patton, Dave Stone, Shane Torres, and Neil Hamburger to other Milwaukee venues.
Michael Ian Black at the 2017 Milwaukee Comedy Festival.
Along the way, his Milwaukee Comedy Festival shifted to an almost completely stand-up-focused format and brought accomplished comedians like Brian Posehn, Jen Kirkman, Michael Ian Black, Beth Stelling, Kyle Kinane, Judah Friedlander, and Colin Quinn to Milwaukee. Both in the festival and in Milwaukee Comedy’s non-festival productions, Kemple placed importance on giving local comedians a platform to host and feature on shows with national talent and amass opening credits that would help further their career.
“Matt and the Milwaukee Comedy crew have been huge in my development. They have always given me opportunities from moving here in 2016 to the present day to help me develop,” Milwaukee comedian AJ Grill says. “Giving me longer sets early on really helped me develop, then eventually letting me headline has helped me personally grow and also be able to go on the road to headline.”
Thanks to Milwaukee Comedy, Grill has been able to open for Bobcat Goldthwait, Dana Gould, Quinn, Stone, Sam Tallent, and many more over his past nine years in the city. He recognizes the importance of having proponents like Kemple giving local comedians credits in what he calls “a mid-major” comedy market like Milwaukee.
“Milwaukee would be a very different scene without Matt’s work over the last 20 years,” Grill says. “Part of the reason I never left the Milwaukee scene was because of the consistent work I could get through Matt and Milwaukee Comedy.”
A few months before The U.C. closed in 2020, Kemple joined forces with comedians-turned-producers Kaitlin McCarthy and Greg Bach to open The Laughing Tap in Walker’s Point. The dedicated comedy club gave the now-humor hungry city a dedicated comedy club on the heart of 5th Street where they could witness a wide range of touring comedians and lauded locals on a weekly basis. Having worked with him prior to their partnership, McCarthy recognized Kemple’s willingness to help comedians and even other producers, his genuine passion for comedy, and his unmatched work ethic.
“I don’t know anyone who works harder than Matt. He’s always making improvements to the club if and when he can. He’s resourceful and if there’s a project, he can do himself, he does it,” McCarthy says. “He built the stage at The Laughing Tap. He used lumber left behind from the previous tenant and built our box office desk. He installed all the lighting and sound at the club. There’s three of us in this team and thank god we have someone with Matt’s talents.”
Photo: Sarah Rose Nelson
During the club’s first five-plus years, the trio managed to survive the pandemic, host hundreds of shows, put on five comedy festivals, and produce recurring offsite comedy shows at distilleries, breweries, cider joints, and other traditional venues such as Shank Hall.
“When the three of us are in a room together to put a show on, I feel like we’re unstoppable because they are so smart and bring a lot to the table as far as their own individual skills,” Kemple says. “And booking-wise, we can almost read each other’s minds. It’s incredible to have people you can really count on and you’re all in it together and have a similar philosophy.”
In June, The Laughing Tap hosted its final shows in Walker’s Point, but the owners are planning to move to a larger location (the whereabouts of which have yet to be announced) this fall. In the meantime, Milwaukee Comedy has shows planned at Pomona Cider Co. and Lakefront Brewery in August. They’re also using this brief period of down time to finalize the lineup of the 20th annual Milwaukee Comedy Festival, which will return October 7-12 and will feature a headlining performance by comedy legend Patton Oswalt at Pabst Theater.
With more than 20 years of comedy production and thousands upon thousands of shows to his credit, it’s safe to say Matt Kemple is Milwaukee’s—and is among Wisconsin’s—most decorated and longest tenured comedy figures. As he takes this rare moment of pause in production to reflect on his accomplishments of the last two decades, he also has his sights fixed on even bigger and better things in the future. Yes, he’s now 20 years in, but it seems like this might only be the beginning for Matt Kemple, for Milwaukee Comedy, and for The Laughing Tap.
“We’re trying to produce the highest quality shows that we can with people that deserve to be on stage,” Kemple says. “We see there are some many comics looking for work, there are so many people looking for laughter, and we’re trying to be that bridge.”
What started as an aspiring thespian’s one-year stop in an unfamiliar city took an unexpected turn to become a laugh-filled life backstage that has helped to make Milwaukee a happier, more entertaining, and infinitely funnier place to be.
“Even though I come from that background, I don’t ever have a desire to be on stage,” Kemple says. “Now I get such joy from being behind the scenes, having a full house, and seeing in the faces of the comics how good of a time they’re having. That, to me, is all the validation that I need.”
Photo: Sarah Rose Nelson