American Comedy Institute Student, Faculty, and Alumni News

Zach Woods plays Donald “Jared” Dunn on the HBO series Silicon Valley. Zach played Gabe Lewis on the hit NBC comedy The Office. He has appeared on numerous television shows including Veep, The Good Wife, and Arrested Development. His film credits include Spy, In the Loop, The Heat, and The Other Guys.

Michelle Buteau co-hosts VH1’s Big Morning Buzz Live with Nick Lachey. She played Private Robinson in Fox’s Enlisted. Michelle has performed stand-up on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, Totally Biased with W.Kamau Bell, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Lopez Tonight and Last Comic Standing. She has appeared in Key and Peele, @Midnight, and The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. Michelle is a regular on VH1’s Best Week Ever, MTV’s Walk of Shame, Oxygen Network’s Kiss and Tell, and was Jenny McCarthy’s sidekick on her late-night talk show Jenny.

Yannis Pappas (One Year Program Alum) recently appeared in his first Comedy Central Half Hour Special. He has been featured on Gotham Comedy Live, VH1's Best Week Ever and CBS. He is currently the co-anchor of Fusion Live, a one-hour news magazine program on Fusion Network. He hosts the sports-comedy series 2 Point Lead on AOL. He tours the world doing stand up comedy and is known for his immensely popular characters Mr. Panos and Maurica. Along with Director Jesse Scaturro, he is the co-founder of the comedy production company Ditch Films.

Jim Gaffigan is the star of The Jim Gaffigan Show airing on Wednesdays at 10pm on TV Land and Comedy Central on Thursdays at 8pm. Jim completed his third stand-up comedy special Obsessed and will be embarking on a new national tour this summer. His comedy book Dad is Fat spent 17 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list and was named Hudson Book of the Year. His next book, Food-A Love Story, will be released later this year.

Jessica Kirson is a national headliner who recently appeared on The Jim Gaffigan Show. She made her film debut in Nick Cannon’s Cliques with Jim Breuer and George Lopez. Jessica has appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The View, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, Last Call With Carson Daly, Celebrity Apprentice and Last Comic Standing. The MAC Association in New York City named her “Best Female Comic.”

Dana Eagle was a semi-finalist on NBC’s Last Comic Standing. She opens for Bill Maher and has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Comics Unleashed and Premium Blend. Her solo show Stones From Glass Houses was featured at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival.

Carmen Lynch and Esther Ku were both finalists on NBC’s Last Comic Standing.

1 Carmen Lynch made her stand-up debut on the Late Show with David Letterman and performed in Wanda Sykes’ show Herlarious on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network. She stars in the webseries Apartment C3.

Esther Ku is a regular on MTV’s Girl Code.

Craig Todaro (One Year Program Alum) performed in American Comedy Institute’s 25th Anniversary Show where he was selected by Gotham Comedy Club owner Chris Mazzilli to appear on Gotham Comedy Live. Craig is now a pro regular at Gotham Comedy Club and will appear in an upcoming episode of Gotham Comedy Live.

Michael Somerville made his late night debut on The Late Show with David Letterman. He has hosted shows for Nickelodeon, Encore, and Hallmark Channel and contributed to numerous publications from Time Magazine to Maxim. He appeared on NBC’s The Apprentice, Comedy Central, Bravo’s 100 Funniest Movies, History Channel and hosted Starz’s Stand Up or Shut Up, a miniseries about the ACI Stand Up Comedy Workshops. He headlines at Gotham Comedy Club and other major clubs across the country.

Tom Shillue starred in his own Comedy Central Special. He made his television stand-up debut on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and has toured with fellow ACI Alum Jim Gaffigan. Tom also sings with Jimmy Fallon's barbershop quartet "The Ragtime Gals" on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. As part of the Ragtime Gals he has sung with Justin Timberlake, Billy Joel, Kevin Spacey, Sting and Steve Carrell. Tom was a regular correspondent on The Daily Show.

David Baker is an international headliner who performs across the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. David has performed with many of today’s top comedians, including Chris Rock, Louis CK, Dave Chappelle, Aziz Ansari, Garry Shandling, Dave Attell, Jim Gaffigan, Tom Papa, Colin Quinn, and Jeffrey Ross.

Nick Cobb (One Year Program Alum) recently appeared on Inside Amy Schumer and had his late night debut on The Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He was featured in Time Out New York’s Joke of the Week. Nick has appeared on Live at Gotham and was a finalist on Last Comic Standing. He is a regular at Gotham Comedy Club.

Ben Rosenfield (ACI Board Member) plays Danny in the new Woody Allen film Irrational Man, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. He recently starred in the Off-Broadway play The Nether with Peter Friedman, Frank Wood, and Emmy winner Merritt Weaver. Ben played the role of Willie Thompson in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. His most recent film credits include A Most Violent Year starring Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain and Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo and Song One starring Academy Award winners Anne Hathaway and Mary Steenburgen. Ben played the title role Tim Buckley in the film Greetings From Tim Buckley. He co-starred with Carrie Mulligan in the Atlantic Theatre production of Through a Glass Darkly. Ben is featured in the PBS TV series Live from Lincoln Center in the production of Carousel with the New York Philharmonic.

2 Zinat Pirzadeh won Comedy Festival Sweden’s award for Female Comedian of the Year and has appeared in several Swedish films.

Gregory Korostishevsky plays Dmitri on the Netflix series Orange is the New Black. He has appeared in the film Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close with Academy Award winners Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. He has guest starred on White Collar and The Blacklist.

Aaron Karo is author of the new novel Galgorithm. He starred in the Comedy Central Special The Rest is History. The comedy album for The Rest is History reached number one on Amazon.com’s comedy bestseller list. He has developed sitcoms for 20th Century Fox, MTV, Warner Brothers, The CW, and CBS Paramount.

Rene Franco is a Mexican TV Show Host, journalist and actor. His show Es De Noche y ya Llegue has been running for over 5 years in Mexican television and broadcast all over the world by the popular El Canal De las Estrellas Network. He is currently leading a Mexican national tour of Mexico’s best stand-ups.

Mary Dimino recently released her book Scared Skinny No More!, based on her one-woman show Scared Skinny, which won the New York International Fringe Festival Best Solo Show Award. Mary is a winner of the MAC Award for Outstanding Female Comedian. She has appeared on The Chris Rock Show and The Graham Norton Effect. She also appears in national commercials for Dunkin’ Donuts, Chase and Nicorette Gum.

Andrew Ginsburg (One Year Program Alum) has released four comedy CDs- Eat the Yolk, Pumping Irony, Live at Gotham, and Dragonslayer. Eat the Yolk reached the top 10 on Itunes comedy album list. He is a headliner at Carolines on Broadway and has appeared in numerous Saturday Night Live sketches and digital shorts. He performed in American Comedy Institute’s 25th Anniversary Show.

Shabana Rehman’s (One Year Program Alum) one-person play, For Kingdom and Fatherland, co- written and directed by Stephen Rosenfield, has been performed in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Oslo. She is one of Norway’s leading comedians.

Julie Kottakis (One Year Program Alum) performed in the Ladies of Laughter Festival, the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival, and is a regular at the Comic Strip Live and Broadway Comedy Club. Julie won New York’s Funniest Lawyer and NYC’s Most Incredible Comedian competitions. She performed in American Comedy Institute’s 25th Anniversary Show. She performed her solo show Does This Dress Make Me Look Alone? in New York’s Fringe Festival.

Ted Greenberg (Faculty) is an Emmy Award winning former writer for The Late Show with David Letterman. He appeared on The View, selected by Barbara Walters as her favorite comedian. He is starring in the off-Broadway hit The Complete Performer, now in its 7th year at the Soho Playhouse, directed by Stephen Rosenfield.

3 Stephen Rosenfield (Director) is the co-writer and director of The Complete Performer, starring Ted Greenberg, now in its 7th year at the Soho Playhouse, For Kingdom and Fatherland featured in the New York International Fringe Festival, and American Radical which premiered at NJPAC (New Jersey Performing Arts Center). His recent TV appearances include Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing, Starz miniseries Standup or Shut Up, and England’s Good Food Channel show Choccywoccydoodah. He has recently been a guest artist at Lawrence University, Brigham Young University and Virginia Commonwealth University. Stephen was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST).

Federico Cyrulnik is on the creative team at Disney Channel (Latin America) and is the Director of the Disney series The U-Mix Show. He performed in Comedy Central Latin America’s special Comedy Central: Stand-up is Our Religion.

Carla Vasconcelos (One Year Program Alum) co-starred in the film Love Actually. She is a leading actress and comedian in Portugal where she appears in numerous television series and films.

Carl-Einar Hackner is a Swedish illusionist, actor, and comedian who has performed in Sweden, Germany, Austria, Spain, The UK, and Australia. He performed in the long-running variety show at Liseberg in Gothenburg. He starred as Robert in the TV series Herbert & Robert.

John O’Boyle (ACI Board Member) is a producer who is currently represented on Broadway with the Tony nominated Matilda the Musical and It Should’ve Been You starring Tyne Daly and directed by Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce. He is a Tony Award winner for Best Play for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.

Victor Verhaeghe played Ward Boss Fleming on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. He has also appeared on The Good Wife, Fringe, and Law & Order.

Elaine Marcos has appeared on Broadway in Annie, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, A Chorus Line, The Wedding Singer and Miss Saigon. Her show Super Gay Asian Cabaret will appear at the Hollywood Fringe Festival and the Academy for New Musical Theatre.

Sunda Croonquist is host of JLTV’s top rated variety and comedy talk show James and Sunda. She also appeared on Law & Order and Strong Medicine. She has been featured on Oprah’s OWN Network, Comics Unleashed, Comedy Central and The Today Show. She is performing on Direct TV’s upcoming Laugh Factory, Live!

Sofia Nino de Rivera starred in the TV show, You Should be Working at This Hour, in Mexico on TV Azteca. She is pioneering a comedy movement in Mexico City. Sofia has written and performed for MTV, Comedy Central and VH1. Her stand up was featured in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Joe Grossman was on the writing staff of The Late Show with David Letterman and appeared on the show as a performer.

4 Ethan Herschenfeld originated the roles of Aguirre and Hog Boy in the opera Brokeback Mountain, which premiered in Madrid. He played Pinky Rabinowitz on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. He was recently a guest star in HBO’s Girls and NBC’s Unforgettable.

Dave DeVito was named “Best Stand-Up” at the Los Angeles Comedy Festival. He is the founder and producer of Comedy Party USA now in its eighth year. Comedy Party USA is the longest running underground comedy show in New York City's West Village and was named the Best Comedy Workout Room by The Complete Performer's NYC Comedy Club Awards.

Joe Schiappa (Faculty) recently wrote for MTV's New Year’s Eve Special, Truth or Dare, Money from Strangers and Silent Library. He is also a winner of the Sierra Mist Creative Lab. Joe has developed shows that have gone Off Broadway, to the HBO Comedy Festival in Aspen and the Strip in Las Vegas. He also performs as one-half of the improv duo Nathan+Joe. He has worked with Steve Buschemi, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Louis CK for New York’s Inner Circle revue.

Johnny Watson has appeared on Saturday Night Live and Good Morning America. He headlines in comedy clubs throughout the United States and Canada. He’s the co-host of the radio show Watson ‘n Watson.

Rob Santos (One Year Program Alum) has appeared on Super Ego TV and the Stand-Up 360 Comedy Festival. He performed in American Comedy Institute’s 25th Anniversary Show.

Clayton Fletcher recently completed a tour in Australia. He has worked with comics David Alan Grier and Lewis Black. He hosts The Clayton Fletcher Show at New York Comedy Club and co- hosts a podcast on Broadway Comedy Club Radio.

Mara Altman’s (One Year Program Alum) first book, Thanks for Coming, was translated into three languages - German, Portuguese and Spanish- and was optioned by HBO. She has written four kindle singles- That’s What She Said, Bearded Lady, Sparkle, and Baby Steps. She has also written for New York Magazine, The New York Times, and First Things.

Robin Gelfenbein’s (One Year Program Alum) critically acclaimed solo show My Salvation Has a First Name (A Wienermobile Journey) premiered at the New York International Fringe Festival. She is host of the show Yums the Word at The Gallery at LPR in New York City. Robin has written jokes for Rosie O’Donnell. Her writing has been featured in Marie Claire, Huffington Post Comedy, The New York Times. She has appeared on Saturday Night Live, VH1’s Awesomely Badder Videos, and AMC’s Lisa Life Coach with Cheri O’Teri.

Drew Wininger (One Year Program Alum) is a frequent guest on the comedy talk show Keith and The Girl. He starred in his one-man show, Clinical Depression (the funny kind) at Under St. Marks Theatre in New York City.

Andrew Goffman is the author and star of the hit Off-Broadway Show, The Accidental Pervert, currently running in its 7th year at the 13th Street Repertory Company.

5 Greg Collett (One Year Program Alum) is the founder of Comedians-at-Law, a group of lawyers turned comedians. They launched the successful national comedy tour Lawmageddon.

Dan Nainan performed in the stand-up show The Maharajas of Comedy hosted by Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar. He has performed for President Obama.

Kate Redway starred in and co-authored the one-person play, American Radical, which premiered at NJPAC (New Jersey Performing Arts Center). The play was co-authored and directed by Stephen Rosenfield.

Katy Olson (One Year Program Alum) appeared on Starz’s, Stand Up or Shut Up, a miniseries about ACI Stand Up Comedy Workshops and can be heard on Comical Radio.

Tony Kelly appeared in the BBC America Sci Fi show Primeval. His debut comedy album PS, I Hate You was recently released. He stars in the webseries The Hurler.

Debora Rabbai (Faculty) is the Co-Artistic Director, Co-Producer, and performer in Broadway’s Next Hit Musical currently on national tour. She has appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and in a national commercial for Mastercard.

Becky Veduccio (Faculty) has appeared in the films Mona Lisa Smile and Maid in Manhattan. She won a Press Club award for her column Nuggets From a Mom With No Filter for the website Woman Around Town.

Kenny Neal Schultz is the writer, producer, and host of comedy short Pigs in a Blanket. He was featured in HIV Magazine.

Daniel Crow (One Year Program Alum) performed in American Comedy Institute’s 25th Anniversary Show where he was selected by Gotham Comedy Club owner Chris Mazzilli to appear on Gotham Comedy Live. Daniel is now a pro regular at Gotham Comedy Club.

Ana Carolina (One Year Program Alum) is an Argentinean comic who was featured in the first English-language comedy show performed in Buenos Aires.

Brad Szollose is an Award winning and internationally best-selling author of Liquid Leadership, a business/life coach, successful entrepreneur, and keynote speaker.

Fara Greenbaum’s (One Year Program Alum) solo shows How I Became An Astronaut and My New Weird Show have been presented by The Midtown International Theater Festival, Manhattan Repertory Theatre Festival, The Network One Act Festival and The Plus One Solo Show Festival.

Christi Chiello has been featured on The Tyra Banks Show and her standup show Get a Room was featured in Time Out New York. She has performed in the New York Comedy Festival, the Jersey City Comedy Festival and Boston’s Women in Comedy Festival.

6 Mike Motz (One Year Program Alum) is the first winner of the Hick Hop Radio Comedy Search. He appears in the hit Off-Broadway Show Simon Lovell’s Strange & Unusual Hobbies and co-hosts Jokes and Gender at Broadway Comedy Club.

Steven Fales’ album “Confessions of a Mormon Boy LIVE from London” has been released on iTunes and Amazon.com. The album is based on his critically acclaimed solo play, Confessions of a Mormon Boy for which he received the New York Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance.

Megan McCormick (One Year Program Alum) is the host of the travel adventure series Globe Trekkar on PBS and the Discovery Channel’s Sea Nation.

Alex Bond (One Year Program Alum) Alex has appeared on Saturday Night Live and All My Children.

Lexi Cullen-Baker’s (Faculty) stand-up has been featured on ComedyTime TV and Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing.

Lou Stone Borenstein (One Year Program Alum) co-created and stars in the webseries Is This Thing On?

Paul Murdock (One Year Program Alum) is a regular at the Broadway Comedy Club and has opened for fellow One Year Program alumni Andrew Ginsburg at Carolines on Broadway. He co- created and stars in the webseries Is This Thing On?

Brad Zimmerman is touring in his one-person show, My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy. As a comic, Brad has opened for Joan Rivers and George Carlin.

Robert Broderick’s (One Year Program Alum) group, Abandoman, opened for Ed Sheeran. He performs on BBC radio with James Hancox as the duo Pic N Mixtape. He frequently performs in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Jessica Fletcher (One Year Program Alum) made her television debut on WE TV’s CinemaTherapy and is a regular at Broadway Comedy Club.

Herbert Ssegujja (One Year Program Alum) is a director of the Ugandan comedy group Fun Factory and started the first standup comedy workshop in Uganda.

Alison Grillo (One Year Program Alum) was featured in Time Out New York’s Joke of the Week and was profiled in The Advocate. She performs for colleges and universities and at clubs around NYC.

Danny Palmer (One Year Program Alum) is a regular at the Comic Strip Live and recently headlined at Carolines on Broadway as part of their Breakout Artist Comedy Series.

Chuck Marti played Fast Freddy in the film Rob the Mob with Andy Garcia and Ray Romano.

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SJ Lehoven performs in Kauai’s improv group Inspirates and recently debuted her radio play NOW Who Are You?

Jackie Maruschak has performed in plays in Los Angeles and New York. She performed in American Comedy Institute’s 25th Anniversary Show.

Kristi Donna Ng (One Year Program Alum) has appeared on the Wendy Williams Show. Her One Act play Chinese New Year Dinner had its world premiere at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre Summer One Act Festival. The play co-stars One Year Program alum Ann Ashton.

Raj Mahal (One Year Program Alum) Raj has been featured on MSNBC and CNN.

Lauren Chicklo opened for ACI One Year Program Alum Andrew Ginsberg at Carolines on Broadway and Don’t Tell Mama.

Mike Cupolo (One Year Program Alum) appears in the Off-Broadway hit The Complete Performer, now in its 7th year at the Soho Playhouse.

Michaelanthony (One Year Program Alum) was recently signed as an illustrator by Creative Circle. He is also a voiceover artist for the video game Contagion.

Gareth Jones is the writer and producer of Wotcha! Gotcha!, which premiered at the Burgdorff Center for the Performing Arts. He has appeared in plays in New York City.

Jacob Silver (One Year Program Alum) appeared in Eater.com’s webseries We Love Food. He regularly performs in clubs in New York City.

Jocelyn Chia won “New York’s Funniest Lawyer” competition and appeared in CNBC.

Please stay in touch with us about your recent accomplishments so we can help you promote them!

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