2020 Featured Performers
HEADLINERS
Comedian Eddie Pepitone is a master of the dark art of comedy, often hailed as a modern day cross between Jackie Gleason, Don Rickles and Eckart Tolle. Few comedians working today channel the power of the rant better than Eddie Pepitone. Fans will know Eddie from his newest Netflix one-hour special ‘IN RUINS’, his numerous appearances on ‘WTF with Marc Maron’, or his performances on ‘Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell’, ‘Community’ and ‘Bob’s Burgers’. Eddie is a stand-out comic/character actor, with films like ‘Old School’ and countless comedy TV shows, including ‘Rick + Morty’, ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’, ‘The Sarah Silverman Program’, ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’, This Is Not Happening’, and ‘Chappelle’s Show.’ Hailed by Maron, Oswalt and more as the ultimate ‘comic’s comic’, Eddie remains a creative force of nature and an uncompromising original.
Debra DiGiovanni is an award-winning Canadian comedian who is taking the Los Angeles comedy community by storm. She’s performed on Conan, Comedy Central and at the Just For Laughs Festival. Debra’s truthful yet playful style makes her an easy favorite. She also hosts a popular podcast - ‘Killing Time with Debra & Zach’ - with her best friend and fellow comedian Zach Noe Towers and her digital series ‘Steph & Deb’ is available on Comedy Central now.
Guy Branum created and hosted truTV’s Talk Show The Game Show, a hilarious mashup of two beloved television formats that pits comedians and celebrities against each other for the title of “Best Guest of the Night.” His recently published book My Life As A Goddess is a collection of side-splitting and illuminating essays and was quoted as being “Wickedly smart, funny and witty” by Kirkus Reviews and recently made NPR’s 2018 Good Reads List and Entertainment Weekly’s Must List. You may also know him from his recurring segment “No More Mr. Nice Gay” on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, serving as “Staff Homosexual” on Chelsea Lately and his performance as Natalie Portman’s sassy gay friend in the feature film No Strings Attached. Noticing a trend? Guy has also appeared on @Midnight, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, Road to Roast and Debate Wars. As a TV writer, Guy spent three seasons writing for Hulu’s The Mindy Project and was a producer during the show’s last season. Other TV writing credits include A League of Their Own from Amazon, Punk’d and Awkward on MTV, Another Period on Comedy Central, Billy on the Street on truTV and Fashion Police on E! That means he’s watched the Grammys at Joan Rivers’ house. Jealous?
Guy has also written culture and political commentary for Slate.com, Pitchfork, The New York Times and Vulture, and his pop culture roundtable podcast Pop Rocket was named one of the best new podcasts of 2015 by iTunes. Guy’s debut comedy album, Effable, was #1 on iTunes and Billboard charts, and The New York Times called it “a contender for the best comedy special of 2015.”
Too lazy to shoot hoops and too tall to model, Marcella Arguello stands over 6 feet. Although she may be taller than most men, the only thing more intimidating than her height is her comedy. Marcella mixes a combination of genuine reason with a sexy suggestion of street. Deemed as “sexually and ethnically ambiguous” she appeals to everyone and is not afraid to tell you how she really feels about subjects concerning race, gender, politics, relationships, family, work, music, pop culture and whatever else is on her mind that day.
Marcella is the host and booker of Women Crush Wednesdays, the hottest and most diverse weekly show in Los Angeles, which happens every Wednesday at The Hollywood Improv Lab. Her stand up can be seen on the second season of Night Train with Wyatt Cenac on STARZ; she also made a brief guest appearance on Comedy Central's Corporate and on episodes of FuseTV's Trivial Takedown. This April, MSN.com listed Marcella as number 10 in their list of "Top female comedians working in film and television today" alongside Amy Schumer, Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong. In the Fall of 2017, Vulture.com presented their list of “Comedians You Should and Will Know” and Marcella was the top industry pick which gained her a feature in the November issue of New York Magazine. Marcella was deemed an “LA Comedian to Watch in 2017” by Time Out Magazine while maintaining her reign as a fan favorite and six-time winner on Comedy Central’s @midnight. She wrote for the renewed Netflix series “Bill Nye Saves The World” and was a writer on the first season of the James Corden-produced show, Drop The Mic on TBS. Additionally, Marcella won her appearance on TruTv’s Comedy Knock Out, was featured on Viceland’s Flophouse, and in 2015 on NBC’s Last Call with Carson Daly; her stand up has been highlighted on rapper Tyler, The Creator’s mobile app and on Fox’s The Real.
Her Twitter account (@marcellacomedy) has been featured on CNN, Fox, TIME.com, HuffingtonPost.com and various entertainment websites. She is a regular opener for Last Comic Standing Winner Felipe Esparza as well as NBC Superstore’s Nico Santos. She has opened for Hannibal Buress, David Alan Grier, Hasan Minhaj, Norm MacDonald, J.B. Smoove, Ron Funches, Godfrey, Bryan Callen, Aries Spears, Al Madrigal, Joey Coco Diaz, Melanie Comarcho, Melissa Villaseñor and has shared a stage with Bill Burr, Paul Mooney and Robin Williams. She has worked at The Improv Comedy Clubs all over the country and is a regular at The Punch Line Comedy Clubs in Northern California. She has performed at The New York Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Chris Hardwick’s ID10T Festival, Riot LA Comedy Festival, Lucille Ball Comedy Fest, overseas for American troops and comedian Sean Keane referred to her as the “finest export from Modesto since George Lucas.” In 2019 Marcella released her first comedy album ‘Woke Bully’ which debuted at #3 on the iTunes comedy charts. She also performed on HBO’s ‘Two Dope Queens’ later in 2019 to terrific reviews.
Josh Gondelman is a writer and comedian who incubated in Boston before moving to New York City, where he currently lives and works as a writer and producer for Desus and Mero on Showtime. Previously, he spent five years at Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, where he earned two Peabody Awards, four Emmy awards, and three WGA Awards for his work. Josh’s debut essay collection, Nice Try, was released in fall 2019 through Harper Perennial. In the past, Josh has written for Fuse TV’s Billy On The Street.
Onstage, Josh charms audiences using his good-natured storytelling and cracks them up with his sharp, pointy wit. He takes topics from surprise parties to his experience teaching preschool and makes them all equally hilarious. In 2016, he made his late night stand up debut on Conan (TBS), and made his network TV debut on Late Night With Seth Meyers (NBC) in 2018. He has also appeared on The Late
Late Show with James Corden. Josh’s album Dancing On a Weeknight was released April 2019 on Blonde Medicine Records and hit #7 on the Billboard comedy chart. His previous comedy album Physical Whisper debuted in March of 2016 at #1 on the iTunes comedy charts (as well as #4 on the Billboard comedy chart) and stayed there for…well…longer than he expected, honestly.
Some other nice things to know about Josh Gondelman: He is the co-creator and co-author of the Shorty Award-winning Modern Seinfeld Twitter account, and his own Twitter feed was named the year’s best by Paste Magazine in 2015. The Ellen DeGeneres Show took notice of Josh’s joke writing skill and featured him as part of their “Tweetly Roundup.” Additionally, Josh has performed at the Rooftop Comedy Festival in Aspen, CO, and headlined at the Laugh Your Asheville Off Festival in Asheville, NC. More recently he has appeared in the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, and SF Sketchfest. His debut standup comedy CD, Everything’s The Best was released in November of 2011 by Rooftop Comedy Productions. His writing has also appeared in prestigious publications such as McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, New York Magazine, and The New Yorker. He also co-authored a humor book called You Blew It in 2015 with writer Joe Berkowitz.
DIY touring trailblazer. Interrobang 'Comic Who Will Break In 2020' selection. Acclaimed Altercation Comedy Festival curator. Multiple book author. JT Habersaat wears so many hats it can be mind-boggling trying to keep up. At once both bitingly sardonic and observational, JT has released a trio of albums on the Grammy-winning imprint Stand Up! Records, including his most recent one-hour special ‘MISANTHROPE’ which shot all the way to #2 on the iTunes top 200 comedy charts. JT is a frequent return guest on the Doug Stanhope Podcast, appeared on Comedy Central’s sketch program ‘The Upright Citizen’s Brigade’, and acted in the cult Troma Films hit ‘Toxic Avenger 4’. Currently on tour nationwide with Eddie Pepitone, JT will record his next album in spring of 2020 for 800 Pound Gorilla Records / Warner Music Group.
Valerie Tosi is a comedian, actor, writer, and voiceover artist. Recent credits include late night debut on Conan, guest stars on IFC's Stan Against Evil, Netflix's The Joel McHale Show, and the lead in the feature film The Sex Addict. She features for Dana Gould on the road, and has headlined and featured at several comedy festivals including 208, Limestone, Laughing Skull, Out of Bounds, etc. Valerie also hosts The Mermaid Comedy Hour, the longest running all female show at The Hollywood Improv. An alumni of both The Second City & iO West, her improv background led to several Buzzfeed videos garnering millions of views including a video with Kevin Hart & Ice Cube. You may have heard her voice literally everywhere as the voice of the Google Home Mini campaign.
Dante Powell is a comedian from Bernice, Louisiana. He currently lives and performs out of Des Moines, Iowa where he moved in 2012 for a girl, but was too lazy to leave after she dumped him. Dante is best known for a photo of him holding a box of Cheerios that went viral. (He was offered temporary membership into the Illuminati, kinda viral...) Anyhow, if you don't like his stand up, please let him know, and he will be glad to introduce you to some other comedian who may be more your speed. Seriously, just let him know. We all wanna just have a good time! You're probably going to like his stuff, though.
He has performed on Green Gravel Comedy Festival (Iowa City), Crom Comedy Festival (Denver), Floodwater Comedy Festival (Iowa City), The Comedy Exposition (Chicago), Beast Village Comedy Festival (Des Moines), Maha Music Fest (Omaha), Lincoln Calling (Lincoln), 10,000 Laughs Comedy Festival (Minneapolis), and Orlando Indie Comedy Festival (Orlando) all while establishing himself as a regular in independent venues across the nation, and garnering regular spots at clubs like Comedy Corner Underground (Minneapolis) and The Hollywood Improv (Los Angeles).
Handsome Naked is an award winning, critically acclaimed comedy hip-hop group from Chicago who made their TV debut on NBC’s Bring the Funny. In the process of creating 7 albums and over 30 music videos, they have collaborated with elite comedic and musical talent such as Chris Redd (SNL, Netflix, Comedy Central), Rashawn Nadine Scott (Comedy Central, The Late Show), Calvin Evans (NBC, Showtime) and more. The groups’ most recent album, “Doors” debuted at #2 on the iTunes comedy charts and was top 10 on Billboard Comedy. Whether headlining comedy festivals, performing at colleges or opening for renowned acts like Shane Torres, Flynt Flossy, Kosha Dillz or Planet Booty, they’ve been seen regularly at Chicago staples such as Zanies, The Lincoln Lodge, The Laugh Factory, The Second City and more.
Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • YouTube • Spotify
FEATURED STAND UPS
Ali Musa is a comedian from Tucson Arizona. And has been hitting stages (and patios, and backyards, and living rooms, and Mexican restaurants) for over 8 years. He’s performed all over Arizona and other parts of the Southwest. Including every major club in Arizona. He’s opened for Joey Coco, Maz Jobrani and Doug Stanhope. A stamp of Laffs Comedy Caffe in Tucson. His mother thinks he’s actually pretty funny sometimes.
Allison Mick is a comedian and writer who draws from her East Coast upbringing to address topics like race, gender, and serial killers. Allison is a contributing writer for The Hard Times, Macaulay Culkin’s BunnyEars.com, and has had work featured on HuffPo. She’s performed at SF Sketchfest, Out of Bounds Fest, and Bird City Comedy Festival. In 1997, she was featured in the book “Humor Works” by Dr. John Morreall, the founder of the International Society for Humor Studies and has managed to stay very grounded despite this wild literary fame.
Amy Blackwell is the metaphorical combination of the graveyard shift nurse in the county ER waiting room cracking jokes, the convenience store clerk that knows you’re going to shoplift before you do, Scotty trying to find a way to take the sting out of telling Kirk that the engines are good and buggered this time, with a mix of Ally Sheedy from the Breakfast club, dumping her bag out onto the table in the library. She is often incongruous, worldly wise, thoughtfully honest and chaotic all rolled into one hilarious package.
Amy entertains crowds across the country with her genuine style and sharp wit. Her comedy comes from her life and is full heart and hilarity. Her honesty on stage is surprising and refreshing to her audiences. Amy isn’t afraid to confidently say what is on her mind and the results are absolutely hysterical.
Amy has performed across the country in clubs and dirty bars shows where her authentic style never disappoints. She is the host of "Demand The Cure Comedy Podcast" and has been featured on many other podcasts as a guest, including "The Doug Stanhope Podcast"
Andy is a transgender gal comedian from Seattle who waxes poetics on being transgender, growing boobs, and then, subsequently, shaking those boobs because of her epilepsy. So, all of that, plus puns.
She has opened for Whitmer Thomas, James Adomian, and Cameron Epsosito. Festival-wise, she has done Bumbershoot, Out of Bounds, Altercation, Women in Comedy NW, Ha-Ha Harvest Festival, Intersections, and All-Jane.
She also appeared in the HUMP! film-festival award-winning film "Queer Safari" and the Emmy award-winning movie "Star Wars Uncut".
"She is a real cool lady" --Horatio Sanz (SNL)
"She's really funny. Her last name has a lot of vowels too." --Laurie Kilmartin (CONAN)
Ashley Ray is a comic and writer from Chicago, IL. Her work explores the intersection between race, gender and that feeling you get the first time you realize your parents are lying to you. Even though Ashley is a queer black woman, her comedy still confounds and confuses college students and baby boomers alike.
Past Credits/Accomplishments:
In 2019, Ashley Ray edited an audiobook for Maria Bamford, opened for Sasheer Zamata and Cameron Esposito, was featured on the Women Who Kill podcast, and survived her first weekend in Las Vegas. She performed at Airplane Mode Comedy, Side Ponytail, Just Come, and CitySide Comedy. In 2018, Ashley performed at Limestone Comedy Fest, Helltrap Nightmare, Milwaukee Comedy Fest, Cream City Comedy Fest, Chicago Women in Comedy Fest, the Black Girl Giggles Comedy Fest and Pitchfork Music Festival. She headlined at The Drop Comedy Club in South Bend, IN and was featured on Vice Underground Comedy. She opened for Laura Kightlinger, Jamie Loftus, Sarah Squirm, Rebecca O'Neal, Marina Franklin and Roy Wood Jr. In 2017, Ashley worked at The Onion and was featured on Clickhole and The A.V. Club.
Aviva is a stand-up comic by day, and a stand-up comic by night. Her jokes are silly (clown horn sound) yet personal (awooga), and she really just wants to have fun up there.
She’s been nominated as one of the “Best Comedians in the Bay” by the East Bay Express, and owns a “Best Actress” trophy that she bought for herself. Her comedy’s been featured in SF Sketchfest, The All Jane Comedy Festival, The Asheville Comedy Festival, Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, UCB Comedy Originals, and Heeb Magazine.
Brandon Mitchell is a Philadelphia based comedian, but is from Norristown, PA. He is the co-creator of Black History Monthly, a diversity based variety showcase that was featured at Helium Comedy Club, Hell Yes Fest in New Orleans, and Diverse AF Festival in New York. Brandon performs at Helium Comedy Club, Punchline Philly, and Good Good Comedy Theatre. Brandon is a semifinalist in Philly's Phunniest at Helium Comedy Club and has done DC Comedy Festival, Oak City Comedy Festival, 6th Borough Comedy Festival, North Carolina Comedy Festival, and many other festivals across the country.
Brian Zeolla is a comedian and writer, who channels his own inadequacies and ordinary life through personal anecdotes sprinkled with intense honesty, act outs and some yelling (but not too much). A 2014 Nominee for Best Comedian by Free Press Houston, Brian has performed with Neal Brennan (co-creator/ head writer of the Chapelle Show), Doug Stanhope (Louie, Celebrity Death Pool) Kyle Kinane (@midnight, Comedy Central) Jay Chandresekhar (Broken Lizard, Super Troopers) and David Huntsberger (Professor Blastoff), among many others. He began touring in 2014, as a host and featured comedian on the Altercation Punk Comedy Tour, as well as a coheadliner/producer of the Vacation Time Tour and headliner/producer of the Old Teenagers tour. He has performed at festivals across the country, including the Cape Fear Comedy Festival (NC), Free Press Summer Festival (HTX), Fun Fun Fun Fest (ATX), HellYesFest (NOLA), Broken Record Festival (Nashville), Memphis Punk Fest (TN), Sound on Sound (ATX), Altercation Comedy Festival (ATX), Come and Take It (HTX) and the Trill Comedy Festival (HTX). Based on the Myers Briggs scale, Brian Zeolla is an idealist! He enjoys pizzas.
Bubba McComb is a stand up comedian and podcast host out of Phoenix, AZ. He hosts two comedy open mics in the valley, and co-produces "Sundays Are Tight" with Mike Enders at the Tempe Improv.
While being rather new to the comedy world, he has had some amazing opportunities to perform at comedy clubs and bars all over the Southwest. Opening and featuring for acts such as Freak Show LA, There Goes the Neighborhood Comedy Tour, Jimmy Earll, and many other wonderful comedic acts. Bubba has also performed at the renown Gold Rush Music Festival. and produced/directed the comedy portion of the Pitch A Tent 10 Year Anniversary.
He also hosts and produces the Hella Tired Podcast. Bubba has been running his podcast for just about two years now, and has had renown comedic guests such as Brad Williams, Steve Byrne, Craig Shoemaker and more!
Carl was the manager at a Chinese restaurant in Indiana. It may have been a buffet, but still, he was the manager. He moved to Vermont to become a woodworker with no experience and was a hazard to be around. But now he does stand up and the wood shop has never been safer. Oh, but then he moved to New York. Hey, how come the subway trains don’t honk when you do the honk thing with your arm? Do they not do that in New York? He’s opened for Anthony Devito, Jackie Kashian, and Shane Torres at Vermont Comedy Club as well as performed at Waking Windows Festival, the Otis Mountain Getdown, and the Red Clay Comedy Festival.
Christine Ferrera has performed at the She-Devil Comedy Festival, Gilda's Laughfest and Red Clay Comedy Festival, among many others. In 2017, she toured with (Adult Swim's) Wham City Comedy and recently opened for acclaimed comedians Michael Ian Black, Rhea Butcher and Gary Gulman. Ferrera's book, Starbux Diary, was included in City Paper's Top 10 Baltimore Books of 2015 and described as, "Hilariously personal." She lives and works and eats and prays and loves in Chicago, USA.
Courtney Wahlstrom is a stand up comic based out of Phoenix. She is a master at connecting to audiences with a dark take on personal experiences. Courtney also co-produces a stand up/sketch comedy show with Dana Whissen called The Bro Show, which features an all-women lineup dressing up as dudes and doing stand up as them to draw attention to the challenges women face when beginning a stand up comedy career.
As an only child to immigrant parents, Diana grew up in a time when Asians did not have a choice but to be the “model minority”. Much like other Korean girls who grew up in the 90s, Diana Hong spent most of her life playing competitive golf. After a year of an unsuccessful professional career, she decided to pursue her dream of making people laugh. Using her affably stoic personality, Diana charms and entertains audiences relaying personal and social observations with satirical undertones. She also uses humor to share her experiences of navigating between cultures.
Emily Kueppers in a comic originally from Minnesota, but now based in Burlington, VT, this makes Emily the utmost authority of cold weather. Performing has been in Emily's blood for a long time, debuting in homemade videos lip-syncing to "The Little Mermaid" and studying musical theater in high school.
Always being typecast as the quirky best friend or silly old man, they gave stand up a try in 2018. Currently, they've dabbled in stand-up, improv(with groups Medium Boy and Vermont Comedy Club's Tour Co), and sketch (with their team Pep Rally). They have performed at such places as the Hartford Improv Festival, Big Pond Festival, Otis Mountain Getdown, Higher Ground, and Vermont Comedy Club; opening for such comics as Nicole Byer, Nick Thune, Preacher Lawson, and Cameron Esposito. In 2019 Emily was nominated for "Best Comedy Troupe" in Seven Days, Vermont's local paper, for their work in the team "Anxiety Pals."
Follow Emily on their socials, @twirlyenough (this is a deep cut from the Vlogbrothers - if that tells you anything about Emily's personality)
Eric Sobczak is a former Ritalin user but it’s OK because that was in his childhood. Now he channels his engaging energy to the stage where he draws inventive absurdity from his everyday encounters. Come see why his Phoenix comedy peers voted him “Favorite Comic To Watch” in 2019. And if you find yourself in Midtown Phoenix on any Tuesday night, you can grab a tasty bev and catch him hosting trivia at McKenzie’s Midtown Tavern.
Erick has been performing and producing shows in Phoenix for 8 years. He performed in the Altercation Comedy Festival in 2017. The Phoenix New Times named him one of Phoenix’s top 100 creatives. He currently produces a show called SOMETHING BETTER that is a mix of comedy and the local music scene and has featured names such as Sam Tallent.
Born and raised in Iowa, Hannah Tighe comes with Midwest charm, but has relocated to the Southwest in Phoenix, where she has done comedy all around The Valley. She opened for Matt Braunger at the Beast Village Comedy Festival in Des Moines and recently featured for Lisa Curry right here in Phoenix. Hannah’s comedy ranges from brunch drunk to murder really quick and keeps audiences on their toes.
Hayden Kristal is a Colorado-based former zookeeper who gave up a lucrative career in salamanders to pursue comedy and public speaking. Hayden has spoken and performed for colleges and organizations across the country, including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, the Connecticut Supreme Court, and TEDx, and has been a semifinalist for Stand Up NBC as well as a finalist for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee’s Comedy Writing Mentorship. In 2019, Hayden was a featured performer at Limestone and High Plains Comedy Festival. Hayden performs in both English and American Sign Language and is funny in both.
Indigo Ross has been making others laugh and entertaining from a very young age for free. However, she wised up and has been capitalizing on this untapped talent for the past 4 years. For all four years of high school, she was an actress and crew member for mainstage productions, so a self-aggrandizer with an appreciation for painstaking creation. She continued singing, dancing, and acting through her 4 years of college as well. After graduation, from Summer 2015 to now, she has opened for various nationally known comics; become a contributor to The Odyssey Online; went on her first comedy tour; and is a mainstage member of improvMANIA in Downtown Chandler. In Summer 2015, she was invited to her first comedy festival in New York City: Diverse as F*ck Comedy Festival.
Wow. The versatility.
Not a day goes by, since 2015. where she doesn’t have appreciation for choosing to explore comedy and pursue it has a career. She joyfully looks forward to her future and the people she will meet along the way.
Wow. The optimism.
Her life philosophy is that artists do not have to suffer in order to create valuable art. All their work is valuable no matter what life condition they may have. They do not have to sacrifice their own joy in order to be consumable for others amusement. Her strongest desire as a comedian is to challenge how people view the world and help bring absolute happiness to other comedians.
Wow. The dreamer.
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Jack Fletcher was born and raised in Phoenix Arizona and has been doing standup comedy in bars since he got his first fake ID at seventeen. He’s currently a senior at the University of Arizona and under the assumption he doesn’t sleep through any more finals, he should be graduating with a film degree in the spring. Drawing from comedians such as Mitch Hedberg and John Mulaney, his sense of dark, yet gleefully silly, humor has been making audiences laugh all across Arizona with bizarre observations and offbeat non sequiturs. With recent hosting gigs at comedy clubs such as Laffs and Chuckleheads, his dreams of not working a real job are closer than ever.
Jamie Carbone is a comedian whose lifetime of nerdy experiences and faking adulthood have helped him find a voice for himself, originally in West Virginia, then Chicago, now Portland. He has been a featured performer for showcases and festivals across the country, including Boston's Thunderfest and Phoenix's Bird City Comedy Festival, and is a past winner of West Virginia's Last Comic Standing. In Chicago he helped create showcases like Stupid Smart Comedy and Snack Attack, and is currently producing dungeon and dragon-themed Slide Into Your DMs in Chicago and Comedy Bebop in Portland. He spends his free time making jokes about Frasier on Twitter at @thiccsonic.
Transgender female comic, dividing time between LA and NYC. Previous credits include Comedy Central, Viceland, SiriusXM, Vulture, A.V. Club, 4th place for the 2018 She Devil Comedy Festival, winner of the Harlem Comedy Festival. My podcast Shweet! has been featured in national press and is carried by the More Banana Network. I’m currently working with Topple Productions as a developing talent and have secured financing the bring my solo show Homecoming Queen to the Gilded Balloon theater at next year Edinburgh Fringe. I have performed at Caroline’s, Gotham Comedy Club, The Comedy Store and the Hollywood Improv.
Jeremy is a standup comedian who is funny. He is part of FATAL BUS ACCIDENT and cohosts the live storytelling podcast called Sorry, Please Continue. He has been accepted to perform at Flyover Comedy Festival, Bird City Comedy Festival, Memphis Comedy Festival, etc. That’s really all you need to know.
Joleen Lunzer is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian. Her comedy has been featured on FOX, Hulu, BET, On The Fly TV and Comedy Time TV. Joleen hosts the Married To Bravo Podcast and is a content creator and host on the TVCO app. She also co-produces The Mermaid Comedy Hour, a monthly show at the Hollywood Improv. Joleen was a finalist in Westside Comedy Theater’s Westside Showdown Comedy Competition. She has also performed overseas for the troops with Armed Forces Entertainment and was was 1 of 3 finalists in Loni’s Laugh Off, a national comedy competition sponsored by Comedian Loni Love and FOX’s The Real Talk Show.
Josh Lathe is a comedian from Oklahoma City. He has opened for Dave Ross, Eric Andre, and Eugene Mirman. He produces Divine Comedy, a weekly comedy showcase, and Comedy Fight League, a monthly roast battle/pro-wrestling show. He has never won a comedy competition, but he can deadlift 405lbs and bong a beer in under 3 seconds.
Josh McLane is a loud, suit wearing Memphis comic that has won the Memphis Flyer’s “Funniest Comic in Memphis”, has been seen on MTV and was featured on The You Look Like Show on the LOL network that was directed by Craig Brewer. Josh’s album and comedy special “Don’t be Afraid of the Dark” is out now on Amazon Prime and debuted at #6 on the ITunes Comedy Charts. He pulls no punches and Does it best to leave it all on stage. He wears a suit but is not a cop.
Kris is a journalist, producer and comedian based in Cleveland Ohio. He has spent more than 20 years as a journalist and more than a decade as a comedian and producer of comedy shows throughout the Midwest. He is the creator of the Sorry, Please Continue podcast and the co-founder of the Flyover Comedy Festival. He's a veteran of the Limestone Comedy Festival, Bird City Comedy Festival, the Memphis Comedy Festival and the Let's Fest (Fort Wayne, Ind.) Comedy Festival.
Kristin Lytie has performed stand up comedy in basements, laundromats, and dive bars all across the country. She cut her teeth in the Chicago comedy scene and was even named a “Comic to See” by the Chicago Tribune. An eternal optimist, she has worked in progressive politics for the past ten years as a community and union organizer. That passion has brought her back to Green Bay, Wisconsin to organize in the deep red of her home.
Kristin has opened for Eddie Pepitone, Eliza Skinner, and has performed in the Altercation Comedy Festival (Austin, TX), Beast Village Comedy Festival (Des Moines, IA), Milwaukee Comedy Festival, Madison Comedy Week, Bird City Comedy Festival (Phoenix, AZ), Let's Fest (Fort Wayne, IN), Whiskey Bear Comedy Festival (Columbus, OH), Cream City Comedy Festival (Milwaukee, WI), Floodwater Comedy Festival (Iowa City, IA) and more.
She hosts a monthly show called Fan Club Comedy to bring unique touring comics to NE Wisconsin. Kristin has also funneled her love of horror movies into a podcast called Bloody Mary which discusses horror movies through a lens of sexuality and feminism. Guests have included professors, comics, musicians and sex workers.
Lou Moon is a stand up comedian and writer out of Phoenix Arizona. He travels on the road and is a veteran of country wide comedy festivals. He is a comedy juggernaut who is technically ageless, but for legal reasons, let’s say he’s 27 years old. He’s the inventor of the number 9, and also invented the sub genre of comedy “epic random humor” in 2007, but regrets it, calling it a “Frankenstein’s monster.” He is intimidated by 500 word limits in bio writing formats, and makes stuff up to fill them sometimes, but this is not one of those instances.
Originally from San Diego, Mary Upchurch is one of Arizona’s fastest rising stars. She is a regular feature at Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy, Stir Crazy Comedy Club, Tempe Center of the Arts and Stand Up Live. Coining the term “Phoenix Funny”, Mary has been making audiences laugh across the country at Oak City Comedy Festival, Slo Comedy Festival, San Diego Comedy Festival, NoHo Comedy Festival and Big Pine Comedy Festival. She was the winner of Big Pine Comedy Festival’s Best-of-Fest Award in 2018 and most recently placed 1st in House of Comedy’s annual Funniest Person contest. Mary is a ball of excitement, energy and enthusiasm with a pinch of self-deprecation and a dash of desperation. Find Mary now hosting Wings with Friends Podcast (iTunes).
Matt Micheletti is a stand up comic from Phoenix, AZ. He has been performing comedy for 8 years all over the Southwest U.S.
Originally getting his start as a sketch comedy performer on Phoenix-based FFNL and as a fake news writer for various sketch comedy groups, he created the infamous show Comedy On Fire, and has produced other hit shows like Comedy Avengers, The Mystery Show, First Friday Comedy, and is the current producer of Hot Mic! at Crescent Ballroom.
Matt has performed on Altercation Comedy Festival, Big Pine Comedy Festival, Bird City Comedy Festival and Four Corners Comedy Festival as well as opening for Brian Posehn, J.T. Habersaat, and Mishka Shubaly. He has also featured for Rich Vos.
Matt loves comedy and looks forward to performing in a dive bar near you!
Matt Storrs was lucky enough to graduate from school with crushing student loans and a law degree. Matt brings his law background to the stage with his sharp and esoteric comedy. In The Storrs Objection, a stand up comedy show where Matt fact-checks other comedians’ material during their sets. Matt's hobbies include baking, doing squats in his office, charming moms everywhere, and being pedantic. He's performed at multiple festivals around the United States. Matt Storrs is a humor person.
Matt Ziemak is a comedian from Tucson AZ, who still currently lives in Tucson. Matt's comedy draws you in with it's sweet outer shell and keeps you hooked with it's inner grittiness. Kinda like a crispy M&M, which I think we can all agree is the best M&M and we are grateful for M&M and the whole Mars company for bring the crispy M&M back into production. Almost as grateful as you will be to yourself for checking out Matt Ziemak. Matt has preformed stand up comedy all over the country, in some amazing comedy festivals and has opened up for some amazing comedians including Gilbert Gottfried, Dan Soder, and Morgan Murphy. In 2018 Matt won the Funniest Comedian in Tucson held by KLPX as well as being a finalist in the 2016 Arizona’s funniest comedian contest. Matt also runs Brew Haha at Borderlands Brewery, it’s one of the longest running stand up comedy shows in Tucson.
Micheal Foulk is a non-binary queer comedian, writer, educator, and community organizer thriving in Oakland, California. Micheal has been featured on the SF Sketchfest, Crom Comedy Festival, Moontower, OUTsider Festival, Frontera Fest, Austin Sketchfest, and Out Of Bounds Comedy Festival. They are the co-creator of the LGBTQ+ storytelling show Greetings, from Queer Mountain (ATX/NOLA/NYC/OAK) and the film screening series Queer Film Theory 101 (ATX/NYC/SF) produced in collaboration with Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas. Micheal has written and produced over 50 sketch shows with their sketch group Bad Example at Fallout Theater in Austin over the course of 2014-2016. Micheal performs with comedy partner Vanessa Gonzalez as the duo HANDBOMB, their short play "The Vacationers" won the Best Of Festival award in the 2014 Frontera Fringe Festival. In 2017, Micheal wrote and performed their first autobiographical one-person show "This Is How They Get You" which chronicles their time as the closeted lead singer of a Christian screamo band Widows & Orphans. Micheal has been featured in the films Meet Me There and Zero Charisma and can be seen in season 1 and 2 of the PBS show Stand Up Empire. Micheal's essays and articles have been published in Slate, VICE, Intomore, and TimeOut Magazine.
Mike Hanford is a Los Angeles-based writer, performer and stand up comedian. Hanford co-created and starred in the critically acclaimed IFC series THE BIRTHDAY BOYS, which ran for two seasons on IFC and was executive produced by Bob Odenkirk. Most recently, Mike was a Staff Writer on Comedy Central’s upcoming sketch series, ALTERNATINO. Prior to that, Mike played the recurring role of “Wade” on the Netflix comedy LOVE. Mike has written for and appeared on IFC’s COMEDY BANG! BANG! and is a frequent guest on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast. Hanford is the host of Questions for Lennon with John Lennon for the Earwolf Podcast Network. Mike’s television credits include THE UCB SHOW and BAJILLION DOLLAR PROPERTIE$, both on Seeso, as well as Netflix’s W/ BOB AND DAVID, Comedy Central’s KROLL SHOW, IFC’s PORTLANDIA, and NBC’s PARKS AND RECREATION.
When the versatile Mo Alexander hits the stage, it's clear that you're in the hands of a man who knows what he's doing. Mo combines intelligence and debauchery into a product that is just as funny as it is important. His comedy influences include Bill Hicks, Paul Mooney, and Richard Pryor. With an ability to access both the smartest and the stupidest parts of your brain, there's a reason this comedy phenom has been headlining comedy clubs nationwide for over 20 years. Recently, he was signed with Stand Up! Records and became the first comedian to ever record at Sun Studio in Memphis, TN. In 2017 he was featured on Comedy Central in Kevin Hart’s “Hart of the City: Memphis Edition.” A BBQ connoisseur, Mo is currently working on a new web series he co-created called “Mo Alexander’s BBQ Beatdown”. He plans to determine once and for all just who has the best BBQ and episodes are coming soon. Not for the faint of heart or mind, intelligent and hard-hitting are two terms that best describe what audiences experience. Nothing compares to the energy of a room when Mo is through with it. It’s a night of hilarity and mischief that audiences won’t soon forget.
Patrick Aiken is relatively new to standup comedy but has found quick success in his short tenure in the Phoenix comedy scene. His unexpected punchlines are often presented with a deep sarcasm that is as dry as the Arizona desert it derives from. Patrick has entertained audiences at many comedy clubs including the House Of Comedy, the Stir Crazy Comedy Club, and also performed at the Phoenix Pride Festival in 2019. He also produces and hosts Hell of a Laugh at Los Diablos, a very successful comedy show at a gay bar in Phoenix, AZ. In his spare time, Patrick likes to drink wine, play guitar, and ruin the lives of the men he's trying to date. Sometimes all in that order.
Paul Goebel has been doing comedy for over 30 years. His TV credits include “Will & Grace,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” & “@midnight.” Paul is best known to nerds worldwide as the TV Geek from Comedy Central's “Beat the Geeks.” Paul has put his TV knowledge to good use by developing "All Your Favorite Game Shows," a live show that gives comedians a chance to name tunes, right prices, become millionaires and much, much more.
Peter is a Phoenix native with a unique background. He has been in the Phoenix comedy scene since late 2018. Born and raised in South Phoenix in a Latino household and community, his comedy and storytelling vividly paint the picture of what it means to grow up feeling like an outcast in an immigrant community. He uses humor to get difficult points across and will keep the entire audience captivated with his conversational stoytelling style. In stand up comedy, he has opened for Nick Romero at Stir Crazy Comedy Club, Sara Weinshenk from Comedy Central, and headlined at the 2019 Tucson Comedy Festival Carcajadas show. As far as storytelling goes, he has been featured in USA Today's The Storytellers Project and shared stories with larger audiences.
Rich Gary is a Tucson based comedian who has been performing for 5 years. A naïve boy like charm and a bitterness towards college and established American paradigms are the foundations of his operations. His background in Improv supports spur of the moment riffs and rants making each show unique, intriguing and memorable. Although, he produces the sketch comedy show Keep Tucson Sketchy, stars in the satirical news web series The Scorcher Report, produces an improv based Podcast The Tucson Walk On, hosts a Tucson Comedy Roast battle: Battle at the Roast Room at The Screening Room, and is a SAG certified actor, Stand-Up is his bread and butter. He is not gluten free. In 2019 Rich was nominated as Tucson’s Best Comedian by Tucson Weekly and came in 2nd place.
Ronald Metellus is a performer and writer from Philly. He works as a staff writer for The Onion and a digital contributor to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. He's the co-creator of "Black History Monthly," a diversity showcase that's been profiled by Philly.com and performed at festivals around the country, including the Diverse As Fuck Festival. His writing also been featured in The New Yorker's "Shouts & Murmurs" and Flexx Magazine.
Roxy Merrari is a Los Angeles native currently residing In Tucson, AZ. A lifelong comedy fan, she stood up at her first open mic at Laffs Comedy Café in January 2015 and like so many others, was instantly hooked.
Starting out in Tucson, there was only a smattering of opportunities to perform longer sets and get essential practice in. So, armed with her production experience gained in L.A., she started Comedy at The Wench at the Surly Wench Pub, her favorite nightlife spot, in May of 2016. Since then, Comedy at The Wench has been an unflinchingly steady favorite for local comics and has hosted numerous touring features & headliners, such as Doug Stanhope, Olivia Grace, Trenton Davis, and many more. Roxy hosts her show every Monday, honing her own comedy, most weeks. She especially enjoys welcoming new comics who are just starting out and makes newbies and veteran comics alike feel fully welcome at Comedy at The Wench. Anyone behaving badly, however, may feel the sting of her quick wit, which helped her become Tucson’s first Roast Battle champion.
Roxy has also bridged the gap between her comedy and philanthropy work, producing multiple comedy benefits for local 501(c)(3) organizations doing exceptional work for the community. She is also a recurring performer on The Estrogen Hour at Laffs, a show that celebrates women in comedy and raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Roxy enjoys producing as much as writing & performing; her distinctive and infectious laugh always fills the room during her shows. She loves to hear the audience laughing with her, but also enjoys the groans she elicits. She is one of the comics you’ll laugh as hard with off stage as on.
Sami Sutker was born in the Chicago 'burbs (think John Hughes movies and bam, you know her whole life), went to college in Oshkosh, Wi and is still unable to shed her midwest twang. Sami moved to LA 14 years ago to work behind the scenes of TV shows and ad agencies. For bragging purposes - you can find her name in the editorial dept for notable shows such as; "Those Who Can't," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "The Good Place," and "Will & Grace." So, yep, she's big time baaaaby.
However, Sami's main guilty pleasure is to make others laugh and hits the stage as much as possible. Sami has performed at Flappers, The Ice House, The Comedy Store, Mad House Comedy Club in San Diego, Bonkerz Comedy Club in Las Vegas and gigs across the country.
Sami co-produces a monthly show, "Best Fest Comedy" with comics Andy Rider and Chris Chaisson in LA and will be releasing her podcast "The Bowling Ball Diet" in early 2020.
This multi-faceted lady created the silly and surreal webseries "Cracked Egg Sketches" which she wrote, directed, edited, produced and acted in. She also can be seen in the upcoming movie, "The Backslide" and various sketches on the youtube.
When she's not being a busy one - you can hear her talk about her going to the gym, and how much pizza she will eat that week :)
Sarah Kennedy recently relocated to New Mexico from New York where she was called a “rising star in the NYC comedy scene” by Backstage Magazine. She’s been featured on MTV, The Today Show, SiriusXM and has written for The Advocate, Reductress, and Laughspin. She's performed in multiple comedy festivals across the country and was also a finalist in NBC’s Stand-Up For Diversity nationwide comedy contest.
Savannah Hernandez is a Phoenix-based comedian in her first year of comedy. When she's not focusing her energy into her joke writing, you can find her collecting large earrings and avoiding teenagers on sidewalks. Her comedic style focuses on the absurd, playful, and honest view of life, relationships, and the riveting adventures of working at an accounting office.
Shafi is originally from Bangladesh and currently a New York stand-up comic. He has received remarks such as "really funny" from Gary Gulman, and "don't quit your day job" from his mother. Shafi has been featured on multiple festivals such as World Series of Comedy, Beast Village Comedy Fest, 208 Comedy Fest, Oak City Comedy Fest, and Portland Maine Comedy Fest to name a few. Shafi has worked with national headliners such as Nick Griffin, Ryan Hamilton, Matt Braunger, Gary Gulman, Anthony Devito and he brags about that one time he rode an elephant as an inquisitive pre-teen.
Steve Brett Young is a standup comic whose work you may know from performances across the country or from his work as a writer for Joan Rivers on E Entertainment Television’s “Fashion Police.” His book, “The Studio City Life Coach’s Holiday Survival Guide” is a successful self-help parody about surviving the holidays which made it into the top 10 on Amazon’s humor short reads.
A devastating journey into one young woman's psyche. A startling reminder of why mental health care should be universal. More Greek myth references than is socially acceptable.
Trejon Dunkley tackles subjects like race, family and mental health through a sharply absurd lens, making even the darkest subject matter accessible to all audiences. She's been described as "A combination of cerebral and base" and "modestly poignant". From Prozac dosage to agnosticism, Trejon's act is one that's sure to leave the audience begging for more and asking "Should I re-read the Iliad?"
You can find Trejon's musings on love, life and dead queens on Twitter, Medium and Instagram @trejondunkley
Tyler Jackson is a standup from Los Angeles who has a short attention span, a bad memory, and an off-kilter sense of humor. He cobbles his act together out of a thousand little bits of absurd wordplay, non-sequiturs, groan-worthy puns, and embarrassing personal details, clinging to the hope that the whole of his comedy is greater than the sum of its bizarre parts.
Tyler has been a part of several prestigious comedy festivals, like The Onion Comedy and Arts Festival, SF Sketchfest, Bridgetown, Limestone, and the New York Comedy Festival. He is also a producer of the wild comedy happening Late Late Breakfast. He desperately wants you to like him.
Wendy Wroblewski is a screenwriter and stand-up comedian from Gaithersburg, Maryland. A regular at the DC Improv, she performs comedy all over the Washington, DC area. She was a guest on the Boston Comedy Festival, the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival, Limestone Comedy Festival, SF Sketchfest, the Women in Comedy Festival, and the Bentzen Ball Comedy Festival. You may have heard her voice on Sirius XM as the live on-air host of Comedy Central Radio Live. She has opened for Keith Alberstadt, Maria Bamford, Nate Bargatze, Todd Barry, Jeff Dye, Adam Cayton-Holland, Gary Gulman, Ryan Hamilton, Bobby Lee, Pete Lee, and Beth Stelling.
Zack Lyman has just released his Full Length Album "Sorry I Am Late". He has been featured as Black Listed Radios "Top Comedians To Watch".
Zack created the Zack Lyman Podcast that has had many amazing guests like Myq Kaplan (Netflix) and Brian Kiley (Conan O'Brian's Head Writer) Mostly known for his viral 10 second jokes on Instagram.
Improv
Apollo 12 is a Long-Form Improvisation troupe based in Phoenix, AZ. We're one of the founding troupes of The Torch Theatre in Phoenix, AZ. Fun, silly, smart, geek-friendly improv.
Originally formed in 1998 as a ComedySportz team, A12 eventually evolved into one of Phoenix's first Long-Form companies. A proud founding entity of The Torch Theatre, A12 has frequently evolved into a ruthlessly playfully show that is best described as "Fun Without Making Sense."
Rat Kween discovers intricate relationships, environments, and characters through a single continuous improvised scene. The group was formed during Laugh Riot Improv Festival, a festival at Torch Theatre for performers who identify as female/non-binary/gender non-conforming, and also performed in the 2019 GhostFest improv marathon at Torch Theatre. The legend of rats joined together by their tails to form a powerful entity might only be legend. However, we believe the inspiration behind it - banding together to fuck some shit up - is a terrific m.o.
Wedding Party is a deep dive into two or more characters and their relationships in a singular setting. Wedding Party was formed during Laugh Riot Improv Festival, a festival at Torch Theatre for Arizona performers who identify as female/non-binary/gender non-conforming. Aleks and Jennifer perform a monoscene to discover the characters, their relationship, and a snapshot of their lives.
Sketch
A Sketch Show (n. Ske-ch Shoh) is a piece of staged theater in which many quick, funny plays (aka sketches) are performed in sequence, eventually culminating in, well, nothing. Because INFINITE SKETCH is based on the writing style of David Foster Wallace, we do a lot of stuff like screw around with narrative, get hella self-aware and meta, and even reference the obscure pieces of fiction or history! Who doesn’t like being reminded in the middle of a sketch show that they didn’t get into AP English?
INFINITE SKETCH performs every other month at the People's Improv Theater. They have also appeared in SketchFest NYC at the PIT.
Kevin Froleiks and Patrick J. Reilly have been performing together as Kevin & Pat for several years in New York City. Pat is writer/performer on Infinite Sketch at the People’s Improv Theater and Kevin is part of House of Birds at UCB. They co-created the musical comedy, Great Frontier: A Poorly Researched Musical About Lewis And Clark which debuted at the 2017 NY Theatre Festival's Summerfest and completed a nearly successful two-week run right here in The PIT Loft in 2018. They have performed at the New York City Sketch Fest, Philly Sketch Fest, Cinder Block Comedy Festival, The Devil’s Cup Festival, and Montreal Sketchfest.
Fatal Bus Accident is the best show in North America and was the Riverfront Times Best Comedy Show of 2017. Based out of St Louis, it is long form, often low concept, sketch comedy about a talk show. We basically write a play every couple months. There is music, comedy, and the occasional video.
Musical Comedy
Carly Martin is a nonbinary queer comedian from Seattle, WA. They perform original (often improvised) musical comedy.
Critics have described their performances as “irreverent”, “heartbreaking”, and “you should take voice lessons”.
Their primary genre is irreverence glitter-core satire, most often to the point of self-deprecation. So, basically, if you can sit down and enjoy a cocktail while you enjoy the show, you'll have a grand old time.
Think of their musical comedy as, like, R-rated cotton candy. Or something.
Sisters Gracie Walsh and Maddy Hubert make up the musical comedy duo Saunt Yübear. Hailing from Rochester, NY, Saunt Yübear has been performing their funny songs for audiences across the country since early 2018. Their songs are written from their combined life experiences and range in subject matter from banal office banter to gratuitous blog posts. They have won the Audience Choice Award at the Friar's Club 50 Funny Songs Contest in NYC, and most recently won Best Musical Act at the Big Pine Comedy Festival in Flagstaff, AZ.