Nicole Blaine previously executive-produced the Westside Comedy Theater’s annual Comedy Showdown competition for nearly a decade. There were some good parts to the position, like helping talent gain attention from HBO, “Conan” and Comedy Central. Other aspects proved more discouraging. “We had under 20% women submitting to the festival back then,” Blaine recalls. “I calculated the numbers every year. The demographics were mostly white men, period.
“With JFL being in existence prior to the last few weeks, I felt there needed to be something in Los Angeles that specifically helped connect the industry to talent, and they don’t have to go all the way to Canada to get it there,' Blaine said. 'My goal is to bring everyone together here in the industry’s backyard.” The Santa Monica resident sees herself as a stand-up first and producer second. In designing BCF, “I wear these two different hats,” Blaine says.