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After serving 5 years in the JROTC, Sahib Singh has not only proven himself on the battlegrounds, but also on the stage. The rising star from the Baltimore/D.C. stand-up scene has performed at clubs and colleges across the country, and in 2019, he won the Magooby’s New Comedian of the Year competition. His original videos have earned him a strong following on social media, and in 2021 he worked as a writer and performer for Comedy Central. His work has been featured on the CBS Comedy Showcase and the digital series AS SEEN ON ADULT SWIM.

Featuring both professional comedians from the midwest's best Comedy scene right here in Bloomington as well as brand new folks trying out their 5 minutes for the first time- you never know what you're going to get or who you'll see!

LUCAS ZELNICK is a stand-up comedian born, raised, and based in New York City, who challenges his cushy upbringing through punch-heavy material. Lucas’s stand-up clips have exploded online, where he has received over 100M views and 500K+ followers across Instagram and TikTok. In 2022, Lucas established a strong baseline for himself as a touring comedian, selling out 8 shows at Zanies Chicago. That same year, he appeared in SF Sketchfest and as a guest on Amazon Prime Video’s Sports Talk. 2023 was a breakout year for Lucas: he headlined the New York Comedy Festival, taped a secret set with Don't Tell Comedy, and taped his Comedy Central debut for Season 14 of Comedy Central Stand-Up Featuring. For no particular reason, he also holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Chris Trani is a high energy comic from Chicago whose loose improvisational style and infectious energy have made him a regular at Zanies, The Funny Bone & The Laugh Factory. Chris is the house emcee at The House of Blues where you can catch him every Thursday night in Chicago. He’s also shared the stage with legends such as Roy Wood Jr. of The Daily Show and Ken Flores. Chris integrates all forms of comedy into his act: stand-up, storytelling, crowd work, one-liners; and if need be, can do it all in Spanish (kinda!).

Patton Oswalt continues to leave his distinctive imprint across all areas of entertainment, from his award-winning comedy specials to his many guest roles on television. His most recent comedy special We All Scream (which also marked his directorial debut) launched on Netflix last September and Oswalt was recently nominated for a Grammy for his comedy album. Last year, he starred in the Magnolia Pictures comedy I Love My Dad, winner of the Grand Jury and Audience awards at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival.

Oswalt was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for his performance in Jason Reitman’s film Young Adult, starring opposite Charlize Theron. In 2009, he also received critical acclaim for his performance in Robert Siegel’s Big Fan; the film was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and Oswalt earned a Gotham Award nomination for his performance.

Oswalt has appeared in many films, including The Circle, alongside Tom Hanks, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Zoolander, both directed by Ben Stiller, Steven Soderbergh’s The Informant with Matt Damon, and alongside Seth Rogen in Jody Hill’s Observe and Report, as well as Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia and Todd Phillips’ Starsky and Hutch.

Oswalt’s past television work includes memorable roles on Parks and Recreation, which brought him a TV Critics Choice Award, A.P. Bio, Veep, United States of Tara, Seinfeld (his TV acting debut), and many more. He is also very well known for playing ‘Spence’ on The King of Queens for nine seasons. Oswalt is also the narrator on ABC’s hit comedy The Goldbergs. He provided the voice for ‘Remy’ the rat in Pixar’s Oscar® winner Ratatouille, and his other voice credits include ‘Max’ in The Secret Life of Pets 2, Sorry To Bother You, the SYFY series Happy!, Rick and Morty, Archer, and BoJack Horseman.

In 2020, Oswalt’s Emmy nominated Netflix special I Love Everything was widely applauded upon release, and he received a Grammy nomination for his comedy album of the same name. In 2017, he received Grammy and Emmy nominations for his album and Netflix special Annihilation, which addresses his own devastating loss and dealing with the unexplainable, while making it all painfully funny. In 2016, he won the Emmy for 'Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special’ for his sixth comedy special Talking for Clapping and a Grammy Award in 2017 for his comedy album. He has been nominated for a total of six Grammys and four Emmys. Oswalt has shot eight TV specials and released seven critically acclaimed albums -- in 2009, Patton received his first Grammy nomination for his album My Weakness Is Strong.

Four comedians with four different viewpoints bridge the generation gaps for one hilarious night! Featuring Gen Z’er Erin Depke (Limestone Comedy Festival, Funny 501 Festival), Millennial Dwight Simmons (Kevin Hart’s LOLNetwork, Bob and Tom), Gen X’s Mat Alano-Martin (NPR, Hulu) and Boomer Jan Gudaitis (LaughFest, Limestone Comedy Festival).

Kelly is a standup comedian, writer, and storyteller who began her career in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has since become a beloved fixture on the national comedy scene. She has been featured on Sirius XM, NPR, and has a DryBar Comedy Special called I made you this. Her clips have gained millions of views on social media.

She was also a finalist on CMT’s Next Big Comic and toured with "The Nobodies of Comedy," a hand-picked roster of some of the best unknown comedic talent in the country. In 2020, she was named Cincinnati Citybeat’s Best Comedian, and in 2022, she became the first standup comedian ever to be an Artist In Residence at Acadia National Park, making history in the National Parks.

Kelly’s festival credits are extensive, having performed at the prestigious Limestone Comedy Festival, San Francisco Sketchfest, Laughing Skull Comedy Festival, Gilda’s Laughfest (Best of the Midwest showcase), and The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. She also performed at the Big Sky Comedy Festival, one of the top festivals in the industry. Kelly headlined the Super Dope Comedy Festival in 2019 and returned to headline the Limestone Comedy Festival in 2023.

With DEVIANT ACTS, Jeff Greenspan weaves together hilarious stories from viral pranks aimed at corporate criminals, privacy invaders, hipsters, and other cultural catastrophes, with standup lampooning pop culture and media from an insider’s perspective
Before becoming a comedian, Jeff served as BuzzFeed’s first Chief Creative Officer and worked closely with Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook. 
A media professional by day, he turned media prankster by night, orchestrating some of New York City’s (and the Internet’s) most humorous and daring stunts. His mischief often hijacked the news cycle and went viral on social media.

DEVIANT ACTS mixes standup and video with a behind-the-scenes tour of iconic stunts like NYC’s “Tourist Lanes,” praised by the city’s mayor and dubbed ‘brilliant’ by New York Magazine, as well as the “Snowden Statue,” exhibited at the prestigious Brooklyn Museum and featured by Rachel Maddow.

ABOUT JEFF GREENSPAN
Jeff Greenspan is a native New Yorker now living in Chattanooga. 
After stints at Facebook, BuzzFeed, and numerous ad agencies, Jeff transitioned to standup comedy. Before moving to the South, he regularly appeared at New York’s Gotham Comedy Club and Stand-Up New York.

His sharp wit and unique perspective earned him a Netflix appearance, a writing gig with Michael Moore, and spots at the Limestone, Red Clay, and Portland Queer Comedy festivals.

Naomi Karavani is a comedian and writer based in New York City who’s known for her sardonic wit and captivating stories. Her debut album "Firecracker" produced by Comedy Records can be heard on SiriusXM. She was a writer and cast member of the political satire show Redacted Tonight for five years. Her hour-long solo show “Dominant” at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival received rave reviews. In New York City she regularly performs at the Comedy Cellar, The Stand, New York Comedy Club and Union Hall. She’s also participated in Brooklyn Comedy Fest, NY Comedy Fest, Limestone Fest, Edinburgh Fringe Fest, Asheville, Cape Fear, Women in Comedy, and Bentzen Ball. She’s appeared on Comedy Central’s Night Out, NPR, Huffington Post, Las Culturistas, and Time Out NY.

Salma Zaky is a stand-up comedian and writer based in New York City. Originally from the Bay Area, Salma Zaky moved to Los Angeles to attend college, where she began her comedy journey. She recently released stand-up specials with OFTV and Don't Tell Comedy, and was named a "Comic to Watch" at the 2023 New York Comedy Festival. You can catch her featuring at festivals and headlining comedy clubs across the country.

Jimmy Pardo, called “The fastest mind in comedy,” is a seasoned stand-up comedian and host of the award-winning podcast Never Not Funny. In addition to being featured on such seminal shows as The Tonight Show, Conan, The Late Late Show, and his own half-hour special on Comedy Central, Jimmy is also known as a podcasting pioneer for being one of the first comedians to start one in 2006.

A lifelong dream of hosting a radio show similar to the ones he listened to while growing up in the Chicago suburbs is the inspiration behind his success as a host of his podcast Never Not Funny and hosting such TV shows as Science Channel’s critically acclaimed “Race To Escape“, National Lampoon’s “Funny Money” for Game Show Network, five seasons of AMC’s “Movies at Our House,” and episodes of NBC’s Late Friday, VH1’s “The Surreal Life” and “The Playboy Morning Show.”

Pardo’s love for music (he has attended close to 500 rock concerts) and many years in the music business come in handy for his web series Jimmy’s Records & Tapes, currently in its fourth season on YouTube.

Renowned for his quick-witted, improvisational style, Pardo uses his material as the jumping-off point of his act, with the ultimate goal being to have a conversation with the audience. This makes his performances a whirlwind of crowd work, top-of-the-head references, stories, and asides, making each show a one-of-one, inimitable experience – which can be heard in his three comedy albums: Uno, Pompous Clown and Sprezzatura, which landed on many year-end ‘best of” lists.

Currently, Pardo continues to host the Never Not Funny podcast and Jimmy’s Records & Tapes from the cozy confines of his Sherman Oaks studio. When he’s not in the studio, you can catch him at one of his road gigs, and or in and around Los Angeles.

“[Jimmy] may be the funniest man averse to jokes. He doesn’t write them; he rarely tells them. And that translates as hilarious to audiences. Call him the crowd whisperer.” 

– LA TIMES

Tom Thakkar is a comedian you’ve seen on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon," “Comedy Central’s Stand Up Presents,” “This Week at the Comedy Cellar,” “CONAN,” and as the host of Comedy Central’s “Stand Up with Tom Thakkar.” He spent the first half of 2020 writing sketches and jokes for SyFy’s “The Movie Show,” and before that he was the co-host of “You Up with Nikki Glaser” on SiriusXM. Currently, he hosts the podcast “Stand By Your Band,” and when the world isn’t shut down by a pandemic, he does stand up all around country and all around New York as a regular at The Comedy Cellar, Caroline’s on Broadway, New York Comedy Club, Stand Up New York, and more. Other credits include: Just For Laughs, Doug Loves Movies, This Might Help with Matt Braunger, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, The Stand Up Show with Jon Dore, and First Nations Comedy Experience.

"Gabriel Rutledge is a quick thinking, fast talking, hard working badass." - Louisville Weekly

A past winner of both the Seattle International Comedy Competition and The Laughing Skull Comedy Festival in Atlanta, Gabriel has made numerous television appearances including Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, Nickelodeon's Nickmom Night Out, Laughs on FOX, and Inside Joke streaming on Amazon Prime Video. His Dry Bar Comedy special “A Third of the Room,” as well as his YouTube special “Nectarine” have garnered millions of views online. 

He is also the author of the book "Happiness Isn't Funny: True Stories of a Road Comic.”

Kamau returns to the stand-up stage, full of questions, thoughts, and a heavy dollop of silliness in these hectic times. He’s pretty sure the only way we make it through all of this is if we face it together. So Kamau wants to know: Who’s With Me?

W. Kamau Bell is a stand-up comedian, filmmaker, husband, and dad. For seven seasons, he was the host and executive producer of the five-time Emmy Award-winning CNN Original Series United Shades of America. In 2023 Kamau won an Emmy for his HBO documentary 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed. He also won a Peabody Award for his 2022 Showtime docu-series We Need to Talk About Cosby. He is the co-author of the New York Times bestselling book Do the Work: An Antiracist Activity Book and the author of The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6' 4", African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama’s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. In March of 2025, Kamau will have a chapter in bestselling author Michael Lewis’ new book Who is Government? It is based on Kamau’s Washington Post article and short documentary, The Rookie. Kamau’s last comedy special, Private School Negro, is available on Netflix. Kamau is on the board of directors for DonorsChoose, a nonprofit that helps teachers raise money for class projects, and Live Free, a nonprofit dedicated to ending gun violence, mass incarceration, and mass criminalization. Kamau is also the ACLU’s Artist Ambassador for Racial Justice and hosts the ACLU podcast "At Liberty.” In 2023, Kamau and his wife Melissa Hudson Bell co-founded Who Knows Best Productions, a media production company based in Oakland, CA. He cares too much and sleeps too little.