Mountains

2019 Winners

2019 Yes, And... Laughter Lab Winners

Average Women with Average Rage #

Negin Farsad, Ophira Eisenberg, Leah Bonnema

Three of New York City’s best comics (their therapists told them to say that) blend personal stories with political commentary as they attempt to dismantle the patriarchy in one 90 minute show. Negin Farsad, Leah Bonnema and Ophira Eisenberg combine forces to bring you a spirited, frank, and funny standup show, infused with a comfortable amount of rage.

Los Blancos #

Gabe Gonzalez, Marcos Gonzalez

Los Blancos is a half hour narrative comedy series that follows the Blancos, one of the richest and whitest Latino families in Miami. Scared they’ll lose their social standing after the family business begins to falter, the family turns to the one thing that will save them: Politics. Co-created by Gabe and Marcos Gonzalez.

Nice Tan #

Carla Lee

Nice Tan is a WOC/QPOC-led sketch comedy project about life and identity in a world that’s not as “woke” as it thinks it is. Our mission is to feature underrepresented perspectives in sketch comedy and skewer the various identities we inhabit in a pointed, irreverent, and hilarious way.

Going Native #

Joey Clift

Going Native is a series of comedic, animated PSAs, that shine a satirical light on some of the weird microaggressions people make toward Native Americans. Think of it as a non-musical Schoolhouse Rock! meets Key and Peele, with a Native twist.

Murf Meyer is Self Medicated #

Murf Meyer

Murf is a former heroin addict and current alcoholic with twenty-five years of experience (ab)using substances. Please join this folksy degenerate for an evening of thematic storytelling where he’ll share some of his most amusing, drug-fueled lowlights with you.

Franklin #

Mamoudou N’Diaye

For years, we were enamored with the Peanuts gang; Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy, Sally, Pigpen, Schroeder, and Peppermint Patty. Now, after years away from the rest of the gang, Franklin, the only Black kid in town, returns home with axes to grind and hatchets to bury.

2019 Yes And... Laughter Lab Finalists

Planet Blak #

Niles Abston

An alien planet far far away is on the brink of economic crisis so they turn to their only hope, abducting local Alabama weed dealer, Eugene Blak.

Acuña Acuna: A Latinx Journey in the US #

Erick Acuna

Acuña Acuna is a one-person comedy show based on comedian Erick Acuña’s real life as a
Peruvian Latino living in America. The show looks at experiences like filling out a medical form in English, trying home-made chocolate cookies for the first time, and being a 14-year-old kid in the middle of a war.

Gold Boy #

Jeff Ayars 

When a depressed college student is shaken by a campus suicide, he ditches his medication and channels his mania into a secret, spandex-clad persona–GOLD BOY–in an effort to inspire the student body, fight the administration, and ward off his own demons. (Inspired by a true story)

Diversified #

Madalyn Baldanzi

Diversified is a workplace comedy about an eternally optimistic diversity trainer, who refuses to believe that some minds cannot be changed, despite his cynical partner, his exhausted boss, and his racist clients.

Sisters #

Jessica Brunetto

Hidden secrets cause tension when two estranged sisters are forced to confront each other while preparing for their ailing mother’s death.

The Latino Vote #

Ernie Bustamante

“The Latino Vote” is a late night talk show from a brown-ish point of view. Hosted by writer/comedian Ernie Bustamante (Montreal Just for Laughs), the show features Latinx comedians and special guests discussing news, politics, and pop culture in order to determine: “Who gets the Latino vote?”

Grown #

Nick Chambers

An educational comedy show for millennials who are still figuring out “adulting,” filling the gap between what we learned in school and what we need to know now as adults.

The Relief Effort #

Ethan David

In the aftermath of a hurricane, a farmer who prides herself on self-sufficiency is forced to accept disaster relief from a scandal-ridden talk show host using her to repair his public image.

Who Does the Baby’s Hair? #

Ayanna Dookie

A weekly podcast with host/comedian Ayanna Dookie and guests, sharing their stories of growing up bi- and multi-racial, and discussing current events that apply to the multiracial experience, and responding to tweets/emails from listeners.

Queerball #

Timothy Dunn

Oh, an aging homosexual comedian from New York City retreats to the suburbs and takes a job teaching show choir and theatre in the town he grew up in at his old high school? Groundbreaking.

Treehuggers #

Bradley Einstein 

A team of ‘natural comedians’ meld stunning visuals, unexpected humor, and the odd person in an animal costume to explore America’s wild wonders—and the issues facing them. We’ve always preferred treelines to loglines, but feel free to think of the most recent iteration of our work as “David Attenborough and the Sack Lunch Bunch.”

Darling #

Molly Gaebe & Sally Rashid

Darling is a half hour comedy series about the last remaining abortion clinic in the fictional town of Darling.

Her-icane: All Women+Stand Up Comedy for Disaster Relief #

Jenny Gorelick

Her-icane is a showcase of all women+ stand up comics for disaster relief that has raised thousands of dollars for relief efforts for the hurricanes in Puerto Rico and the Carolinas and the California Wildfires, and more.

The North Pole: Loyal to the Soil #

Josh Healey

For people lucky enough to grow up in North Oakland in the 1990s and 2000s, the neighborhood had but one nickname: the North Pole. Young people in the area referred to themselves, at school and in rap songs, as Polar Bears. These days, the climate of the neighborhood is changing – fewer barbershops and barbecue joints, more condos and kombucha stands – and it seems like the North Pole’s native species is going extinct.

Bushbaby #

Tarik Jackson

Bushbaby is a half hour comedy series about SIMBA JACKSON a goofy but lovable (think modern day Jack Lemmon) independent video journalist striving to survive New York City, juggling family, friends and love life. Simba is a recent college graduate who returns home to his hood in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn amidst numerous changes. After being rejected by Vice, he is offered the chance to do a documentary about gentrification in Bed Stuy by an off-shoot media company named Splatt.

Mohamed’s Green Card Special #

Mohamed Kheir

‘Mohamed’s Green Card Special’ is an hour-long special, performed in 2020 as a solo performance aimed at garnering the press and clout needed to grant Kheir his Green Card status.

So Much Winning #

Mark Lichtenstein

A podcast (and accompanying video series) in which host Megan Sass (CollegeHumor, NBC Diversity) interviews activists for various causes about how the world will look when they’ve achieved 100% of their goals. Instead of worrying about how to get there, we’ll look at what their vision of utopia is really like, both for themselves, and for the rest of us. 

It’s Getting Hot In Here #

Rachel Mac

Elite middle school teacher Wendy instills in her rich students a fervor for social justice, to the chagrin of their parents.

Zenith #

Fawzia Mirza

It’s Zenith’s 33rd birthday and she’s running for Alderman in her Chicago neighborhood under the slogan “A Mexican for Mexicans”; but she has to reconcile she may not be as Mexican as she thinks, in fact, she may be 100%… Pakistani.

Held in Contempt #

Drew Morgan

A public defender turned comedian, Drew will show the process of comedy, of creating a 30-minute one man show about his life as a public defender who couldn’t help his own brother, shining a light on the justice system itself along the way.

Cuban Pete #

Eddie Mujica

When a first-generation Cuban-American returns home after an epic fail as an entrepreneur, he must find a way to repay the secret investment from his father’s life savings while navigating life with his boisterous family in order to keep their American Dream from becoming a nightmare.

Speak American #

Noa Osheroff

Speak American is comedy special/documentary series that celebrates everyone who has come to America from a different place (and those who were born and raised here, yet are still constantly asked BUT WHERE ARE YOU REALLY FROM?).

Mad Gen #

Nikki Palumbo

Mad Gen is a collection of parody advertisements that are familiar in their structure but unique in their message. They address issues like racism and gun control through the most American medium possible: capitalism! USA! USA!

Winning the Future #

Lindsey Hope Pearlman

Winning The Future (WTF) is a political satire musical comedy project.

Pod Shaped Hole #

Matt Porter

A podcast about faith and belief, done with sincerity and humor.

Witch Hunt #

Lauren Rantala

When an attention starved RA/wannabe witch awakens the evil in Salem University, three unlikely college roommates form a coven to protect their campus.

Marred #

Dallas Rico

Betrayed by his boyfriend and neglected by his best friend, a depressed black nerd has a week before the hitwoman he hired ends his miserable life.

Displaced #

Zoe Samuel

An upwardly mobile Syrian family trapped in a refugee camp refuse to let their situation derail their social ambitions. They may not have a state, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have status. Keeping Up Appearances in a refugee camp.

Bodegaverse #

Karen Sepulveda

Bodegaverse is a web series about Karen and Mamoudou, two bodega clerks who report to their morning shifts at MAMA FIFI Grocery in the Bronx and realized that the store owners’ beloved bodega cat, Carter, has gone missing.

 

Growing up Immigrant #

Nathaniel Kweku

Identity isn’t always easy for the first generation. Ghanaian American millennial, Nicholas Ajayi, just moved in with his aunty and his life hasn’t been the same ever since…

Flexx #

Milly Tamarez

Flexx is an “urban” satire site staffed completely by people of color and headed by a woman of color. The Onion satirizes the New York Times, Clickhole – Buzzfeed, Reductress – Cosmo Mag, Flexx is satirizing Complex, Worldstar, Mediatakeout, and Bossip. We use satire as a vehicle to speak truth to power while also having fun and bringing some absurdity to the “urban” internet space.

White Privilege Black Power #

Gregory Tindale

White Privilege/Black Power, an award-winning improv show, represents a departure from the traditional, furrowed-brow approach to Diversity and Inclusion education. Performers Greg Tindale and Eva Lewis are both delightfully and painfully human, profoundly relatable, and entirely disarming. Their goal is to spark change-making conversations with their insatiable curiosity, wiling vulnerability, penchant for awkward topics, and frank exchange. Rife with wit, humor, sincerity, and a huge helping of empathy, it is an experience that simultaneously entertains and teaches.

Hot Hot Diplomacy #

Shanrah Wakefield

Unscripted episodic series following two Australian political pundits in training as they tour colleges across the US on a mission to unfuck US politics.

Kristina Wong for Public Office #

Kristina Wong

Kristina Wong for Public Office is a simultaneous real life stint in public office and a performance campaign rally to counter-hijack our democracy.

2019 Industry Sponsors

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