Alison Zeidman is an Emmy-nominated and WGA Award-winning comedy writer who got her start doing stand-up in Philadelphia and NYC. She’s written for Archer, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (Supervising Writer) and Adam Ruins Everything (Head Writer & Co-Executive Producer), and her humor writing and essays have appeared in the New York Times and The Daily Beast. Alison will pitch her stand-up comedy special, Ready to Die? at YALLfest 2025.
Andre D Thompson was born and raised in New York City where he began stand-up at 18 and studied at UCB Theatre. In 2020, Andre made his network television debut on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. In 2021 Andre was selected for New Faces JFL Comedy Festival and began writing on late night comedy shows. Andre will pitch his stand-up comedy special Southside at YALLfest 2025.
Batoul is an Arab-American screenwriter from New York City and a graduate of NYU where she studied history education. She was supposed to be a history teacher, but decided to disappoint her parents instead by turning her heritage into a joke — literally, she wrote a sitcom about it. Batoul has been a fellow in the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator, the Sesame Writer’s Workshop, and the WeScreenplay Diverse Voice Lab where she’s grew her network, honed her craft, and finessed the art of pitching. Batoul is particularly interested in exploring the intersection between history and comedy and loves more than anything finding the funny in the seemingly not so funny. Batoul will pitch her scripted series Ajnabiyeh at YALLfest 2025.
Carlos Greaves is an electrical engineer turned comedy writer—a career move that haunts his parents to this day. When he’s not busy defending his life choices, he teaches online classes at The Second City, is a features contributor at The Onion, and writes the humor newsletter, Shades of Greaves. His writing has been featured in The New Yorker, NPR, and McSweeney’s, and he’s written for Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson’s annual Peacock special, Back That Year Up. His debut book, Spoilers: Essays That Might Ruin Your Favorite Hollywood Movies, was highlighted in Vulture’s “Best Comedy Books of 2023.” Carlos will pitch his scripted series Fuerza at YALLfest 2025.
Chanel Ali is a standup comedian who blossomed on the Philadelphia circuit. Her command stage presence and storyteller style make her a quick crowd favorite. She boasts two Comedy Central specials, an album, and she can drink way more than you. Chanel will pitch her stand-up comedy special Break Up With Your Dad at YALLfest 2025.
Cecelia Ticktin is a writer, actor and producer. Her incredibly twisty path has taken her from a career in injury rehabilitation, to touring the country as the standby for the role of Elphaba in the musical WICKED, to writing funny scripts about all of the things that make her sad. After winning a 2023 Screenwriting Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Cecelia wrote, produced, and acted in the web series HUSTLING (now streaming on YouTube). Currently, she is the Producer of the 2025 National Conference for Women. It is Cecelia’s deepest hope to leave this world just a little bit more knowledgeable about the experience of living with chronic pain and disability via comedy that feels relatable to all. Cecelia will pitch her scripted series Chronic at YALLfest 2025.
Eric Lockley is a Harlem-based, Baltimore born, award-winning actor, writer and producer. Centering joy and possibility in his work, Lockley’s projects range from his kooky talk show “Percy’s Theater This n Dat” to his AfroFuturist walking-tour “We The People (Not the Bots).” Lockley co-created and starred in the digital series “BLACKER” and won numerous awards for his inspirational short, “The Jump.” A staple in the NYC theater and comedy scenes, Eric’s work has been presented at The Apollo, The Public Theater, The People’s Improv Theater and more. Eric will pitch his film Charlie Blackman’s Day in Harlem at YALLfest 2025.
Greg Roque is a Los Angeles comic who navigates the physical and philosophical inaccessibilities of the world. Armed with nothing but his wheelchair and his self-deprecation, Greg Roque challenges the conventions of contemporary society through his unique deconstructions of pop culture, politics, sex, and disability. He’s been featured on Comedy Central, Amazon Prime, and The Los Angeles Times. Greg will pitch his scripted series He Won’t Rise Again at YALLfest 2025.
Orli Matlow is a comedian and writer who has written for Indefensible with Jena Friedman on SundanceTV/AMC+, and the Addy Award-winning docuseries From Yalta to Malta. She created and hosted the cabaret Send in the Clowns: Comedians Sing Sondheim, which was a New York Times comedy pick. Orli has written for Adult Swim, McSweeney’s, and Reductress, and can be seen on Amazon Prime Sports Talk’s comedy and sports show, Game Breakers. Orli will pitch her podcast War is Stupid: An Anti-War Podcast About War at YALLfest 2025.
Kate Sisk is a professional comedian, amateur drag king, and retired soccer player. Kate tours the country performing stand up and has sets out now with Comedy Central and Cracked. As a performer, Kate has also improvised at the UCB Theater, starred in the short film The Launch, and co-hosted the popular podcast We’re Having Gay Sex. As a writer, Kate has contributed for The Onion, co-written a musical, and participated in the NBC Late Night Writers Workshop. Kate will pitch their scripted series Carry On at YALLfest 2025.
Rasheda Crockett brings her visionary leadership to the forefront, reshaping narratives and fostering inclusivity within the media landscape. Her journey is marked by participation in the esteemed Climate Comedy Cohort (CCC) in 2023, where she contributed her talents to the creation of 30 original videos distributed by Comedy Central. Recognized for her innovative approach, Rasheda also received a W3 award for her groundbreaking series, “The Rasheda Crockett Sketch Comedy Show.” With a passion for storytelling and a dedication to driving meaningful change, Rasheda Crockett continues to be a trailblazer in the entertainment industry, shaping narratives that resonate and inspire audiences worldwide. Rasheda will pitch her animated series No Dumping at YALLfest 2025.
Rima Parikh is a standup comic and writer in New York by way of Chicago. In addition to her solo show Death Threat, she co-hosts a show called It Girls at Union Hall. She’s the senior writer at Late Stage Live (@latestagelive), a queer, public access late night show. Her comedy writing has appeared in The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, The Onion, Cards Against Humanity, Reductress and more. Rima will pitch her comedy special, Death Threat at YALLfest 2025.
Born and raised in Florida, Sam Morrison came up performing in the Brooklyn comedy scene before moving to Los Angeles in 2024. In 2023, he was named a New Face at the Just for Laughs Festival, made his television debut on Late Night With Seth Meyers, performed a set on Comedy Central Featuring, and his solo show Sugar Daddy played Off Broadway for 14 weeks receiving Outer Critics Circle & Off Broadway Alliance nominations. Sam will pitch his film PTOWN at YALLfest 2025.
Ahsan Ali is a writer, actor, and filmmaker who grew up in Pakistan and immigrated to NYC where he currently resides. In addition to being a 2022 ATX TV Festival Pitch Program Fellow with writing partner Lisa Jill Anderson for their half-hour comedy pilot Legit Married, their credits include an award winning web pilot of the same title, and their original play Friends With Amenities, which premiered off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters and was the recipient of the 2023 New Light New Voices Award. Select tv credits: The Blacklist (NBC), Nora from Queens (Comedy Central).
Bixby Elliot is a queer writer for theater, film, and television. His work often examines the past through a queer lens, flipping history upside down and allowing other perspectives to take center stage in fun and inventive ways. His plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London and more. His play I LOVE YOU ST. PETERSBURG! was published by Samuel French. TimeOut Chicago selected Bixby’s ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS A F*GG*T as one of the “Top 10 Plays of the Year” and was nominated for a Jeff Award. His screenplay HAPPY, NOW was a finalist for the Sundance Writers Lab. He also recently finished principal photography on his next short film “The Yellow Sponge Is the Dish Sponge” and is currently a member of the NBC/Universal TV Writers Program.
Brandon Follick is an actor, writer, and standup comedian whose work has appeared in The Onion, The New Yorker, Reductress, and McSweeney’s. His first comedy writing in print appears in How To Stay Productive When the World is Ending, named one of Vulture’s Best Comedy Books of 2023. He is a staff writer and correspondent for the trans-led comedy news show Late Stage. Brandon has performed standup and sketch in national and international comedy festivals, including New York Comedy Fest, Edinburgh Fringe, and Philly SketchFest, and he produces the DaF x The Onion writing workshop series.
Fifi Dosch is a writer and stand up comic. She has written for Beavis and Butthead on Paramount Plus and the Comedy Central Roasts. She is also the first transgender paid regular at LA’s The Comedy Store. Her rapidly blowing up TikTok page put her on E! Online’s “21 TikTok Stars to Watch!”
Fouad Dakwar is a Palestinian musical theater writer and screenwriter whom Playbill aptly describes as “a darkly comic pop-punk composer on the rise.” His semi-autobiographical musical, Fouad of Nazareth, was developed in Berklee NYC’s Writing and Production for Musical Theater Master’s program and premiered at Joe’s Pub to two sold-out concert fundraisers followed by a 29-hour reading presentation in Noor Theatre’s Highlight Reading Series. You can find Fouad on Instagram and TikTok (@notfouad) where his satirical content has garnered over 5 million likes.
Gregory Hoffman is a musical comic who enjoys aggressively straddling the fence between low and high brow humor. He mostly falls off said fence and lands happily in the filth where he belongs.
Jake Noll is a comedic force with skills across comedy disciplines. Their friendly and impish presence has won over audiences as an improvisor on stages at The Second City, iO, and Annoyance Theater. As a stand up, they were a cast member at The Lincoln Lodge and were voted Best Stand Up by the Chicago Reader. They created and starred in the original series Just Call Me Ripley released on OTV. Jake has also lent their comedic talents to Comedy Central as a content creator, while amassing a devoted following on both Instagram and TikTok.
Joan Haley Ford is a writer, director and performer based out of Los Angeles. She loves telling absurdist yet heartfelt queer stories, from her perspective as a trans woman. Joan has written on multiple animated tv shows including “Thundercats Roar”, “DC Superhero Girls” and “Tiny Toons Looniversity”. She served as head writer for Nerdist.com from 2016 to 2018. Her two person sketch team “Joan and Raft” performs regularly at the UCB Theatre in Los Angeles and has been accepted into several national comedy festivals, including Austin Sketch Fest and the Boston Women in Comedy Festival. You can also catch her on the Dropout Streaming platform on shows like “Ugm… Actually” and “Smartypants”. She is represented by CAA and Echo Lake Entertainment.
John David Williams is a Comedian hailing from the South, based in Los Angeles. Catch him performing characters and sketches, as well as country music.
Justin Carter displays a creative fearlessness in his writing, crafting stories to elevate his culture so marginalized people will see themselves reflected in his work and know that they exist. He honed his disruptive style at UCB School of Comedy where he’s written and produced shows. Justin was named one of NBC’s Writers On The Verge and appeared on The Daily Show. His work has been recognized at Austin Film Festival, Imagine Impact, and PAGE International.
Leah Bognanni is a television and film screenwriter who was born in South Korea, adopted, and raised by Italian Americans near Boston. She has a comedy-drama television show about epigenetic inheritance of trauma and interracial adoption in development with Elevate Entertainment, has been a comedy television writing fellow with Hillman Grad Productions, and has a master’s degree in screenwriting and playwriting from Northwestern University. She is currently pursuing a second degree in clinical social work with goals of starting an organization that works to reduce recidivism by creating trauma-informed, therapy-based, restorative creative arts programming and entertainment industry opportunities for people in the juvenile justice space.
Leannet Amalfi is a Dominican sketch comedy writer and performer trained at UCB and Second City. She is currently a writer on the Gold Comedy team, What The L. She is also the creator of public access TV show Very Important Party, airing on Chicago’s CAN TV.
Lisa Jill Anderson is a writer, producer, and actor based in NYC, originally from California. She was a 2022 ATX TV Festival Pitch Program Fellow for the half-hour comedy pilot Legit Married, co-created with Ahsan Ali. Also with Ahsan Ali, she co-produced and starred in the web pilot Legit Married, which won the Audience Choice Award for Best Web Pilot at Dances With Films LA, Best Episodic Pilot at Katra Film Series NYC, Best Web Series at the LA Independent Women Film Awards, Best of Fest and Best Web Series at Strong Chance Film Festival, and was an official selection for 32 film festivals. Their original play, Friends With Amenities, was the recipient of New Light Theater Project’s New Light New Voices Award, and received regional and off-Broadway productions at Pendragon Theater and 59E59 Theaters.
Called “up-and-coming” by the LA Times, Lynn Maleh is a Syrian-American writer and standup comedian whose last name means salty, which she is. Her words have appeared in Act Your Age on Netflix, The Onion, Reductress, and McSweeney’s, and she’s performed on Netflix Is A Joke Fest, New York Comedy Festival, San Francisco Sketchfest, and a few times in Brad Pitt’s old backyard. She was recently selected as one of four writers for the Sony Pictures Television Diverse Writers Program, and she’s 1/2 of Hilarious Habibis, the first ever Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) standup showcase at The Hollywood Improv.
Meka Mo is a Queens N.Y. native regularly performs at venues all around New York City, the country and internationally. In 2023, she became the winner of the Jersey City Comedy Festival’s Sandy Gunar award. In 2022, she was selected as a Comic to Watch for the New York Comedy Festival and she won Best of Fest at the 3rd annual, Black Women in Comedy Laugh Fest. She is winner of the 2021 U.S. Comedy Contest and a Finalist for Ladies of Laughter 2021.
Natan Badalov is a New York-based comedian and writer. He emigrated from Uzbekistan to the United States in the early 90’s. Since then, he has been featured on Adult Swim, New York Comedy Festival, Chosen Comedy Festival, Funnymmigrants Comedy Festival, Laughing Devil Comedy Festival, as well as many others. Natan’s first solo show ‘Connect The Dots’ was part of the The New York Comedy Festival and Rochester Fringe Festival, and he is currently touring it across the country. For more, you can follow him on socials @natanbadalov.
Pamela Rae Schuller globally recognized disability and mental health advocate and professional stand-up comedian, based in New York City. Her observations on disability, mental illness, dating, and past misadventures have led to brutally honest confessions about what it’s like being four foot six (and a half) and having a whole lot of Tourette Syndrome. You can see her on Netflix, Doctor Mike Videos, NBC, or catch her on her upcoming tour of the US and Canada with her one woman show “What Makes me Tic.”
Patricia Dinglasan is a Filipino-American comedian performing all over the world including New York Comedy Club, Don’t Tell Comedy, West Side Comedy Club, Stand Up NY, Rodney’s and corporate events for Amazon and Yahoo. She has appeared on Cash Cab, The Style Network, ABC7, and Buzzfeed. Patricia is also the founder of Banana Ketchup, a comedy show with Filipino flavor that produces the bicoastal Filipino Comedy Festival and is cited as an upcoming comedian in the SAGE Encyclopedia for Filipina/x/o American Studies.
Quei Tann is a multifaceted entertainer—from acting in How to Get Away with Murder, preforming at the Comedy Store, to writing her memoir—she does it all. As a Black trans woman, activism is an important part of her life. Tann created and runs a Queer and Trans mic—The QT open mic—a place for queers and artists to come together, find community, and sharpen their craft. When not preforming you’ll find the self proclaimed weebu chasing her true dream in life—visiting Japan!
Rachel Borka is an award-winning filmmaker, comedy writer and tater tot hotdish connoisseur. (Definitely googled how to spell connoisseur.) Originally from Minnesota, she graduated from the Actors Studio Drama School MFA Acting program in New York City. Now residing in LA, Rachel is currently a member of SAG-AFTRA and WIF.
Rokhsane is an Iranian Muslim comedian (writer/performer) based in Los Angeles with roots in DC, Virginia, and a bunch of other sad little places. Rokhsane’s written work can be found in Reductress and Mcsweeney’s Internet Tendency, as well as Amazon Freevee’s Primo. She’s performed at theatres like UCB, the PIT, and the Magnet Theatre, and was an actor for the sketch collective Boogiemanja. Prior to working in comedy, Rokhsane studied biochemistry and got her masters in Bioethics.
Ryan Leach (he/him) is a New York based actor, writer and comedian who can be seen on The Onion, Comedy Central’s The Other Two and At Home With Amy Sedaris on TruTV. Film credits include We Demand (Berlinale 2016, BAM), Little Men (Sundance) and The Ducks Migration (OUTFest, Queer Lisboa). He has performed at UCB, Brooklyn Comedy Collective, La MaMa, HERE Arts Center, Ars Nova, Dixon Place and the New York International Fringe Festival. His comedy can be seen at Broadway Comedy Club, MTV News, StandUp NY, Littlefield, Union Hall, The Bell House, Upright Citizens Brigade, Caveat and more. He is proud to be a Founder and Executive Editor of Awf Magazine — the first online LGBTQ+ satire publication.
Sabeeh is a writer, performer, and director. His credits span documentary, sketch comedy, and late-night television series, including A Little Late with Lilly Singh, The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, and United States of Scandal with Jake Tapper. He has also written and performed as a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, in both New York and Los Angeles. Sabeeh is a proud member and 2022 mentee of the Salon, a coalition of South Asian talent working in Hollywood.
Sami Schwaeber is a Brooklyn-based musical comedian who sings songs about her mental health struggles, sexuality, family and relationships. She has a reoccurring show called Exposure Therapy where she skips therapy to expose her fears to Brooklyn’s finest and The Real Teacher’s Union: Uncensored, a show for teachers, about teachers, and anyone who has ever been taught.
Savannah DesOrmeaux is a NY-based actor/writer/comedian from Louisiana. She was a writer for The X Change Rate hosted by Monét Xchange and InStyle’s “Badass Questionnaire” featuring Chelsea Handler and Issa Rae. She voiced Nora on Adult Swim’s Indolent Allen and can also be seen in laugh out loud TV shows like American Horror Story, Blue Bloods, NCIS, and The Purge. She performs comedy IRL (New York Comedy Festival, SXSW) and online (Betches, Barstool Sports, Overheard NY, Cosmopolitan, your weird cousin’s IG story).
Shareef’s jokes have been featured in The Onion and Hardtimes News. He’s a writer and performer for UCB’s Maude Night and performs standup and improv all around NYC. He’s been featured in American Express and Liberty Mutual commercials and currently hosts pop-up game shows produced by Mr. Beast.
Spencer Meade is a Brooklyn based stand up, writer, and performer from Wisconsin. They created, produce, and serve as head writer for Queer Window, an all-LGBTQIA+ sketch show that performed in the 2022 and 2023 New York Comedy Festival and can be seen at The Upright Citizens Brigade and Brooklyn Comedy Collective. They also contribute to The Onion’s sports section and their satirical writing can be seen in McSweeneys, Awf Magazine, Broadway Beat, Slackjaw, and Points in Case.
Stephanie Leke is a Cameroonian-American writer, producer, and singer whose work often sits at the intersection of pop culture and social issues. She has participated in the Writers Guild Foundation Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program and was a finalist for Color Creative’s Find Your People Program. Currently working in nonfiction, her credits include Mary J. Blige’s My Life (Amazon Studios), Harry & Meghan(Netflix), and the Pharrell Williams Lego docu-biopic Piece by Piece (Focus Features).
Stephen Brower is a queer writer, actor, and comedian. He’s performed on Broadway in Anastasia and Lempicka. He’s headlined standup shows at venues like Chelsea Music Hall and Club Cumming. And his funny videos have garnered him over 400K followers. Which is less than Oprah, but still pretty good.
Sylvie Wang is a writer, comediënne, and performer from New York who made the extremely unique decision to move to Los Angeles. Her writing has been featured in The New Yorker, Reductress, and Bust Magazine. She was an improviser on the Asian AF New York Super Team and performed regularly at UCB. She currently teaches improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade and is a recent recipient of the Groundlings SNL Diversity Scholarship.
Willie Macc is a comedian, actor, writer and viral content creator who first gained fame on BET’s College Hill: Virgin Island and has since become a familiar face in Hollywood, appearing in over 50 national commercials and popular shows like FX’s Snowfall and The Goldbergs. Known for his edgy and relatable comedy, Willie’s stand-up has been featured on TruTV’s LaffMobb LaffTracks and Revolt TV’s Funny AF, amassing over 45 million views online. He also co-hosts the podcast AfroNoodle, blending his unique perspective on fatherhood, culture, and everyday struggles with humor that resonates worldwide.