Week One Line-up
Ali Majed Aldhalimi (San Diego, CA)
Ali Majed Aldhalimi is an comedian, actor and a performance poet. Born in Iraq, Ali and his family fled persecution and were displaced from their home. They became refugees and were forced to live in a desert refugee camp in the Middle East. After nearly three years, they were granted asylum to the United States. Ali grew up in Detroit, MI thereafter. With such a unique experience, Ali has the ability to move through different mediums to bring his art to life. He dives into a variety of characters and experiences seamlessly. His comedy stems from his autobiographical, observational and sociopolitical experiences, culminating into a cerebral take on art. His ultimate goal is to unite the audience and humanize what they see as inhuman through a variety of medians.
Alyssa Cowan (Sacramento, CA)
Alyssa Cowan is the whimsical personification of a cartoon bro tank. She’s performed in festivals, clubs and music venues across the country, including the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. She watches way too much professional wrestling and hosts a weekly podcast called Letter Talk, where she writes heartfelt, irreverent letters and postcards to businesses, public figures, strangers and friends.
Anthony Desamito (Phoenix, AZ)
Anthony Desamito is an up-and-coming stand up comedian, actor and writer living in Los Angeles. Anthony grew up in Mexico and Arizona and draws from his experiences as a gay Latino growing up in two countries to develop his point of view. He has appeared on The CW’s Discontinued, FOX’s Laughs and Out On Stage on Amazon Prime and took some time off of Grindr to write this.
Drew Harmon (San Francisco, CA)
Drew Harmon is a comedian and former TV weatherman who began his standup career in MIchigan before moving to San Francisco. Drew has performed all over America and worked with comics like Nicole Byer, Steve Byrne, Dov Davidoff and Jimmy Pardo, and Drew created the show “I Think I’d Be Good At That” which features a person who has never done standup headlining a comedy show. The show has been featured in festivals, and sold out venues around Calfornia.
Anthony K (Modesto, CA)
Anthony K is a comedian from Ceres, CA. Charming and acerbic, this ten year veteran is at the top of his story telling prowess. He spins highly pesonal stories, ranging from being raised by a single mother, to the pitfalls of growing up in a small California town with an engaging manner and slick wordplay. He has opened for comedians such as Big Jay Oakerson, Cristela Alonzo, Frankie Quinones and Damon Wayans Jr. He was a finalist at the Big Sky Comedy Festival, a semi-finalist in the San Francisco Comedy Competition, as well as a featured performer at SF Sketchfest, SLO Comedy Festival, Skankfest and, most recently, Comedy Central’s Clusterfest.
Yasmin Jade Kassim (Los Angeles, CA)
Yasmin Jade Kassim is an Indian/Malay/Australian actress, writer and comedian currently residing in Los Angeles. Most recently Yasmin was a performer in the CBS Comedy Diversity Showcase. Yasmin’s other acting credits include ‘Jungle’ opposite Daniel Radcliffe and popular Australian soap opera ‘Neighbours’. Yasmin can be seen performing stand up at ‘The Laugh Factory’, ‘Comedy Store’ and various festivals around the US.
Veronica Kwiatkowski (Los Angeles, CA)
Veronica Kwiatkowski is a writer and stand-up comedian based in Los Angeles, CA. A native of San Diego, she performs all throughout Southern California and hosts a monthly show, Funny AF, in Santa Monica. Veronica’s comedy is a unique blend of wit, sarcasm, and depravity, weaving together quick one-liners with punchy stories about her life, family, and the many hours she spends sitting at a desk job in Corporate America.
Frankie Marcos (San Jose, CA)
Frankie Marcos is from East San Jose, CA and now lives in the luxurious “murder dubs” in East Oakland. Frankie has worked with Michael Che, Nicole Byer, Bobby Lee, Chris Kattan, Guy Torry, Tony Baker, Tony Roberts, and more. In 2017 he was the runner up for the annual Rooster T Feathers Comedy Competition out of 100 Bay Area comedians. He’s performed at comedy clubs across the country including the Improv in San Jose as well as Tempe AZ, Punchline in San Francisco and Sacramento, the Comic Strip in New York, Comedy Underground Seattle WA, Haha Club in Hollywood and more.
Jim McVeigh (San Francisco, CA)
Jim McVeigh is a comedian based in San Francisco. Jim’s comedy stems from feeling like an alien in most parts of life. He’s been described as having both dorky-dad, and cool-mom energy on stage. His act is vulnerable and silly, as he tries to process the world happening at him. Jim has performed at the San Francisco Comic Con, and The Savage Henry Comedy Festival.
Isaac Novak (Seattle, WA)
Isaac Novak is a standup comedian from Seattle, Washington. He has performed at Bumbershoot and The Burbank Comedy Festival, and is the producer of The Central Comedy Show, Seattle’s flagship alt-comedy showcase. By day (and some late nights), he’s an illustrator and Buffalo wing aficionado.
Robert Omoto (Sacramento, CA)
Robert Omoto is a somewhat small, very loud, Filipino and Japanese man from Sacramento. He recently had his first baby boy, to whom he voices his random tangents based on paranoia and over-analyzation to. He has recently opened for Sarah Tiana, Will Durst, Joey Medina, and Mike Epps. He’s also performed for the U.S. Navy on San Nicholas Island, the World Series of Comedy, and at the San Luis Obispo Comedy Festival.
Brittany Ross (Los Angeles, CA)
Aside from the Choco Krispies commercial that not only starred a 5-year-old Brittany, but probably changed ALL of your lives, Brittany Ross has also played Courtney on ABC’s “The Middle” and is playing Heather in the Netflix show “Huge in France”. She can also be seen in ABC’s “The Rookie”, and Netflix’s “Like Father”. If she wins this competition, she plans donate the money to the judges. That’s how it works right?
Neeraj Srinivasan (Los Angeles, CA)
Neeraj Srinivasan is a first generation Indian-American comedian from Boise, ID now residing in Los Angeles, CA. Neeraj has performed in venues all over the West Coast in addition to being featured in IFC’s “Portlandia.”
Rob Stalkie (New York, NY)
Rob Stalkie is a Canadian comic living in New York City. He has been featured in the Melbourne Comedy Festival and the China International Comedy Festival. He performs in top clubs around NYC and tours extensively throughout the US and Canada.
Liz Stone (San Francisco, CA)
Liz Stone is known for her personal stories of life, love, and embarrassing moments. Based in SF, she is a regular at the SF Punch Line, Cobbs Comedy Club, The Laugh Factory, Rooster T Feathers, and Laughs Unlimited, and she has been seen in SF Sketchfest.
Pauline Yasuda (Los Angeles, CA)
Pauline Yasuda is an former elementary school teacher and swing dancer, born and bred in Los Angeles California. She won the title of California’s Funniest Female in 2013 and has toured colleges and clubs across the country. She has been a part of the Asheville Comedy Festival, Cleveland Comedy Festival, Burbank Comedy Festival, and the World Series of Comedy, just to name a few. You can see her on Season 1 of the Amazon Prime show, “Laugh After Dark.”