In addition to being a fan favorite on the hit NPR podcast Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Helen Hong has performed standup comedy on The Arsenio Hall Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, Gotham Comedy Live and Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen. She hosts the live trivia podcast Go Fact Yourself on the Maximum Fun Network. Helen was featured in the Coen Brothers’ film Inside Llewyn Davis, and is a recurring character in two series, The Thundermans on Nickelodeon and Blunt Talk on Starz. Helen has also guest starred on Jane the Virgin, Parks and Recreation, Pretty Little Liars, and Splitting Up Together. Helen’s sharp wit on current events have been featured on CNN, PBS, The Young Turks and The Stephanie Miller Show. A proud feminist and political progressive, her opinion videos on NowThis have surpassed 7.1 million views. Helen has performed for the troops in the Middle East and for international audiences in Asia, Europe and Latin America. She always wants to pet your dog and have a bite of your donut. DO NOT LET HER HAVE THE WHOLE DONUT

Grant Lyon is a comedian known for appearing on platforms such as Comedy Central, SyFy, Comics Unleashed, and Just For Laughs. His debut album, *Scheduled Fun Time*, reached #1 on the comedy charts, and his first Dry Bar Comedy special, *Silly Mustache Man*, premiered in 2025. During the pandemic, he began creating videos about his favorite board games, which led to him amassing hundreds of thousands of followers across his Grant’s Game Recs platforms, where he shares short, entertaining videos daily. In addition to his online presence, Grant has an hour-long stand-up comedy show focused on board games, which he takes to conventions and board game stores worldwide. He also writes humorous content for various games found in stores like Target and Walmart, including *Would You Rather*, *That’s What She Said*, and *Ghosted*. Furthermore, he has created two games of his own: *I'm Kind of a Big Dill* and *Curmudgeon*.

Jeffrey Baldinger discovered his love for comedy at a young age, admiring the likes of Rodney Dangerfield and Andy Kaufman. After moving to LA, Jeffrey used his quick wit and goofy attitude about life to become a favorite amongst crowds and fellow comedians alike. His stand-up is personally observational, using stories and experiences from his life to explore the realities of the world. He is bi-coastal, regularly performing at the clubs and venues in both Los Angeles and New York and everywhere in between.

David Feldman is an American comedy writer, stand-up comedian, and podcaster/radio host.

Matt is a writer/comedian/musician trapped in the body of a slightly less attractive writer/comedian/musician.

Originally from Ohio, JAMES MYERS began his comedy career in 2012 at the flagship Funny Bone Comedy Club in Columbus where he was a three-time finalist in the club’s Funniest Comic contest. Bookers noticed and MYERS began MC work at Funny Bones all over the midwest. Since moving to New York City a little over two years ago, MYERS has already earned a reputation for himself in the highly competitive East Coast comedy scene. MYERS quickly became a regular at New York Comedy Club, Dangerfield’s Comedy Club, the nationwide chain of Funny Bone/Improv Comedy Clubs, and won the 2015 Hoboken Comedy Festival, beating out 45 contestants and over 300 applicants. If you haven’t seen JAMES MYERS at your local comedy club, you’ve most certainly seen one of his jokes online. As one of the most upvoted comedians on Reddit, his StandUpShots have garnered over 30 million views on the website alone and millions more as they have been shared by respected comedy websites like College Humor, The Chive, and eBaum’s World as well as popular Facebook pages like The Tasteless Gentleman, George Takai, and Cheezburger. Additionally, MYERS was named ComedyFilter’s Comic of the Month for December 2015 and most recently was selected to compete in the 2016 Devil Cup Comedy Festival.

Mike Cross is a Cleveland native who somehow survived being the youngest of 9 kids. Mike fuses personal stories, from being in the Navy at a young age to spending nights in jail, in a unique yet relatable style. In 2016, Mike made his television debut on Gotham Comedy Live and you can catch him performing all over New York City.

Born in California, award-winning comedian Turner Sparks started his comedy career in 2009 in Suzhou, China by founding mainland China's first stand up comedy club, Kung Fu Komedy.  Sparks lived in China from 2004-2016 while he built and created New York’s successful Mister Softee Ice Cream Truck business in the region, the first foreign-owned ice cream truck in China. Now a worldwide performer and a headliner across Asia, Sparks has performed in 15 countries and continues to draw rave reviews with his razor sharp punch lines, quick wit and cross-cultural appeal. Turner Sparks is the host of the “Lost in America” Podcast on Itunes and has recently appeared on “Kennedy” on Fox Business and China Central Television America. Sparks is a two-time finalist in the Hong Kong Comedy Competition and has beenawarded “Best of the Fest” at both the 2016 Burbank Comedy Festival and 2014 Akumal (Mexico) Comedy Festival presented by Stand Up Records.

Gus Tate is a rising star in the New York comedy scene, known for his understated delivery, unexpected punchlines, and uncommon background: he’s a native Kentuckian who started his stand-up career in China. As a father to an ungovernable 7-year-old girl, Gus’s comedy appeals to tired men and insane women of all ages. In 2026 he was named a New Face at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, and this fall you can catch him on the new season of “Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen” on CBS, or watch his two specials, “Top Gus” and “Two Wrongs” on YouTube.

Originally hailing from a small village in Ohio, Joe Schaefer found himself afflicted at an early age with an insatiable hunger for all things East Asia. This fascination led him to China, where he spent 12 years studying, working, and performing. He now lives in New York. Joe does both stand up and improv, and is co-founder of Kung Fu Komedy, Mainland China's first full-time comedy club. He has written for TV, print, and the internet, including his own comedy segment, Joking With Joe on International Channel Shanghai. He also wrote and starred in some of the most popular sketches on Mamahuhu.

Zach's been doing comedy for over 8 years in NYC and a little bit in LA. He's been on TV for a few one line parts but nothing crazy. He used to be a warm up comic for a show that only stay at home moms and people in nursing homes had time to watch, which is why it got cancelled. Now you can catch him all around New York and all over the country if you like comedy shows in VFW halls and fill-in entertainment at corporate retreats.

Merrill's comedy brings a sense of silly wisdom, sideways perspective, and self-effacing dark charm to the stage. She has been featured in Another Period on Comedy Central, Henry Phillip's Punching Henry and Hulu's Coming to the Stage. She is the producer and one of the hosts of Witch Hunt comedy show in LA and NY. She's been featured in LA Weekly's "Make Us Laugh Funny Girl" and is a regular at the Hollywood Improv. She has opened for Jamie Lee (MTV's Girl Code, Conan), Debra DiGiovanni (JFL, Showtime) and Jon Dore (Conan) at The American Comedy Co. in San Diego. She performs all over the country and is really looking forward to making her parents proud someday.

Wanjiko Eke is an up and coming comedian in NYC. She's performs every night in the city as well as comedy festivals and colleges across the country.

Sonya Vai is an international stand-up comedian. This summer, she had a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and performed in London at the Top Secret Comedy Club. She performs regularly in her home base, NYC, in venues such as New York Comedy Club, Greenwich Village Comedy Club, The Stand, and Gotham Comedy Club, among others. IG/TikTok: @sonyavaicomedy; FB/X: @sonyavai

Ankara has been entertaining people with her quick wit and charismatic personality her entire life. She decided to translate her gift for performing it into a career devoted to the arts by moving from Florida to New York City in 2006 and enrolling at the New York Film Academy for the 1 year intensive acting program. After gaining knowledge and experience from multiple facets of the craft, she was drawn into a comedic direction and took classes at Upright Citizens Brigade to dive more into the improvisation world where she felt most comfortable. Since Ankara has been creating laughter all her life, she has taken a leap into the Stand Up Comedy world hitting clubs all around New York City to further her love for laughter and performance. Ankara will continue to work in the entertainment industry where she can work with fellow performers who want to create laughter together.

Dillon Stevenson is a comedian, improv performer and comedy writer from New York City. He’s performed stand-up at Broadway Comedy Club, Gotham Comedy Club and other venues in NYC. He’s also hosted shows, events and parties in and around the city. A student of UCB, Dillon performs improv at several top venues in NYC. As a co-founder of the comedy group G.R.I.T.S. he’s written, directed and performed in sketch shows off-Broadway and throughout New York. Dillon also writes and contributes for SlantNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @theDiLLon1

Cerrome Russell - born and raised in Sumter County, GA - started his comedy career 10 years ago while serving in the United States Marine Corps. He was first exposed to a broader audience as a cast member on the 2nd Season of BET’s popular prank show Hell Date. He has traveled extensively, performing at college campuses and military installations worldwide, as well as opening for Hannibal Burress. Cerrome Russell’s comedy comes in many varieties, including Off-Center, Truthful, and of course, Country. Follow him on Twitter at @CerromeRussell

John Minus is a comedian, writer, and all-around great guy who lives and breathes his home state of New Jersey. From Race to Role-Playing games, John can speak intelligently (but not necessarily sanely) about several topics, and is known for being able to relate to any audience. John wants to re-invent the image of what a Suburban Comic can be. He’s performed at Broadway Comedy Club in the Stand-Up 360 festival, Comix at Foxwoods, and Greenwich Comedy Club among others. John also produces his own comedy show, the Non-Productive Comedy Show. Follow him on Twitter at @DonCoyote

Charles Gould is a comedian that lives in the Big Apple. If you recognize him he hopes it's because he has appeared on MTV (as a nerd), College Humor (as a nerd) and Law and Order (as a nerd blogger), but it's probably because he looks like a guy you went to camp with named Ethan (Jew). He was named a 2015 "Comic to Watch" by Comedy Central and performed as a finalist in the New York's Funniest as part of the New York Comedy Festival. If you're the best looking person in your family or group of friends, then you won't find him funny.

Tushar Singh was raised in Huntsville, Alabama with a strict Indian upbringing, a contradiction that set him up for years of awkwardness and an arsenal of stand-up comedy material. As a chubby kid and the only Indian in his grade in elementary school, Tushar recalls sticking out “like a big brown thumb.” Still, he tried hard to fit in and eventually made friends with both rednecks and other “Desis” in his community. It wasn’t until Tushar went to college that he began to question some of the contradictions he’d been raised with. Aspects of Indian culture like the caste system, arranged marriage, sexism, and corruption didn’t bode well with the progressive American ideology he’d come to embrace. These conflicts, as well as the death of his father, led Tushar to stand-up comedy, which he used to explore these issues on stage in a format he’s always been comfortable with: making people laugh.

Reggie Conquest hails from West Philadelphia where he started his comedy career at the legendary Laff House. Since moving to New York City in 2013, Reggie has featured in some of the city’s best bar shows and comedy clubs. His writing credits include Tru TV’s Impractical Jokers, and he’s performed his standup on Fuse TV as well as a number of comedy festivals.

I've been on the scene for about four years now. Done some real road work (as far as Tennessee) and colleges as well. I'm at the point where I'd like to be "seen" or at least "noticed" by the "industry." I'm constantly honing my act, and I'm inspired and humbled by the talent and dedication of my fellow NYC comedians.

Ryan has performed at a wide range of international comedy festivals, including the New York Comedy Festival, Brooklyn Comedy Festival, SF Sketchfest, NXNE, Limestone, Bentzen Ball, Laugh Your Asheville Off, Cape Fear, and the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival. He has opened for comics like Dave Attell, Pete Holmes, Wyatt Cenac, Dan Soder, Godfrey, Beth Stelling, Roy Wood, Jr., Michelle Wolf, Nate Bargatze, Tiffany Haddish, Sam Morril, Joe List, and Mark Normand at venues across the country. He has also made appearances on WNYC's "2 Dope Queens," the Nerdists's "Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction," "Gotham Comedy Live" on AXS TV, "Laughs" on Fox Network, "The Alyona Show" on Russia Today, and "The Stream" on Al Jazeera. Born and raised in Washington, DC, Ryan now lives in New York City where he regularly performs standup, sketch, and improv comedy.