BCF Contest: Prelim Round 1 Hosted by Myq Kaplan

BCF Contest: Prelim Round 1 Hosted by Myq Kaplan

May 16, 2023

7:00-8:30PM

City Winery - Haymarket

Join The Boston Comedy Festival at the Preliminary round of a nationwide stand-up competition. Forty-eight, bright-eyed comics from all over the country compete for $5,000 dollars in prize money. When it's over, there will be one comic standing with a nice little bag of money and a ton of bragging rights.

MYQ Kaplan Myq has appeared on the Tonight Show, Conan, Letterman, James Corden, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing, and America’s Got Talent. He has a one-hour standup special on Amazon, “Small, Dork, and Handsome,” and two podcasts, The Faucet and Broccoli and Ice Cream. His first album, “Vegan Mind Meld,” was one of iTunes’ top 10 comedy albums of the year, and his newest album, “A.K.A.,” debuted at #1. The NY Times called it “invigoratingly funny” and included it among its five “coronavirus best new comedy specials”… “to remind you of the old normal.” And now, here we are in the new weird!

Karen Morgan Karen Morgan was born and raised in Athens, Georgia but now calls Maine home. A former trial attorney, she began her professional comedy career as a Finalist on Nickelodeon Television’s “Search for the Funniest Mom in America.” Since then, she has performed in comedy clubs and theaters from New York to Hollywood. Karen's first Dry Bar Comedy Special has almost 7 million views on Facebook, and her second will be released in 2022. She can also be heard on Sirius XM Radio. Her TV appearances include comedy appearances as well as national ads for Wal-Mart and Zyrtec. Still licensed to practice law in Maine and Georgia, Karen’s humor brings laughter to many corporate events and fundraisers for charitable organizations. She lives in Cumberland, Maine and misses Waffle House very much.

Juan Nicolon JUAN IS A STAND UP COMEDIAN, WRITER AND OCCASIONAL NUDE MODEL. HIS COMEDY HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS: “LARRY DAVID MEETS SOFIA VERGARA” — SOMETHING JUAN TAKES AS A VERY BIG COMPLIMENT. You can see him yelling about soup all over New York city but more often than not at New York Comedy Club and Stand up NY. He is a long time writer and performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and a former on screen talent for FLAMA, Univision's bilingual digital platform where his viral videos were viewed over 20 million times. He has written for McSweeney's and his work has been featured in Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Latina Magazine, Time Out NY and The New Yorker. He is originally from Uruguay (the other Paraguay).

Brett Duggan Brett Duggan grew up a spastic kid from Boston who faked his way into being a college professor at LSU. Now that he has a wife, kids, and a job, he wants to risk all that by returning to his first love, stand-up comedy. His comedy tackles alcoholism, mental illness, brain trauma, dyslexia, and fatherhood, along with his unsolicited advice for solving the worlds pressing problems. Brett plays Clubs, Colleges, Casinos, Cruise-ships, and Corporate gigs all over the country. He has been seen acting on ABC and Netflix.

Edward Bell Edward Bell is a stand up comedian originally from rural eastern Iowa, now living in Colorado. He is a regular at the Comedy Works in Denver, CO. He has written for the Hard Times. He has been featured in the High Plains Comedy Festival. His sketch comedy group, Not Made for TV, has received positive accolades from 303 Magazine and made appearances at the Denver Fringe Festival and Madison Comedy Week. He used to live in a van, but now he doesn't. There were too many complaints.

Mo Mussa In his short time as a stand-up Mohad “Mo” Mussa has become a favorite in New England. Mo beat out over one hundred comedians to win the 2021 Funniest Comic in New England Contest and recently headlined the legendary Nicks Comedy Stop. He has opened for Michael Rapaport, Ari Shaffir and Eddie Pepitone. He has performed at the Rogue Island Comedy Festival, High Mud Comedy Festival, and the Connecticut Comedy Festival Audiences love Mo because of combination of high energy and crafty writing. He tells outrageous stories filled with hilarious punchlines. Fans love his unpredictable jokes, high-octane stage presence and dynamic voice. 

Janet McNamara Janet McNamara is a Boston-based comic who’s regaled audiences all over New England with her authentic conversational style and awkwardly charming energy. Janet won the 2014 BeanTown Comedy Riots and has been featured Women in Comedy Festival, Ashville Comedy Festival and Burbank Comedy Festival, and was a finalist in the Boston Comedy Festival. You might recognize Janet as being the 'Golden Idol’ winner for the the worst audition of American Idol season 10, an appearance that introduced a national audience to her joie de vivre and infectious energy. Janet doesn’t speak french.

Christopher Tabb Get ready and get set for a wild ride with one of our favorites Chris Tabb! Always a crowd pleaser whenever he takes the stage bringing good vibes and laughs. The fact that he wants to make your face hurt, draw tears and spit your drink out only makes him sound mean but in this case trust us, it's a good thing. Chris’ hilarious performances and huge stage presence have led him to appear on television shows such as NESN Comedy All Stars, BET’s ComicView and even The Food Network’s Cake Challenge. 

Jessica A Levin Jessica Levin is a North Jersey/Philly hybrid mix based in NYC. She performs across the country and is a paid regular at New York Comedy Club, Stand Up NY, and BK Comedy Club. She has been featured on HBO Max: Woodstock '99: Peace. Love.And Rage. 

Shanel Hughes Shanel Hughes is a hilarious and gorgeous human being who has perfomed and hosted at various venues all across the USA, and is a regular at Comedy Works Denver. She has opened for comedians such as Amy Miller, Ahmed Ahmed, T. Murph, Greg Morton and Mope Williams. Her comedy style can be described as an evening with your funny and super relatable best friend. Her warmth and contagious energy fills each room she enters. To the stage, she brings years of improv and acting skills. Shanel was a semi-finalist in the annual Comedy Works New Faces Competition during her first year, and has been accepted to perform in comedy festivals in states including Alaska (where she won Best of Fest), Colorado, Texas, New York, Ohio, Atlanta and Oregon. You can find all of her upcoming shows at shanelhughes.com.

Randy Valerio Randy is a LA-based comedian and podcaster originally hailing from Queens, NY. After going to Brown University and spending over a decade as an investment banker, Randy decided he was tired of paying his bills on time and jumped head-first into comedy. Randy’s style of comedy reflects his diverse upbringing in NYC by an immigrant father from the Dominican Republic and an Irish mother, his experiences as a single man in his 30’s, and the everyday absurdities we all take part in but never seem to notice. He got his start in the Boston comedy scene in 2016 and began taking his act on the road, featuring for Jeff Dye beginning in 2018, performing in over 35 cities across the country. Randy has also had the opportunity to open for such other comics as Donnell Rawlings, Chris Franjola and Dean Delray. Randy was selected performer at the Big Pine Comedy Festival (2022), The Idaho Comedy Fest (2021), and the Fringe World Festival - Australia (2020). He is also the host of the weekly Ready Set Blow podcast, which was included in the Boston Podfest in 2018. 

Cher Lynn Cher Lynn is a comedian, actress, and writer who has performed in the Boston Comedy Festival Finals, Burbank Comedy Festival, Cape Fear Comedy Festival, and Lady Laughs Comedy Festival. She was recently on the cover of Dig Boston. She has performed at L.A. Connection Comedy Theater in Los Angeles, and all over Boston and New England, at Nick’s Comedy Stop, Headliner’s Comedy Club, The Regent Theatre, Laugh Boston, The Comedy Studio, and Improv Boston. She enjoys using gallows humor to discuss dating struggles and participating in sober outreach shows nationwide.

Ali Mehedi Hello! I will start by saying that I am the funniest New York based Bangladeshi stand-up comedian who is also allergic to fabric softener. I checked. No one else is allergic to fabric softener. Since starting stand-up comedy about 6 years ago, I have been lucky enough to perform in many comedy clubs worldwide. I am a regular at Broadway Comedy Club and Greenwich Village Comedy Club in New York City. This year, I self-produced my first one-hour special called “Made in Bangladesh”. I was part of the 2022 New York Comedy Festival. I came third in the 2022 Last Comix Standing competition, and I was in the finals of 2021 Comedy Mob competition and 2021 World Series of Comedy. 

Neeraj Srinivasan Neeraj Srinivasan is a first-generation Indian-American comedian from Boise, ID now residing in Portland, OR. He has performed at venues all over the West Coast such as Helium Comedy Club, Revolution Hall, The Comedy Store, and The Hollywood Improv. Neeraj has appeared on ABC and IFC in addition to Treefort Music Festival, Rogue Island Comedy Festival, and The Riot Comedy Festival.

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