The five finalists from this past season's Last Comic Standing series on NBC perform at Mayo Performing Arts Center on Sunday, October 18 at 8 pm. Tickets are $29-69.
Schedule to perform are Season 9 champion Clayton English, and finalists Ian Bagg, Dominique, Clayton English, Andy Erickson and Michael Palscak.
Clayton English:
Clayton English is best known for his roles as Peanut on Tyler Perry's House of Payne as well as Terrence from the film The Preacher's Kid and Johnathan in Five Days in the A. English started making waves in the comedy business with his stand out performances on BET's Hell Date and TV ONE's Bill Bellamy's Who's Got Jokes. His talent is not limited to the big and small screen. His stand-up routine has taken him from Atlanta to London. His performance's are not to be missed he is truly one of the rising new faces in comedy.
Clayton is from Atlanta where his friends know him as the "Prime Minister of Atlantsterdam." Most recently Clayton has been touring with the UniverSoul Circus as their Ringmaster!
Ian Bagg
Ian Bagg started his comedy career in his native country, Canada. He proceeded to do all the show business things that every successful Canadian entertainer does. He went to a "Hockey Night in Canada" game on a Saturday night, performed at the "Montreal Comedy Festival," kissed a fish in New Foundland and a "Comedy Now" special on CTV. So what does a Canadian do when he has done it all? He boards a train to New York City, lives in a youth hostel and ends up on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "The Late Late show with Craig Ferguson" and "Tonight Show with Jay Leno." It is not always fun and games. He was forced to do "Make Me Laugh," "Showcase Comics with Louie Anderson," "Fridays" on NBC and the "Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn." Bagg has acted in Tim Robbins' "The Cradle will Rock," "MVP 2," and "MXP". While working red carpet interviews, Ian has pissed off Brad Pitt, been hit with a champagne bottle and asked for chocolate covered pretzels by Alec Baldwin. You probably wonder what kind of man does this and without imploding? The answer is a man whose dog survived a three- story fall and who's been known to think he is twelve-but may actually be twenty-nine or seventy-two.
Dominique:
What is there to know about
Dominique Witten? Well, if you're interested in high-powered comedy, everything. From headlining comedy clubs, to showing-out on television,
Dominique is the new face of funny in America. She's created laughs on stages all across the world, including HBO's Def Comedy Jam, Comedy Central's "Chappelle's Show," O.W.N.'s "Herlarious" and the hit television series "Black Jesus," now airing on Adult Swim. As a Washington D.C. native,
Dominique honed her skills unprofessionally as a postal worker at the infamous Brentwood Postal facility. As a mail sorter and resident comic,
Dominique kept the night-shift alert, and amused while perfecting jokes. At the urging of coworkers and relatives,
Dominique sought stand-up work at local comedy clubs, which came pretty easily after a few performances.
Dominique attracted diverse audiences with a mixture of political and cultural comedy that made audiences think, and laugh.
Andy Erikson:
Andy Erikson's love of squirrels and unicorns is only surpassed by her love of performing standup comedy. She intertwines silly one liners with whimsical stories in a playful but thought provoking way. In 2009 Andy won the Aspen Rooftop College Comedy Festival and that same year she was a semi-finalist for the Andy Kaufman Award. In 2010 she took first place in the Funniest Person with a Day Job contest, AND the Duluth's funniest person competition. In 2013 Andy was a finalist in the Great America Comedy Festival and in 2014 she performed in the prestigious Bridgetown Comedy Festival. Her favorite thing about comedy is making friends.
Michael Palascak:
In a lot of ways, he represents the ideal antidote to the sort of unbridled cynicism that pervades much of contemporary stand-up...(He) helps us to remember the escapist value of comedy," writes Drew Hunt, Chicago Reader about the naturally funny stand-up comedian from the Midwest-- Michael Palascak. From his everyday experiences to childhood memories, Palascak conveys his stories innocently with a sarcastic edge. Marah Eakin, A.V. Club, calls Michael "A stand-up guy...He's nice, charming." He has officially done stand-up on NBC, TBS, CBS, Comedy Central, Fox, the radio, and the Internet. He has unofficially done stand-up to strangers at the airport. Most recently Michael has been seen on Conan and Season 9 of Last Comic Standing. Last year Rooftop Comedy released Michael's debut comedy album Job Opening to the digital and audio world. It can be found on iTunes, Pandora, and Michael's iPhone.
Mayo Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, presents a wide range of programs that entertain, enrich, and educate the diverse population of the region and enhance the economic vitality of Northern New Jersey. The 2015-2016 season is made possible, in part, by a grant the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as support received from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, F.M. Kirby Foundation and numerous corporations, foundations and individuals. The Mayo Performing Arts Center has been designated a Major Presenting Organization by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.