Last year, comedian Tennah McDonald performed at the first Middleground Comedy Festival in Indianapolis. Immediately, she knew she wanted to return. It was a professional environment run by folks, she said, who knew what they were doing and a great space for comics to network and find their audience.

Middleground, a four-day festival that kicks off April 25, is a labor of love for Indianapolis comedian Gwen Sunkel, one of the festival’s three organizers. With ticket prices ranging between $10-$30, the second annual festival not only brings in up-and-coming comedians from around the country, it also celebrates local comics working in the city. 

This year, McDonald, who got her start in comedy in Muncie before moving to Indianapolis, will perform at the 5 p.m. Happy Hour event on April 26 at Gold Leaf Savory & Sweet. She will also serve as the emcee for New York-based comedian Tom Thakkar, the headlining comedian on April 28 at Black Circle, a brewery. 

On April 26, local comedian Lucas Waterfill — who won the “funniest person in Indianapolis” contest in 2022 at Helium Comedy Club — will headline at Black Circle. Other venues include Half Litre and Brick Room.

While the ultimate goal is to bring laughs, Sunkel views comedy as a way to help people find connections with those who, on paper, they have nothing in common with.

“There’s this concept of jester’s privilege, because if we’re poking fun at everyone, we can poke fun at anything, including ourselves,” Sunkel said. “It’s a way to bring up topics that might be uncomfortable or things that people might not have thought of. There’s so much to be sad about right now that getting people to laugh a little bit does feel like a superpower. To get a whole room of people who, if they lived next door to each other, would be fighting back and forth, to laugh together is great.”

When booking comedians, Sunkel and comedian Cam O’Connor created a diverse lineup with folks from all walks of life, races, genders, orientations and religions. Beyond helping more comedians get equitable stage time, diversity among the lineup can ease audiences into difficult conversations. The festival’s LGBTQLOL showcase, which will feature members of the lineup who identify as queer, will take place at 7 p.m. on April 27 at Black Circle. This was the most popular showcase of last year’s festival, Sunkel said. 

Along with four headlining acts and the LGBTQLOL showcase, festival-goers can listen in to live tapings of the podcasts “Fake Ass Book Club” and “Harder Brunch” and catch sets from 35 comedians.

McDonald is excited to experience and share what she calls Indianapolis’ “abundant” comedy scene. She will participate in three events on April 27 and the LGBTQLOL event. 

“There’s a very strong community sense here, and so many branches of comedy,” McDonald said. “It’s combining all those powers and connecting people, it’s really nice to see.”

Mirror Indy reporter Breanna Cooper covers arts and culture. Email her at Breanna.cooper@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @BreannaNCooper.