Vermont Comedy Club Marks 10 Years With a New Nonprofit to Strengthen Local Comedy

The Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week, and the milestone comes with a major update: the launch of a new nonprofit aimed at expanding comedy education and community programming. Co-owner Natalie Miller says the idea grew out of the club’s long-held goal of making comedy more accessible for everyone, especially as these programs have become costly to run.

When Miller and her husband Nathan Hartswick first started producing shows, they were doing stand-up in bars, cafés, bowling alleys, and any space that would take them. Back then, Miller says there “was not a scene in Vermont,” with only two or three comedy shows a year happening around the state. Opening a dedicated club in Burlington helped jump-start a real comedy community.

Today, you can find a show at the club almost any night of the week, and Wednesday’s open mic often fills the space wall-to-wall. Comedian Kane Thomley, who performed this week, joked, “Chucky E. Cheese, where a kid can be a kid. Planned Parenthood… not so much,” as part of his set. Regular performers say the club has turned into a second home.

Local comedian Jared Hall says breaking into comedy in bigger cities can feel impossible, but Vermont’s scene is more welcoming, creating what he calls a “tight-knit group of comedians.” Fellow performer Justice Gilbert shares the sentiment, describing the club as “the funniest place on earth” and a supportive community filled with people who have become lifelong friends.

That sense of community is exactly why the new nonprofit is launching. According to Miller, the club’s education programs and local events form the “bedrock” of the space, but running them isn’t cheap. Spinning those efforts into a nonprofit is meant to protect and grow them long-term. The goal is to raise $100,000 by the end of the year to officially kick things off.

The nonprofit will focus on making comedy classes, performance opportunities, and community events available to as many people as possible. Miller says this shift lets her concentrate on the part she cares most about: community-driven comedy development. Meanwhile, Hartswick will continue managing the club’s for-profit side by keeping the kitchen, bar, and national headliner bookings running smoothly.

The Vermont Comedy Club team has talked openly in the past about how intense the last decade has been. Opening a club from scratch and keeping it going through challenges like COVID-19 closures required constant work. With the new nonprofit structure, they hope to create a more stable foundation for the next 10 years of Vermont’s comedy scene.

For more about the club, show schedules, and their ongoing mission, readers can visit the Vermont Comedy Club official website at https://www.vermontcomedyclub.com.