Comedians
Now a massive star in Ireland, native New Yorker, Des moved from Queens to Ireland in his mid-teens in 1990. He first came to prominence with his extraordinary TV series The Des Bishop Work Experience (2004), where he lived on minimum wage in a series of different jobs in Ireland. Mixing this documentary footage with stand-up, the series became one of the most talked-about of the year, and propelled Des into national stardom. In 2006, he embarked on his second critically acclaimed TV series, Joy In The Hood, where he taught stand-up comedy in disadvantaged areas in four major Irish cities. Another hugely successful live tour followed including invitations to the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and the Melbourne Comedy Festival in Australia.
Des’s most recent project took him to Beijing, China in 2013 to learn Mandarin and he has been living there for the past 18 months. He is now fluent and the show, Breaking China was another major hit for broadcaster RTE in 2014 and he also made a half hour radio documentary about the rise of Stand Up in China for the BBC World Service called “Stand up for China”. His live show again opened at the Edinburgh Festival where he played to over 5,000 people and included an invitation to perform at the Soho Theatre in London and a return to Barrow Street in New York.
Comedy veteran Steve Byrne has seemingly done it all and continues to push himself to accomplish even more. Starting over 20 years ago and cutting his teeth in all the major clubs in NYC, including the Comedy Cellar, he then ventured off to Los Angeles, began working at the Comedy Store and Hollywood Improv, and his career really took off. After becoming a regular on the late-night talk show circuit and even doing "The Tonight Show" ten times, Steve racked up multiple hour specials on Comedy Central, Netflix, and Showtime. In 2012, he starred in, produced and wrote the TBS hit show "Sullivan & Son", which ran for 3 seasons. Through the show, he cultivated a deep appreciation for storytelling, and in 2019 released his first film, "Always Amazing", a documentary about comic/magician the Amazing Johnathan. In 2020, Steve wrote and directed the indie feature "The Opening Act", his love letter to stand-up comedy, that garnered critic and audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes at 82 and 83% Fresh. In 2022, he released his fifth hour special, "The Last Late Night", on Amazon Prime, his most innovative work to date and rated 5/5 stars – an hour special disguised as a late-night talk show. Steve continues to tour relentlessly, work on material, and is currently casting his next film that he wrote and will direct towards the end of this year.
Mike Cannon is a New York City-based comedian, podcaster, writer, and actor. headlined at some of the world’s most iconic venues – including a sold-out performance at Gramercy Theatre in his hometown of NYC. He currently co-hosts the extremely popular "Chrissy Chaos podcast" with Chris Distefano.
Mike released two independently-produced hour specials on Youtube – "Mike Cannon's Huge Mistake," a crowd work special on edibles, and "White Privilege Homeless" – in 2022. His debut comedy special, "Life Begins," was released on YouTube in January 2020 and earned a spot on Laugh Button’s Top 35 Comedy Specials of 2020 and the album version was on Sirius/XM Raw Dog Radio’s Top 10 Comedy Albums of 2020. He released his latest, much anticipated special, "Chris Distefano Presents Mike Cannon: Traumatized Animal," in September of 2024.
Outside of stand-up, Mike has made a name for himself in both acting and writing. Select credits include Amazon Prime’s "Timing," Barstool Sports’ "Friday Night Pints" and "Answer The Internet," Comedy Central’s "Stupid Questions with Chris Distefano" and "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore," and TruTV’s "Blake Griffin’s Double Cross." He was a contributing writer and performer on MTV2’s "Guy Code" and worked as a contributing producer, writer and panelist for ViceTV's "Super Maximum Retro Show." He currently hosts three digital series, "Heads Up with Mike Cannon," "Mike Takes Edibles," and, most recently, "Existential Dad."
When he’s not on his nationwide tour, he plays all the major New York City clubs, including the Comedy Cellar and New York Comedy Club. It makes no difference to him whether he’s performing in a club, bar, casino, elevator (done that twice), parking lot, rooftop, on a fake beach in front of a freight train, or in technically-legal underground speakeasies; comedy is his life. Mike is dedicated to making the majority of you laugh and the rest of you confused, yet oddly satiated.
Jessica Levin is an NYC comedian. The daughter of a sanitation worker, with longshoreman genes, she has a blue collar mentality with white color taste. When she's not in the clubs, she attempts to go to the gym but mostly ends up co-producing her shows "Tough Love Comedy" , "Fowl Mouth Comedy", and performing all around the city.
Aric Grooms is cofounder and CEO of "Very Good Comedy Show"! He regularly headlines with the show across the country, and has appeared in the NY Comedy Festival. When the 2020 pandemic shut down stand-up stages, Aric shifted focus to creating and starring in festival-winning films "MidLife" and "God's Will", which are currently available on streaming platforms.
While he now calls New York City home, Aric will always be a Southern Ohio Boy (S.O.B.) at heart! This shines through on stage as he weaves tales of his simple beginnings into his commentary on the day-to-day rat race that is NYC
Trained as an Evangelical minister and married to a Jewish clergywoman, Aric has lots to say about religion and family! His years of ups and downs with relationships and congregations – not to mention raising four energetic, independent children – provides an endless supply of entertaining tales!
Nick Scopoletti is a stand-up comedian, and was a co-host of the “Losers With A Dream“ podcast with comedy legend Lisa Lampanelli.
He has performed at comedy clubs across the northeast such as Carolines On Broadway, Stand Up New York, Broadway Comedy Club, The Stress Factory, Fairfield Comedy Club, and Nick’s Comedy Stop. He was also selected to perform in the Connecticut Comedy Festival.
Nick is your friendly neighborhood Italian! He is a master storyteller who blends hilarious characters with powerful punchlines. His warm, engaging style makes him a fan favorite at any show.
Justin Martindale is an L.A. based comedian originally from San Antonio, TX who has been seen as a guest on E! Entertainment, as well as the series Worst Thing I Ever... In 2014, he was the co-creator for the hit Funny or Die web series Not Looking which received high acclaim by Slate, The Advocate and Huffington Post. He wrote for the legendary Joan Rivers on Fashion Police and has opened for Sandra Bernhard, Whitney Cummings and Fortune Feimster. He can also be heard on such podcasts as the Joe Rogan Experience with Joe Rogan and the Skeptic Tank with comedian Ari Shaffir. Some of Justin's more recent credits include: @midnight, Acting Out and Butter Face.
Born and raised in New York, Kevin Herrera is known for his comedic wit. Kevin has always
been the “clown” with not only with his friends, but also within his large Hispanic family. Kevin’s
unfiltered, raw comedy is inspired by his triumphed life experiences. Life experiences that to
most would likely break an individual, Kevin was able to take his humor and flourish. He has
always had a love for comedy as it has been his solace and plays an imperative role in the
person that he is today.
Kevin soon took a more creative approach with his organic comedic trait and animated persona,
by expanding his comedy and producing relatable skits on social media for the everyday
married couple and parent. Currently at 1.5 million followers on TikTok and 340k on Instagram,
Only Raising Kings continues to grow beyond what he could ever imagine. Kevin is also the
creator of The Lunchroom, a podcast that gives the uncensored perspectives of how the
everyday man thinks in real life situations.
Now as a social media influencer, Kevin wanted more, he knew he was ready to not only share
his humor but his life story.
LUCAS ZELNICK is a stand-up comedian born, raised, and based in New York City, who challenges his cushy upbringing through punch-heavy material. Lucas’s stand-up clips have exploded online, where he has received over 100M views and 500K+ followers across Instagram and TikTok. In 2022, Lucas established a strong baseline for himself as a touring comedian, selling out 8 shows at Zanies Chicago. That same year, he appeared in SF Sketchfest and as a guest on Amazon Prime Video’s Sports Talk. 2023 was a breakout year for Lucas: he headlined the New York Comedy Festival, taped a secret set with Don't Tell Comedy, and taped his Comedy Central debut for Season 14 of Comedy Central Stand-Up Featuring. For no particular reason, he also holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Michael Rapaport is an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in over sixty films since the early 1990s, and starred on the sitcom The War at Home. He also appeared in Boston Public, Friends, Prison Break, Justified, and Atypical. Some of his notable film roles include True Romance (1993), Higher Learning (1995), Metro (1997), Cop Land (1997), Deep Blue Sea (1999), The 6th Day (2000), Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), Big Fan (2009), and The Heat (2013). He also directed the award winning documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest (2011).”
He’s also the host of the world wide phenomenon “I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast”
Jiaoying Summers is a stand up comedian, Asian Hall of Fame inductee and social media comedy queen with over one billion online views and counting. She is a sold out national headliner. She recently starred in Netflix is a Joke Festival's Women in Comedy Show. Her 30-minute comedy special HOT GIRL SUMMERS is streaming on Peacock TV and Prime Video. Jiaoying is also an award-winning actress, CEO of Summers Group, and philanthropist empowering women and children and helping causes that touch Asian American communities. She was recently featured on BBC, CBS aNews, FOX News 5, NBC4, NBC Bay Area, KRON4, The LA Times, LA Confidential, San Francisco Chronicle, Yale Daily News, NHK World Japan and Vogue. She is the owner of The Hollywood Comedy in Los Angeles and focuses on producing shows that promote representation in comedy.
“A major voice on the national comedy scene.” - Vogue International
"Her name and survival story have one thing in common — a refusal to fade into the background."
- The LA Times
"[Summers is] amplifying the Asian American perspective through her work [with] uncensored, unapologetic comedic stylings."
- San Francisco Chronicle
Jiaoying Summers has been named one of “The Women Running The [Comedy] Scene in L.A.”
-The LA Times
Dan Soder is a New York City based comedian and actor who’s best known as ‘Mafee’ on the hit series Billions on Showtime. Dan currently hosts the podcast Soder which is consistently charting in the top 20 of all comedy podcasts on Apple and Spotify. His most recent stand up special, “On The Road”, can be seen on his YouTube channel Dan’s special "Son of a Gary" (directed by Chris Storer) is streaming on HBO, and his previous one The Standups is streaming on Netflix. Other credits include: Netflix's "Paradise PD", MAX's "Fired on Mars" and the film's "Trainwreck" and "Drunk Parents". Prior to "Soder", Dan hosted Sirius XM’s The Bonfire .
Irene Tu is a stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. In 2017, the San Francisco Chronicle singled her out as an “artist on the brink of fame,” on the heels of being named one of the “Bay Area’s 11 Best Stand Up Comedians” (SFist) and one of 20 “Women to Watch” (KQED). She has performed at numerous festivals including SF Sketchfest, Comedy Central’s Clusterfest, RIOT LA, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, and Outside Lands. Irene has opened for comedians such as Patton Oswalt, W. Kamau Bell, Brian Posehn, Anthony Jeselnik, Gary Gulman, Judah Friedlander, Hari Kondabolu, and Aparna Nancherla. You can see her on season 2 of “Take My Wife” and on VICELAND’s “Funny How?”
Calise Hawkins is a comedian and writer. Most recently, she wrote for “Hood Adjacent” and “@midnight” on Comedy Central. Calise has appeared as a stand up on numerous television shows including “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell,” “Shortcoms,” “Stand Up in Stilettos” and “Parental Discretion.” She is also one of the stars of Oxygen's series "Funny Girls". As a writer, Calise’s work has appeared on several major television networks as well as the Whoopi Goldberg pilot, “Spoil Me Mad.” In 2012, Calise was named a New Face at JFL Montreal and has returned to do tapings such as Kevin Hart's digital series "LOL" in 2017. Calise has been a writer for Comedy Central's @Midnight, Comedy Central's "Hood Adjacent" and Trutv's "Comedy KnockOut."
Debra DiGiovanni is a standup and performer originally from Toronto, now based in Los Angeles. Debra can be seen around the world appearing in comedy festivals like Moontower, High Plains, JFL Sydney, and JFL Montreal. Her most recent comedy album "Lady Jazz" was nominated for a Juno award: Comedy Album of the Year 2019. Debra made her US late-night comedy debut on "CONAN," appeared on Comedy Central’s "Stand Up Featuring," and released a comedy special on Season 2 of Unprotected Sets for Epix. Debra can be seen on the Amazon original series "Last One Laughing," and her new comedy album "Honourable Intentions" will be released Fall of 2024 on SiriusXM.
Marc-Anthony Sinagoga is known for telling his outlandish life experiences with brilliant imitation, wit, and a loveable stage presence. He recreates his life experiences as an overweight Italian going against the family grain in a melting pot society. Marc-Anthony is fresh off a Just Laughs Originals taping; he was a featured performer at the Dallas Comedy Festival, Arizona’s Big Pine Comedy Festival and the winner of the Brantford Comedy Festival. On social media (@notmarcanthony) he has gained over 50M views for his Italian Grandfather's character and his imitation of Ontario's Premiere Doug Ford.
Kitty Reynolds is an Irish-Italian stand-up comedian and writer based in NYC whose friendly demeanor is a misdirect for her dark and perhaps angry humor. DC politico turned comic, she has over 2.3M views on TikTok and has performed at all major NYC comedy clubs. Most recently, she’s opened for Moses Storm and is a regular host on Mondays at Fat Black Pussy Cat (Comedy Cellar),
Olga Koch is a writer and comedian, across radio, television and film. She was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018, Best Show at Leicester Comedy Festival in 2020, longlisted for Best Stand Up Show at the National Comedy Awards in 2021 and her show FIGHT won the 2022 Writer’s Guild Award for Best Radio Comedy. She has also appeared on Live at the Apollo and hit British quiz show QI.
Zoltan Kaszas is an award-winning stand-up comedian known for his sharp, observational humor and love of cats. Born in Hungary, Zoltan and his mother immigrated to the United States in 1991, first settling in Pittsburgh before moving to the trailer parks of San Diego.
Kaszas, who The Atlantic called a “breakout star,” has been featured on several SiriusXM comedy channels, Laughs on Fox, commercials from Manscaped, Netflix Is a Joke radio, has had hit Dry Bar comedy specials “Cat Jokes” and “Average Intelligence,” as well as headlined comedy clubs and theaters across the country. He won the Seattle International Comedy competition, a month-long event held in Washington state. Kaszas also rocked first place gigs at the San Diego Comedy Festival, San Diego’s Funniest Person contest and the Rockstar Energy Drink Comedy Throwdown plus spent a month in Edinburgh, Scotland at the Fringe Festival. However, it was Kaszas’ riff on why cats are better than dogs that quickly went viral, racking up over 68 million views on Facebook. The video traveled the globe, even landing in The Guardian’s (UK) as one of the “ten funniest things I’ve seen on the Internet.”
Sharing the stage with well-known comedians such as Bert Kreischer, Mark Normand, and Taylor Tomlinson - who called him “the funniest, most prolific comic alive” - only raised his game. Kaszas has must-see comedy specials on YouTube, “Modern Male” (3.2 million views), and his most recent special “White Lies,” both filmed at the Grand Comedy Club in Escondido, CA. His ability to take relatable experiences and turn them into hilarious stories has earned him both critical acclaim and a loyal following. Whether on tour, or online, Zoltan Kaszas continues to charm audiences with his unforgettable, relevant, and smart brand of comedy.
With equal parts confident social observation and cutting self-deprecation, New York City-based comedian Brendan Sagalow has deftly and defiantly owned the stage for over 10 years. His debut album, Not Now More Than Ever, premiered at #1 on the iTunes Comedy charts.
Brendan performed as a “New Face” in the 2022 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival. He has also taken part in the Rogue Island Comedy Festival, Skankfest, and the New York Comedy Festival. He was a finalist in 2018’s "New York’s Funniest", 2017’s Carolines Comedy Club Competition, and 2017’s Carolines March Madness Competition.
He has written for MTV's Joking Off, and appeared on ViceTV’s "Tumbleweeds with Killer Mike" and the popular Barstool Sports series Answer the Internet. He is a recurring guest on "The Jim and Sam Show", Barstool Sports’ KFC Radio, and "The Bonfire with Big Jay Oakerson and Dan Soder". Until recently, Brendan co-hosted the podcast "Here’s the Scenario" with fellow comedians Mike Cannon and Mike Feeney. He has been a guest on an array of popular podcasts, including "You Know What Dude!" with Robert Kelly, "Are You Garbage?", Ari Shaffir's "Skeptic Tank", "Tuesdays with Stories", "Chrissy Chaos", "The Chip Chipperson Podcast", Joe List’s "Mindful Metal Jacket", "Guys We Fcked", "Calta and Kelly", and "Legion of Skanks". When not touring nationally, Brendan can be seen performing at comedy clubs across New York City.
As a comedian, Levy was recently the co-host of HGTV's House Hunters: Comedians
on the Couch and is coming off of John Mulaney’s “From Scratch” international comedy
arena tour. Levy’s stand-up special, Dan Levy: Lion is currently streaming on Amazon
and his comedy album, Congrats on Your Success which premiered number 3 on
iTunes is available on all streaming platforms. Dan has also made appearances on
Seth Meyers, James Corden, and Comedy Central Presents.
As a TV writer, Levy has worked on The Goldbergs, How I Met Your Father, and
created and show ran the NBC series INDEBTED. He is currently writing and producing
multiple projects for Kevin Hart and his father is not Eugene.