The Yes, And… Laughter Lab (YALL) – a competitive comedy incubation lab that sources, trains, and builds industry and social justice networks for leading and emerging diverse comedy writers and performers – announced 5 new members have been added to their Leadership Committee.
YALL’s Leadership Committee is comprised of leaders in entertainment and social justice who are dedicated to supporting diverse comedians and writers in their efforts to create impactful comedy. Committee members dedicate year round support to YALL and their community of creatives, from selecting fellows and finalists, to producing talent development programming and hosting YALL’s annual pitch showcases and festival, YALLfest.
The new members added to YALL’s Leadership Committee are Apatow Productions’ Josh Church, Netflix’s Brandon Norman, comedian and 2023 YALL Fellow Chike Robinson, writer and 2023 YALL Fellow Jill Twiss, and writer and 2020 YALL Fellow Sasha Stewart.
The new committee members join a group of 25 other producers, strategists, advocates, and artists who advise YALL. Returning members include producer Jose Acevedo, comedian and 2022 YALL Fellow Dylan Adler, Irony Point’s Alex Bach, Yes, And… Laughter Lab co-founder Caty Borum, Sundance Institute’s Jandiz Estrada Cardoso, Levity Entertainment’s Jennie Church-Cooper, Reform Media Group’s Deniese Davis, comedian and YALL 2019 Fellow Negin Farsad, comedian Chris Gethard, Yes, And… Laughter Lab’s Bethany Hall, cultural strategist Charlene Jimenez, Yes, And… Laughter Lab’s Clare Kenny, The Walt Disney Studios’ Kathy Le Backes, The League’s Kristen Marston, Pillars Fund’s Arij Mikati, director and 2020 YALL Fellow Fawzia Mirza, comedian and 2020 YALL Finalist Kenice Mobley, Yes, And… Laughter Lab co-founder Mik Moore, Color of Change’s Amity Paye, Yes, And… Laughter Lab’s Varsha Ramani, actor and 2021 YALL Fellow Ayman Samman, Comedy Central’s Erika Soto Lamb, Caring Across Generation’s Lydia Storie, development executive Christine Walters, and comedian Roy Wood Jr.
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YALL is currently accepting applications for the 2024 Fellowship Program. The YALL Fellowship is a program for writers and comedians who are creating comedy that can have a social commentary/impact. YALL’s Leadership Committee and Selection Committee will select 12 Fellows and 10 or more runners-up as Finalists.
YALL Fellows join a year-long incubator program that includes an intensive two-day training program, where they strengthen their projects and are trained in how to pitch to industry and non-traditional partners. Fellows are then invited to perform and pitch their work at YALLfest 2025 to entertainment leaders and social impact experts, curated for their specific projects. The Finalists will receive public recognition of their status as members of the YALL 2024-25 cohort and will receive invites to participate in year-round virtual trainings and other networking offerings from YALL, including the opportunity to submit to perform at YALLfest.
Co-created in 2019, and co-directed by the non-profit innovation lab and research center Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI) at American University and creative agency Moore+Associates, the Yes, And…Laughter Lab is designed to introduce diverse comedians to the entertainment industry, social justice organizations, philanthropists and activists who can help bring their work into the entertainment marketplace. The program has trained and continues to work with over 180 artists, a majority of which are people of color and women.
Yes, And… Laughter Lab’s partners include leaders in comedy and social change, including 3Arts Entertainment, A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment, Above Average, Artists First, BoomGen Studios, CAA Foundation, CAPE, Caring Across Generations, Color Creative, Color of Change, Comedy Central, Define American, GLAAD, GloNation, Harness, Imagine Artist Management, Irony Point, Key Rat Inc., Levity Entertainment, MGM, MPAC Hollywood Bureau, MuslimArc, National Lampoon, NBCUniversal, Netflix, The Opportunity Agenda, Paramount, Pillars Fund, Powderkeg Media, RespectAbility, Spotify, Starfish Accelerator, Topple Productions, TBS, truTV, Wise Entertainment, and WV Entertainment.
The Yes, And…Laughter Lab is funded by Comedy Central, Doris Duke Foundation, Luminate, MacArthur Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Pop Culture Collaborative, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
