Headliners
Beth Stelling
Beth Stelling is a comedian, writer and actress based in Los Angeles. Her one hour stand-up special produced by Conan O'Brien is currently streaming on HBO Max. Beth was most recently an ESE on TBS' THE LAST OG. Before that, she was an on-set writer on the Universal hit, GOOD BOYS, produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. She also wrote on seasons 1 and 2 of CRASHING for HBO (and was the on-set punch-up writer for both seasons), Seth Rogen’s HILARITY FOR CHARITY, and Sarah Silverman’s Hulu show I LOVE YOU, AMERICA. Beth’s half hour special currently streams in THE STANDUPS series for Netflix.
Sam Tallent
Sam Tallent (“the absurd voice of a surreal generation”- The Denver Post) is a comedian. For the last decade he has performed more than 40 weekends per year across America, Canada, Australia and Europe. His writing has appeared in Birdy Magazine and on VICE.com and he’s told jokes on Comedy Central, TruTV and VICELAND. His acclaimed debut novel, Running the Light, (Doug Stanhope: “the best fictional representation of comedy in any medium ever”, Marc Maron: “a beautiful rendering of a dark reality") has been heralded as the definitive book on stand up comedy and is soon to be a major motion picture. Waiting For Death to Claim Us, his comedy special, is available on Amazon Prime. He lives in Colorado and cooks dinner for his wife every night.
Marie Faustin
Marie Faustin is an NYC-based comedian and actress. She has appeared on Broad City, Comedy Central Stand-Up, MTV’s Girl Code, VH1, The BET Awards and TruTV. She co-hosted Viceland’s nightly variety show VICE LIVE, as well as Oxygen’s Very Real Talk. Marie was named a 2018 Comedian You Should Know by Vulture. She was also selected as one of Just For Laughs Montreal’s New Faces in 2017. Marie has performed at Comedy Central's Clusterfest and TBS’ New York Comedy Festival. Marie co-hosts the weekly podcast Peak 2000s and, before that, The Unofficial Expert(named #2 on Time Out’s list of “Best NYC Podcasts”) as well as the notable and long-running stand-up showcase Comedy at the Knit at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. She has also appeared on podcasts like Las Culturistas, Inside The Closet, Girls Gotta Eat and more.
Ryan Goodcase
From his humble beginnings in the Midwest, Ryan Goodcase has since taken to the mic to make his quiet, awkward voice heard. Praised for his smart writing and dry delivery, Ryan became the youngest person to win the World Series of Comedy in 2019. Since then he has also won the 45th San Francisco International Comedy Competition in 2021 and become a paid regular at The Punchline San Francisco, Cobb’s Comedy Club, Laughs Unlimited, and dozens of other clubs across the country.
Robby Hoffman
As a queer, ex-Chasidic, Canadian/American woman who writes and performs comedy, there is no one else like Robby Hoffman.
After a childhood in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Robby began her career as a writer in Toronto, working on Baroness Von Sketch (IFC) and Catherine Reitman’s Workin’ Moms (Netflix). Robby also wrote for several seasons of the children’s show Odd Squad (airing on PBS in US), for which she won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Children’s Show. After relocating to Los Angeles, Robby began to write for Tru TV’s The Chris Gethard Show.
Robby also has a booming career as a standup comedian; last month, New York Magazine named Robby [vulture.com] one "One of the Comedians You Should (and Will) Know in 2020." She has also been spotlighted as one of Comedy "Central’s UpNext" generation of standup talent, as well as a “Comic to Watch,” at the New York Comedy Festival. Her one-woman show, I’m Nervous, premiered as a one-hour comedy special on Crave TV (Canada) in 2019.
Featured Comedians
Brandi Alexander
Some people go to a therapist when they need to work out their issues. Brandi Alexander picks up a microphone. Brandi hits the stage with a sturdy mixture of confidence and sass. She makes her rounds on the Michigan circuit and beyond, performing at some of the top clubs in the region such as Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase and Zanies in Chicago.
Darnell Anderson
Darnell Anderson has been a Michigan comedy favorite for several years. He tells jokes about his life in a clever and fun style that will leave you in stitches. He has been a finalist in the Funniest Person in Grand Rapids, Funniest Person in Cincinnati, opened for Eric Andre, Nick Swardson, Maria Bamford, Tony Rock and more!
Jacob Barr
Despite his age Jacob Barr he’s been performing all over the Midwest for over 7 years. He uses his unique perspective that comes from being disabled to make people laugh and sometimes scared. Jacob performs in comedy clubs and festivals.
Andrew Dziobak
Andrew Dziobak is a Michigan based comedian who has opened for Carmen Lynch, Alex English, and was a showcase performer in the Motor City Comedy Festival.
Bret Hayden
Bret Hayden is a regular at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase and host/creator of Comedy Rumble. He’s worked with a who’s who of comedy’s biggest names including Andrew Schulz, Mark Normand, Gary Gulman, among others.
Ella Horwedel
Often described as raunchy, irreverent, and a disappointment by her mother, Ella Horwedel has been an energetic force in the Michigan comedy scene for the past five years. She has performed at clubs all over the country, where she explores the difficulties of being a 24-year-old woman through bawdy stories and intimate self-reflection. She has opened for the likes of Eddie Pepitone, Yamaneika Saunders, and Kurt Metzger, and was a featured performer at Laughfest, Altercation Comedy Festival, Des Comedie Festival, and Skankfest South. She most recently won runner-up in Mark Ridley's Detroit to LA Comedy Challenge and is the producer for Don't Tell Comedy Ann Arbor.
Robert Jenkins
Robert Jenkins combines his quick wit and sharp words with a disarming delivery to leave you wondering if you just heard what you thought you heard.
Erich Laux
Beginning his comedy career in 2010 as president of the standup comedy group at University of Michigan, Erich Laux has become a well-known comic across the state; he’s performed at Gilda’s LaughFest in Grand Rapids, Stoop Fest in Lansing, and Motor City Comedy Festival. Nowadays, Erich travels all over North America performing at festivals — such as Whiskey Bear Comedy Fest in Columbus & Park Slope Comedy Fest in Brooklyn — and at any club, bar, or basement he can find with a microphone.
Nick Leydorf
Nick Leydorf is a fun-loving, Michigan comedian with a quick wit and a third nipple. When he’s not on stage, you can find Nick in his office being a lawyer, paying off his student loans. Described as “funny, adorable, and non-threatening” by one writer, Nick talks about his unrelatable profession in such a relatable way that audiences can’t help but laugh.
So far, Nick has performed in festivals around the country including Cleveland Comedy Festival, Crossroads Comedy Festival, Gilda’s LaughFest, the Detroit Comedy Festival, the Savage Henry Comedy Festival, Big Time Garbage Festival, What a Joke Comedy Festival, Stoop Fest and the Elsie Dairy Festival. Okay, the last one was because Whitesnake had to cancel. Nick's first album "Free Consultation" debuted at #1 on iTunes.
Zach Martina
Zach Martina likes hot food as much as he loves the cooling sensation that a peppermint candy brings upon taking a deep breath. Zach Martina is a father, a husband, a 6 time cannon ball champion AND a C-section birth. Zach Martina is a guy with layers.
Louis D. Michael
Louis is childish at heart “edgy and not entirely well thought out” his jokes, and whimsical stories will have an audience's laughing to their surprise at some darker topics, cutting like a butter knife with an edge.
Johnny Mocny
Johnny Mocny is a young comic who’s been on the scene since the ripe age of eighteen. For five years, he’s been honing an interesting and original act combining wry wit with shrewd, satirical edge and a comfortably innocuous demeanor. Johnny is a co-producer/host of the monthly showcase at Ozone’s in Lansing and the weekly open mic at Crunchy’s in East Lansing, and he also produces and hosts the podcast We Are Movies.
Tanner Oliver
Tanner is a confident storyteller who masterfully captures the essence of his characters on stage and will take you on a journey through his tales of self deprication mixed with good times. You can see him at festivals such as Limestone Comedy Festival, 10000 LAUGHS in Minneapolis and has worked with popular headliners such as Gary Gulman, Kate Willett, Jak Knight & Roy Wood Jr.
Bruce Pych
Bruce Pych is a comedian from Ann Arbor, MI. Bruce's comedy will push the boundaries of what you find funny. His interesting twists and comparisons of rather dark subject matter comes out surprisingly light-hearted, and dare I say...cute? Leave your preconceived notions of what’s acceptable at home.
Jack Reeves
Jack Reeves is a Detroit comic whose sharp writing and boyish charm help to share his observations of early adulthood on stage. He’s worked at comedy clubs across Michigan with headliners such as Josh Sneed, Dan Soder, and Jackie Kashian. If you like dry and ironic joke-telling, come check him out!
Pat Sievert
Pat Sievert sees things in a way you’ve never considered, but it’s a perspective you’ll never forget. Based out of Lansing, Michigan, he’s quietly become a fixture in the midwestern underground comedy scene. He’s honed his charmingly quirky, wickedly funny material with diligent road work, appearing at festivals across the country (Whiskey Bear, Motor City, and Savage Henry to name a few). In 2019 Pat won the prestigious Funniest Person in Grand Rapids Competition and recorded his debut album “I Do What I Want Now”. Whether it’s an indie DIY show or an A-list comedy club, Pat is a refreshing new voice that stands out from the crowd.
Ellie Snyder
Ellie Snyder is an Ann Arbor-based comic and writer. When she's not hunched behind her laptop or wandering around on stage, you can find her reading a used book in the woods and underlining important lines to make her seem smart.
Mary Spencer
Mary Spencer is a comic living in Detroit. She performs across southeast Michigan, including at the Detroit Women of Comedy Festival, Stoopfest, and at Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle opening for Isabel Hagen. She loves grocery shopping.
Nicholas Tenaglia
Nicholas Tenaglia is a comedian from Berkley Michigan. As one of 4 boys Nicholas hungers for attention and will do anything including stand up to get it. He is what some one who once read the New York Times called the greatest comedian from Angel elementary. We just know you’ll love his dark and dirty jokes coming from such a sweet and Innocent mouth.
Esteban Touma
Esteban Touma is a comedian from Ecuador adjusting to life in the US. He has been featured in Comedy Central, Sirius XM, NPR, and The Moth, and was part of the NBC Second City Break Out Festival, and the World Comedy Expo. The U.S. Government once officially declared him an “authorized legal alien with a reentry permit.”
Brad Wenzel
Brad Wenzel has done stand up on CONAN 3 times. His debut comedy album, Sweet Nothings was released on Jack White’s rock label, Third Man Records.
Andrew Yang
Andrew Yang was voted “Best Comedian in Washtenaw County“ in 2022 by Current Magazine and ever since his parents keep asking him “what’s Current Magazine?” Onstage, Andrew charms audiences with his energetic personality and engrossing stories mostly at his expense. A staple in the Ann Arbor, Michigan scene, Andrew is a regular at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase and runs shows at a meadery in Bløm Meadworks and at a punk rock venue in the Blind Pig. He has performed at the Motor City Comedy Festival in Detroit, MI, in clubs all over the Midwest, and hopefully soon for you too!