In the more than 15 years since ArtsQuest debuted its campus at SteelStacks, comedy shows have struggled to find a home there.

Comedy has been presented in Musikfest Cafe, the Blast Furnace Room, Frank Banko Cinemas, the Brew Stage and the Bethlehem Visitor Center.

With the opening of ArtsQuest’s new $32-million, 80,000-square-foot Creative Factory, 25 W. Third St., Bethlehem, comedy is going to be at the forefront for the Lehigh Valley.

The Creative Factory’s Joe & Corey Bergstein Theater is ArtsQuest’s first dedicated comedy club.

“Warm Up: Stand-up Open Mic,” 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10, is a platform for aspiring comedians in the Lehigh Valley on Tuesdays through Dec. 15, in the Joe & Corey Bergstein Theater. Tickets are free.

The open mic is one of more than 30 comedy events scheduled in the theater, which seats up to 150 and has three screens for spoken-word performances, poets and student education.

Dedication events

The first comedy show is three days after the Creative Factory’s public art installations dedication, 2 p.m. Nov. 7. An artists panel discussion will follow in the theater.

The official dedication of the Creative Factory, which still is under construction, is Jan. 19, 2027, with details to be announced, says ArtsQuest Communications Manager Tehani Boyer.

By that time, two dozen comedy events will have been held.

“As we continue bringing the Creative Factory powered by PPL to life, we’re excited to introduce audiences to what will become the Lehigh Valley’s premier destination for live comedy,” ArtsQuest Chief Programming Officer Patrick Brogan states in a press release.

“For years, we’ve hosted comedy throughout our campus, but we’ve never had a venue specifically designed for it,” Brogan continues.

“The Joe & Corey Bergstein Theater gives us the opportunity to build a consistent comedy series, attract nationally-touring performers and create an interactive experience on a smaller scale where audiences can connect with some of today’s most exciting comedians,” states Brogan.

Balancing acts

ArtsQuest Programming Specialist Addyson Young, who oversees the organization’s presentation of comedy, says, “At ArtsQuest, we always talk about access to the arts. With that philosophy in mind, we’re really trying to strike a balance between the nationally-touring and even internationally-touring comics coming in and having that high-caliber art coming in, and then also making sure it’s a space for our local performers as well to be able to get on stage and then experience comedy from all over.”

Brogan notes that the theater will offer nationally-touring comedians every Friday and Saturday year-round.

That’s “at minimum,” Young says. “And you know anything else that can work out on, like, a Wednesday night. If someone’s coming through, we want to be able to be the place for that.”

“Warm Up: Standup Open Mic” nights is “another one that we started over here at the Visitor Center,” says Young.

“That program has grown, and we’re really excited to bring it back. Comics have more opportunities to sharpen their tools and get more stage time.

“That adds a mentorship part to it. We have a host in residence who is selected by a committee and whoever the host mentor is for that season shows them the ropes.” The shows culminate in the show, “Toasted.”

After the first “Warm Up: Stand-up Open Mic,” the first feature comedy presentation in the theater is “Comedy to Break the Stigma,” 6 p.m., 8 p.m. Nov. 14, a stand-up comedy showcase to bring awareness to mental health, with a portion of proceeds to benefit the non-profit organization Aevidum.

“Really excited about that one partnering with Aevidum, which is a mental health organization helping those with some mental health struggles,” Young says.

“And that is one of our local comedians who came to me with this show; he’s done it before elsewhere. So again: that mix of like having local and regional comics coming in doing comedy for a good cause.”

At 7 p.m. Nov. 18, there will be a “graduate show” of a multi-week “Sketch Comedy Writing 101” class and at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19, a “graduate show” on the Sanford Meisner Technique, which uses improvisational tools for acting for stand-up comedy, film and theater.

First headliner

At 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 will be the theater’s first headline performer, Gauri B, who has performed in comedy clubs and festivals around the world, and who Young says is the “kind of person that has a lot of social media” and whose clips on social media have hundreds of millions of views.

“I’m so excited for the acts we have coming up,” Young says, pointing to Kirsten Michelle Cills from Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20. “I’ve seen her a ton just on my phone, so it’s cool that we get to have her here in person,” says Young.

Young mentions Winston Hodges, 8 p.m. Nov. 22, who she notes was a Top 6 finalist on Kevin Hart’s Netflix show “Funny AF,” and whose online videos have been viewed a combined more than 30 million times.

Other scheduled featured performers are Philadelphia native Chanel Ali from Netflix’s “Dash and Lily,” 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4, who has released two Comedy Central specials and an album.

Nataly Aukar, 6 p.m., 8 p.m. Dec. 5, is featured in the Netflix “Joke Festival” and on “Don’t Tell Comedy,” and can be seen in the Netflix feature “The Life List.”

Carmen Lynch, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18, has more than 280,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram combined, has toured Europe with comedian Louis C.K. and appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “The Late Show with David Letterman” and has three comedy specials on YouTube.

“Olden Girls: A Drag Comedy in Two Acts,” a parody of the TV show “Golden Girls,” is set for 7:30 p.m. March 19 and March 20, 2027.

Improv Fest

ArtsQuest’s popular SteelStacks’ “Improv Comedy Festival” returns Jan. 22-25, 2027, moving from the ArtsQuest Center’s Blast Furnace Room to the new theater.

“Some of the things that have done well here at ArtsQuest” will return, including “This is How We Roll,” a “Dungeons & Dragons”-themed improv show that Young says has had “really great numbers. They did a show at Musikfest.”

“We actually had to close the Red Cinema; it hit capacity. So many people were excited to see that show,” says Young.

The Creative Factory continues The Improv JAM-BER-REE, a free monthly event for individuals and teams. Sign-ups to participate will be at the desk of the visitor center.

“That’s an improv jam for anyone who either has experience or doesn’t have experience can just come on stage, try it out,” Young says. “Improv is all about just giving it a try.

“We’ve seen great turnouts for that here and seeing a lot of jams pop up around the Lehigh Valley for more opportunities for people to again just give it a try. It’s really awesome that we’re bringing that over as well,” says Young.

Bigger-name comedy headliners will continue in Musikfest Cafe, including Emmy Award-winner and two-time Grammy Award nominee David Cross, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11, and Tim Meadows, who spent 10 years as a “Saturday Night Live” cast member, 7 p.m. Jan. 10, 2027.

“We started doing comedy in the movie theaters, which was also great in its own way. We had to wait for movies to be done, so all of our shows had to start at like 10:30 at night, which can be a little difficult,” Young says.

“Getting that Visitor Center space really helped us be able to grow our programming. Even being able to do two shows in a night was huge. Being able to expand like that was really awesome.

“But [now] the main hub will be the Creative Factory,” says Young.

Ticket information: https://www.artsquest.org/performing-arts/comedy/