All of the Jobs at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing like watching a sold-out show your team has organised and seeing the audience cry with laughter,\u201d says Susan Provan.\r\n\r\nProvan has seen a lot of comedy shows. Hopefully, that means she\u2019s also seen a lot of teary-eyed audiences. As director of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, she\u2019s watched hundreds of international stars perform and discovered some of Australia\u2019s best talent. She\u2019s also helped turn the festival into one of Australia\u2019s best. When it celebrated its 30th birthday in 2016 with more than 800,000 attendees, it officially sold more tickets than any other Australian festival.\r\n\r\nBehind these scenes, Provan heads up a team of just 11 full-time staff. For the bulk of the year, her crew is tasked with planning the next event. It begins with Provan and her associate directors attending international festivals searching for the next big thing. \r\n\r\n\u201cYou never know who you\u2019re going to find,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s very subjective, but we\u2019re looking for [acts] that please a wide variety of people.\u201d\r\n\r\nOnce acts are invited and booked to perform in Melbourne, festival staff sort through nearly 400 venue applications and begin solving the puzzle of who\u2019ll perform where. \r\n\r\nThe design team then works to get the programs and website ready to release. There will be more than 4000 individual performances uploaded to ticketing websites alone.\r\n\r\nPromotion comes next, the marketing and public relations team needing to cover both print and digital channels. Finally, with the help of casuals and volunteers, the staff swells to around 300 in the weeks around the event, with bump-ins alone needing to be completed across all venues in five days. \r\n\r\n\u201cThe technical staff and production managers organise it all right down to what order the equipment is packed on a truck,\u201d says Provan. \u201cThey need to make sure it\u2019s an efficient setup.\u201d \r\n\r\nOnce the festival starts it\u2019s a remarkably busy time. Organisers have to liaise with hundreds of artists and performers to make sure they have everything they need, while on-ground staff sell tickets and promote the event.\r\n\r\nProvan makes her way to as many shows as possible, both day and night \u2013 familiar hours for those in the industry.\r\n\r\n\u201cFor most people in comedy it\u2019s a labour of love,\u201d she says. \u201cYou will face difficult hours.\u201d But the irregular hours also provide a wealth of opportunity. \u201cGet out there,\u201d she says. \u201cVolunteer or intern, and do a great job of it, and you\u2019ll get first look when a paid job becomes available.\u201d\r\n\r\nDowntime is scarce, she warns. While the festival only runs for a month each year, the team also organises and promotes satellite events such as the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow, national secondary school comedy competition Class Clowns, and open mic competition Raw Comedy.\r\n\r\nAs someone who has personally unearthed some of Australian comedy\u2019s biggest names \u2013 including Josh Thomas and Hannah Gadsby \u2013 Provan says it has never been easier for comedians to get themselves noticed in the industry. \r\n\r\n\u201cPut your stuff on the internet,\u201d she says. \u201cMake YouTube clips and build audiences; it\u2019s easy and cheap.\u201d\r\n\r\nShe also recommends open mic nights, and entering Raw Comedy or Class Clowns.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe way you become a comedian is by doing it on stage in front of lots of people and seeing if they laugh or not,\u201d she says. \u201cIt can be a hard slog as a performer but you can work your way up if you work hard.\u201d\r\n\r\nThis article is presented in partnership with Hostplus, which has your super covered no matter your role and how it changes through your career.