The McLaren Memorial Comedy Festival was founded in 1989 in dedication to Mike McLaren, a radio personality, aspiring playwright, and active MCT volunteer. The idea for the Festival stemmed from McLaren’s love for laughter. The first Festival was a reading of one singular play that was chosen out of 154 submissions from all over the country. People came and laughed. They laughed a lot. That validated the idea, and we kept it going. We added a festival concept in 1996, where we did readings of the top three entries and voted on a winner. At least a dozen of the winners and runners-up have since been published. The Festival gives the opportunity for aspiring actors and directors to burst onto the stage in a less demanding role than our main season.