Comedians
Described by Jeffrey Gurian as "also very funny," Elon Altman is a stand up comedian born and raised in NYC. In 2015, he was featured on AXS TV's "Gotham Comedy Live," he headlined Caroline's On Broadway, and he was runner up in NBC Universal's "Cozi TV Comedy Search." He can be seen regularly at clubs such as Caroline's On Broadway, Comic Strip Live, Broadway Comedy Club, and the New York Comedy Club. He also features and headlines at festivals, colleges and private events across the northeast.
Reg Thomas has been making people laugh forever. His comedy draws from the clash between his conservative Haitian upbringing, growing up in Brooklyn and dating in New York City. Reg writes jokes that allow anyone with a heartbeat to laugh and enjoy the moment. He has written content for media companies including Atlantic Records, Complex Magazine, KicksOnFire.com and TruTV. In five short years, Reg has made a name for himself running the gauntlet that is the New York City comedy scene and headlining clubs like Caroline’s on Broadway.
Derek Humphrey is a stand-up comic who has performed nationwide for the past 7 years. In addition to stand-up, Derek has formal training in improv, sketch and storytelling, having been a graduate of Theatre 99 (Charleston, South Carolina), The Upright Citizens Brigade, the Peoples Improv Theater (the PIT) and Magnet Theater (all in New York City). Hailing from blue collar roots, a curious mind and a keen wit, Derek combines all forms of comedy into one individual act that defies categorization. He considers himself a “man of the people” having toured everywhere from the back country roads of Alabama to the utter sophistication of Manhattan and all points in between. When not performing for throngs of fans, Derek spends his time with his dog and looking for the best chicken and waffles this fine nation has to offer.
Robert Punchur (neat guy) began his stand-up career in 2011 at the original New York Comedy Club in Manhattan, where he hosted midnight many after-prom shows with teenage lineups, including Pete Davidson, Neko White, and Ricky Velez.
In 2017, Robert co-founded Very Good Comedy Show and began taking a new generation of future stars on the road. He's also grown his own career with appearances on MTV, TruTV, and ComedyTimeTV. His debut hour special "Tenure" (marking 10 years in standup comedy) is available through VeryGoodComedyShow.com.
Dan Laitman is a low-energy, one-liner comedian from New York City, reminiscent of greats like Mitch Hedberg and Stephen Wright. He has been featured on PBS. Dan showcased in multiple festivals and currently performs regularly at top NYC clubs.
For over 10 years, Dan has written for and co-hosted his own topical comedy web series, "The Desk", along with Very Good Comedy Show COO Robert Punchur (@robertpunchur). You can see his daily topical videos on TikTok @danlaitmancomic!
Author, columnist, and comedian Steve Hofstetter is often called the hardest working man in show-business. With all due respect to the late James Brown.
Hofstetter's national TV debut came on ESPN's Quite Frankly, where Stephen A. Smith yelled at him for three minutes. Hofstetter has also appeared on CBS' Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, Showtime's White Boyz in the Hood, VH1's Countdown, Sundance's On the Road in America, and ABC's Barbara Walter's Special, where he thankfully did not cry. He is the host and executive producer of Laughs on Fox network, where he only cries occasionally.
One of the top booked acts on the college circuit, the original writer for collegehumor.com has also released six albums. Hofstetter has written humor columns for The New York Times, SportsIllustrated.com, and NHL.com, where he publicly admitted to being a Ranger fan.
After hosting Four Quotas on Sirius Satellite Radio for two seasons, Hofstetter moved to broadcast radio, and his Sports Minute (Or So) was syndicated on over 170 stations and in over 30 newspapers. Hofstetter's second live comedy album, Cure for the Cable Guy, reached #20 on Billboard's comedy charts. His third album, Dark Side of the Room, was the first ever "pay-what-you-want" comedy album, since people were going to steal it anyway. His fourth album consisted of an hour of 100% ad-libbed material, which is, frankly, nuts. And his fifth album hit #1 on iTunes' comedy charts, which is also a bit nuts.
Hofstetter's brutal tour schedule consists of over 100 colleges and dozens of clubs every year, and is fueled by an immense online popularity, tons of press, and a Prius with great gas mileage. He reached 200,000 friends on Facebook (still the world record), 400,000 more on MySpace, and high shelves in grocery stores.
While Hofstetter's live shows are routinely sold out, he is best known for his writing, first published at age 15, mainly to impress girls. At 18, he co-founded Sports Jerk of the Week, an irreverent website featured by press like USA Today's "Baseball Weekly", Sports Illustrated and CNN. And at 20, Hofstetter took a year off of school to head up web content for the New York Yankees. The Yankees won the World Series that year, which would have been wonderful if they hadn't beaten Hofstetter's Mets. Yes, he's also a Mets fan. Poor kid.
While an undergraduate at Columbia University, Hofstetter was a well-read columnist for the Columbia Daily Spectator and a voice of the Lions. After a summer writing for Maxim, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated for Kids, Hofstetter syndicated his column in several newspapers.
Without his glasses, Hofstetter also looks a great deal like Michael Rappaport.
Opening Act for Tracy Morgan, Numerous appearances on Late Night TV..
Sonya Vai is an international stand-up comedian. This summer, she had a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and performed in London at the Top Secret Comedy Club. She performs regularly in her home base, NYC, in venues such as New York Comedy Club, Greenwich Village Comedy Club, The Stand, and Gotham Comedy Club, among others. IG/TikTok: @sonyavaicomedy; FB/X: @sonyavai
Pat Oates has appeared on TLC's Extreme Cheapskates and E! Talk Soup. He can be heard on the Pat Oates is Sad podcast and is a contributing comedy advice writer for Laugh Staff. Pat won the Last Comix Standing competition in 2015.
A stand-up comedian from Puerto Rico, Rafi Gonzalez originally found success as the lead singer of a nationally touring rock band. In 2015, Gonzalez switched gears and exploded onto the New England and Boston comedy scenes.
In 2021, he was filmed for HBO MAX as part of the Ha Comedy Festival. In 2022, Rafi participated in the prestigious San Francisco Comedy Competition. He was a finalist in the Boston Comedy Festival in 2023, and was also voted "Best of the Fest" in the Noho Comedy Festival and the Burbank Comedy Festival in Los Angeles. In 2024, he was voted "Comedian of the Year" in the Boston Comedy Choice Awards. Rafi has also taken his comedy to the sea after being hired by several cruise lines. Check him out across all social media platforms, where Rafi has accrued millions of views.
Rafi is currently based out of Massachusetts and performing nationally.
Dan Altano has carved a name for himself on the national comedy scene by narrating his life story with brutal honesty, wit, and heart. Born in New Jersey and currently based in New Haven, CT, Dan headlines in clubs and theaters across the country, recently completing a 12-state headlining tour. He was named one of New York City’s “Breakout Artists of 2021” by Caroline’s On Broadway and appeared in the New York Comedy Festival for three consecutive years. Dan has also recently joined comedians Demetri Martin, Fortune Feimster, and Eric Neumann as part of their respective national comedy tours.
Dan is the co-host of the podcast Rank It! and is the creator and host of Dinner’s Ready Live, an interactive cooking/comedy show that now tours on stages across the country. He is the co-producer of Just A Jersey Guy and Son, a comedic storytelling show he writes and performs with his father, Brian Altano.
Tara Cannistraci is an Italian-American comedian, actress & writer. She was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. She is quickly becoming one of the most sought after stand-up comics. Tara has taken her talents to stage, television, film, and centerfield as the scoreboard host for the New York Yankees. She was on SNY's Emmy award winning show “Oh Yeah”. Tara also appears on the the Chazz Palminteri Show podcast regularly and co-hosts “Neighborhood Logic”. Tara’s compilation album, “Greetings From Uncle Vinnie’s” is streaming everywhere. Her solo album, "I'm Talkin' Here" will be released in Spring 2023. Tara joined Joey Diaz for his NY residency at Sony Hall. She is currently headlining throughout the country and Canada.
Ralph Anthony is a New York City based comedian and writer whose material is primarily derived from his stories and unique observations of the world we live in. A high energy goofball with lots to say, Anthony was deemed “the Mouth” by his childhood friends and hasn’t stopped making people laugh since.
Anthony has traveled overseas to Europe where he’s performed on some the top shows in London and Paris. His credits also include the World Comedy Expo, the NY Underground Comedy Festival, DC Comedy Festival, NC Comedy Festival, the World Series of Comedy, Sirius XM, ESPN, the NY Comedy Festival, being a featured headliner for the Bonkerz Comedy Club chain, as well as headlining Caroline’s on Broadway. Most recently, Anthony recorded his debut comedy album, “40 for 40,” which is slated for release later in the year.
In addition to headlining, he’s featured for Tom Cotter (AGT), Tony Woods (Def Comedy Jam), Joe Machi (Last Comic Standing), Joey Gay (Netflix), and Maija DiGiorgio (Dry Bar).
Through storytelling and observational comedy, Frank Favia offers hilarious insights about his neurotic insecurities, his stereotypically-Italian family and how he’s too nice for his own good. On any given night, he can be seen performing at clubs in NYC and all around the country.
Ron Nobles is a New York City-based stand-up comedian. He is a regular in the New York City comedy scene and performs at colleges, clubs, and theatres all over the country. He is a founding member of the Escape From NY Comedy Tour, that brings NYC comics all over the US. He's been featured on Yahoo Sports Radio and in the New York Comedy Festival. He’s a clean-cut every man with a knack for storytelling. Ron Grew up in a small town south of Buffalo called Gerry, NY but, he currently resides in New York City with his boxer Tony.
Molly Ruben-Long is a comedian/actress/writer/woman with great bangs. She was a New Face at Just for Laughs in Montreal and has been featured on Viceland, Fuse and the BBC.
She is the co-host of Well Behaved, a weekly podcast that tells you about women from history you probably have never heard of. She is also a regular contributor to Someecards.com.
Nick Simmons is a Standup Comic and Actor from the Bronx that now resides in Brooklyn New York. He’s also a personality and Affiliate on Twitch. He performs at all the clubs in NYC and all around the country and colleges. He’s been on SiriusXM and has his own Podcast “GTL” on iTunes.