Comedians
Akeem Woods is the funny little brother you always (never) wanted — his comedy style will have you on the edge of your seat reeling from laughter! No topic is safe from discussion, whether it be the KKK or the hardships of growing up poor.
Akeem is a regular at the Comedy Cellar in NYC, was a semi-finalist on Stand Up NBC, has been seen on Kevin Hart’s LOL Network and just recently made his television debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden!
Currently you can find Akeem working on a new show for BET and at clubs and colleges all over the country.
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
Jimmy Cash is America’s Favorite Janitor. And yes, he prefers to be called a janitor and not a custodian. Jimmy is the father of a teenage daughter, an uncertain number of step-kids, and an elementary school janitor who’s been sober for 18+ years. His comedy draws from his many life experiences living and working on the mean streets of Worcester, Massachusetts.
Jimmy is known as the @janitorwithstamina on TikTok, where his hilarious videos have over 30 million views.
Jimmy stars as the Red Sox Groundskeeper in the Plymouth Rock Assurance ad series on NESN. He won the "Last Comix Standing Competition" at Mohegan Sun in 2021. He was the national touring opener for Comedian Bob Marley. He has also opened for Bobby Kelly, Rich Vos, Joe Dombrowski, and more.
Aaron Putnam is an American touring stand up comedian , currently based out of Chicago.
You can catch him at his home club. Laugh Factory , as well as many other comedy clubs like Zanies.
He is also the founder of Stand up in Recovery where he brings laughter to drug/ alcohol treatment centers across the country.
His comedy is said to be disarmingly funny and vulnerable.
Aaron feels blessed to have opened for some of the best comics working today. He says he gets these opportunities because he’s the best hang in the biz.
He also has a Podcast with his lovely wife called The Manchild &The Yogi .
Michael Palascak is a comedian who grew up in Indiana and now lives in LA. He performed on both The Late Late Show with James Corden and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in the same year. He has over 1 million views on YouTube. In addition, his resume includes A Little Late with Lilly Singh, The Tonight Show, Letterman, Craig Ferguson, Conan, has a Comedy Central Half Hour special, and was a Top 5 Finalist on Last Comic Standing where one judge claimed, “My first impression of Michael was a great likability. This is a guy that could star in a sitcom.” Michael’s likability allows him to relate to his audiences in a real way which sets up the huge laughs he gets from his sharp, personal material. Consistently writing and performing, this summer Michael released both a new album— The Internet Live through 800 Pound Gorilla and a new stand-up special on the Dry Bar app— 1984. Available for free streaming. Drew Hunt of The Chicago Reader wrote about Michael, “In a lot of ways, he represents the ideal antidote to the sort of unbridled cynicism that pervades much of contemporary stand-up.” Michael’s optimism continues in the new National Lampoon series — The Bright Side where he takes a positive stance on a negative topic streaming on YouTube. www.michaelpalascak.com
Lauren got her start in comedy in the beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina in 2012. There, she performed improv and standup regularly at Theatre 99 and all over the city and even won a couple comedy competitions. Beginners luck? Maybe. In 2014, Lauren packed up and moved to nyc to pursue stand up comedy full time with just $800 in her bank account and no job lined up. Thank god that worked out LOL... a close one.
Rafi Bastos - UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY TOUR Rafi Bastos is a 6’7” tall Jewish-Brazilian comedian with an accent like Dracula and a rapidly growing social media presence of stand up clips in English, mostly filmed from the prestigious Comedy Cellar in New York. In his home-country of Brazil, Rafi is a trailblazer of comedy, media and is one of the first comedians to pioneer the art of stand up comedy as we know it in Brazil. His17-year comedy and acting career before coming to the United States garnered many firsts and was covered in an interview on TheJoe Rogan Experience. Rafi set records, created controversy through freedom of speech and used the power of the internet to reach an astronomical social media following. Rafi’s videos with stage performances, music videos, interviews and sketches have now more than 370 million views on his Youtube channel alone. In 2011, he was considered by the NEW YORK TIMES as the Most Influential Man on Twitter, at the time with 7 million followers, now at 11.4 million. In 2013, Rafi won the SHORTY AWARDS, also known as the “Oscars of Social Media”, for Best Comedian. Both in English and Portuguese, Rafi continues to prove that he is among the most talented artists of Latin America - always setting the bar higher for innovation, quality and influence. Rafi’s quick-witted observational humor has made him a hit online and the first Brazilian comedian to become a regular at the most renowned comedy clubs globally, including COMEDY CELLAR in New York, LAUGH FACTORY, and THE HOLLYWOOD IMPROV in California. He is also the first Brazilian comedian to headline at JUST FOR LAUGHS, the largest comedy festival in the world, hosted in Montreal, Canada. Among his many credits, Rafi has three comedy specials on Netflix:, A Arte do Insulto, Péssima Influencia, and Ultimato. He has starred in movies, had his own controversial talk show, been an in-field journalist and hosted reality shows (Ultimate Beastmaster for Netflix). He is the Co-Founder and owner of Comedians, the largest comedy club in South America. Let’s just say Rafi has done almost everything in Brazil and now he’s in the USA to do it all with a fresh perspective - in UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY.
Talal Alyan is a stand-up comedian based in New York City. He is the co-producer of Under the Radar Comedy, a monthly comedy show at West Side Comedy Club. He's performed across the city and has been featured in Vice News, Huffington Post and elsewhere.
Levi White is a stand-up comedian based out of New York City by way of Cocoa, Florida. He is the co-producer of Under the Radar Comedy, a monthly comedy show at West Side Comedy Club and Tough Love Comedy at The Comedy Shop. Levi has been featured on Shudder, The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs, Salem Comedy Festival and Tower City Comedy Festival.
Ethan is a stand-up comedian hailing from Waukegan, Illinois. He has been performing for audiences all across the country since starting comedy at age 18 in the small college town of Iowa City (A VERY white college town). There he found his voice merging his city upbringing with the suburban and rural culture that surrounded him, talking about everything from selling drugs to loving the bachelor. He moved to New York in 2015 to become better as a standup and after a few years of open mics and local bar shows he began to perform at larger local venues like Pine Box, The Knitting Factory, and Littlefield. In 2019 he was featured on Comedy Central.
Sahib Singh is a rising star of the Baltimore/D.C. stand-up scene. He has performed at clubs and colleges across the East Coast, and in 2019, he won the Magooby’s New Comedian of the Year competition. His original videos have earned him a strong following on social media, and in 2021, he worked as a writer and performer on the Comedy Central Digital team. His work has been featured on the CBS Comedy Showcase and the digital series AS SEEN ON ADULT SWIM. Currently he is touring with Nimesh Patel and is performing select dates on Hasan Minaj’s “The King’s Jester” tour.
BIO
Matty is a stand-up/actor/writer who was a New Face at the 2019 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, and taped two sets for Comedy Central’s Stand Up Featuring. His recent television credits include FOX’s Empire, Netflix’s Soundtrack, and NBC’s Chicago Fire. His other credits include MTV’s Acting Out, a supporting role in the indie film Who Gets The Dog opposite Alicia Silverstone and work with The Onion Network. As a standup, Matty was recently invited to perform at the 2021 SXSW Comedy Fest, the 2020 San Francisco Sketch Fest, and tours across the country.
Haitian Canadian comedian Che Durena was born and raised in British Columbia and is based in Toronto after spending time performing standup in Mexico. He is known for his work as a host and writer for My Most Amazing Top 10 (over 7.6 million subscribers) and he has amassed a social media following of over 7 million with over 197 million likes on his viral TikTok rants and commentary. Che has appeared on JFL All Access, Comedy Network, CraveTV, and recently dropped his debut comedy album Tales From My Butthole. His comedy offers an absurd angle on his experiences living abroad and his perception of matters like culture, race, relationships and drugs. Che has worked with brands like Coors Light, Herb, Vapen and many more. Catch him on tour in a city near you!
Jen Gittess is a comedian, writer and actress originally from Fort Lauderdale, where she often returns to visit her family whenever she needs inspiration for new material. She started standup comedy during college at UCLA before moving to NYC to pursue it full time, and is currently touring at comedy clubs throughout the country.
Naomi Karavani is a comedian, actor, and writer based in New York City. For over five years Naomi worked as a writer and on-air talent for the news comedy show Redacted Tonight where she covered topics from Big Tech to Mass Incarceration to the baby on the Terrorism Watchlist. Good thing someone's watching him. She appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Bentzen Ball, and the Brooklyn Comedy Festival and runs a weekly show in Brooklyn called "Bitches' Brew."
Ben Herwitz is a New York based comedian who has performed at colleges and clubs throughout the country. You may have seen him in "No Offense" on Fox Soul, "The Castro Vegas Show" on Amazon Prime, or heard him on the podcast "Hating on Everything."
Dan Toomey is a writer, comedian, actor, and video maker living in Brooklyn, NY. He currently works as a video creator for Morning Brew. You can find his TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. His writing has been featured in outlets like McSweeneys, Slackjaw and Points in Case. He regularly performs standup and improv comedy around New York. Dan excels at lampooning LinkedIn influencers, start-up founders, and millionaire CEOs. In 2022, Dan was selected as New York Comedy Festival “Content Creator to Watch.”
Born with a foreign name in an American country (America), Dauood Muhammad Naimyar learned the value of assimilating at a very young age. Because of this, he tried his best to not be different but failed at every encounter. Once he embraced his eccentric point of view, he saw the humor all around him. Dauood’s comedic perspective is shaped by the duality of his constant need to fit in, and his relentless desire to be different. His search for being relatable yet controversial has brought audiences joy for nine years--and will probably continue until he finally figures out who he is. We hope he doesn’t, 'cause bills need to be paid.
Leaving Dublin, Ireland where he was born and raised until the age of 22, David got drunk on travel and never quite hit sobriety of it. He has lived and worked in twelve countries and visited over seventy. His shows draw on his wide travels, cultural observations, attempts at language study, (occasional) international drinking session(s) and being a mildly confused immigrant.
David is the winner of the prestigious annual San Francisco Comedy Competition, (previous finalists include Robin Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and Dana Carvey) and runner-up in the Moth’s largest US Grandslam storytelling competition. Also a bestselling writer, David recorded his debut special Documented for Dry Bar Comedy in 2019, and his follow up Cultural Appreciation in 2023. He has been featured on TED.com, Sirius XM, Just For Laughs, Netflix is a Joke Festival, The Irish Independent, RTE’s Late Late Show, Inc, NPR, and the Huffington Post among others. A festival favorite, David's videos have also gone viral many times over with over 800 million views and a social following of over 2 million people.
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”
Kevin Nealon is an Emmy and SAG-nominated actor and comedian who sets himself apart from other comedic performers with his unique sense of humor, dry wit and likable demeanor. Nealon is best known for his nine-year stint as a cast member of NBC’s "Saturday Night Live," and received critical acclaim for his role in the hit Showtime series "Weeds." Kevin currently produces and hosts his digital series "Hiking with Kevin," and tours his stand-up globally. He will be releasing his latest book, "I Exaggerate: My Brushes with Fame (Abrams)," on October 25, 2022. Part art book, part memoir -- the book is full of original full-color caricatures Kevin has created along with funny, endearing personal essays about his famous friends.
Nealon’s extensive television credits include the CBS sitcom "Man With a Plan," in which he starred alongside Matt LeBlanc; Showtime’s "Weeds," which ran for eight seasons and was honored at the 2006, 2007 and 2009 Golden Globes with nominations for “Best Television Series Comedy or Musical.” In 2007 and 2009, "Weeds" was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.” Additional television roles include two critically acclaimed stand-up specials for Showtime; and a number of appearances on "Hot In Cleveland," "Franklin & Bash," "Monk," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Still Standing."
Nealon’s self-produced, edited, and hosted web series "Hiking with Kevin" is exclusively available on his YouTube channel of the same name. In the series, Kevin interviews his A-list celebrity friends on hikes throughout the country. Past guests include Michael Keaton, Jimmy Kimmel, Lin Manuel-Miranda, Cheryl Hines, Ray Romano, Al Franken, Hilary Swank, Kumail Nanjiani, Kate Beckinsale, Conan O’Brien, Adam Sandler and more.
Nealon has found great comedic success in his extensive film career. In "Anger Management," he played opposite Jack Nicholson and fellow SNL comedian "Adam Sandler." He and Sandler also teamed up in "Eight Crazy Nights," "The Wedding Singer," "Happy Gilmore," "Just Go With It," "Blended," and "You Don’t Mess with the Zohan," the latter of which grossed over $200 million worldwide. In "Joe Dirt," Nealon joined another SNL alumnus David Spade. Additional film credits include "Daddy Day Care" with Eddie Murphy, "Good Boy" with Molly Shannon, "Bucky Larsen: Born to be a Star" with Nick Swardson, "Roxanne" with Steve Martin and the cult hit "Grandma’s Boy," also with Nick Swardson and Jonah Hill.
As one of the longest running cast members on NBC’s "Saturday Night Live" (1986-1995), Nealon created some of the show’s most memorable characters, including ‘The Subliminal Man’ and ‘Hans and Franz.’ Nealon’s recurring role as an anchor on ‘Weekend Update’ helped make the sketch a show staple. In 1988, he earned an Emmy nomination as part of the SNL writing team.
In 2008, Nealon released his first book, "Yes, You’re Pregnant, But What About Me?" -- a comical look at the male perspective of pregnancy.
Currently, Kevin resides in Los Angeles with his wife and son.
Kevin Hurley is a New York based comedian originally from Philadelphia and the Co-Founder of the comedy collective Comedy Mob. He is a winner of the Stress Factory March Madness Competition and was featured on Comedy Central’s “Comics to Watch”. Kevin is a very unique blend of likable, jerk, and goofy.
