Flappers Presents- Behind the Funny

After years of writing screenplays that were optioned but never made and ghostwriting jokes for others, Greg began stand-up. He's since made it to the semifi nals of the Boston Comedy Festival and the San Diego Comedy Festival. A Best of the Fest Showcasing Comedian at the 2019 & 2020 Burbank Comedy Festival, as well as at the 2020 Palm Springs Comedy Festival, Greg has been to the Main Event of the World Series of Comedy. Greg was in the April 1992 issue of Nintendo Power magazine (yes, Ken Griffey Jr. was on the cover. That's just how long ago it was). Additionally, he's the top name on the UCLA Extension Writers Program "Where Are They Now?" page (due to alphabetical order).

Mary Basmadjian is a stand-up comedian, actor, and producer based in Los Angeles. Her comedic work pokes holes and fun at topics rooted in intersectional identity, mental health, digital culture, and the Armenian immigrant experience in America. Growing up around funny accents and family melodramas in the 90s is what ultimately led Mary to adopt comedy as a second language. Because laughter has healing superpowers. Whether it's at yourself or at a joke, your world feels a little better after you do. Through her first-generation lens, Mary aims to create a space for honest, all-in laughter that inspires people to connect, communicate, and ultimately, love more freely. From the funny to the absurd, her unapologetic stand-up humor, rich character work, and satirical social commentary are a beloved fi xture in Los Angeles and the international community.

Paul Elia is an actor and comedian of Chaldean and Assyrian heritage, best known for his frequent roles as sketch characters on "Conan" with Conan O'Brien. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Paul started his career as a stand-in for Michael Imperioli on the show Detroit 187. After the show ended, he relocated to Los Angeles in 2010 and has made several guest appearances on television shows such as Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Mixology. As an actor, Paul has appeared in several films, including Dirty, starring Roger Guenveur Smith, Chaz Bono, and Tony Denison. Stage experience includes ovation-nominated plays such as The Interlopers and Dates and Nuts, both written by Gary Lennon. Paul began doing stand-up in 2010, right before moving to Los Angeles. His first show was at the MGM Casino in Detroit, Michigan, where he lied to the host for years about being a comedian to get stage time. After bombing in front of 2500 people and embarrassing his family, he decided to take it seriously and work on his act when he moved to Los Angeles. Since then, he has done stand-up all over the country, including tours and festivals in Detroit, Chicago, and the Middle East. He has opened for such comedians as Dana Carvey, Jason Stuart, and Chris Kattan. In 2024, his debut comedy special, Detroit Player, was released on YouTube.

Hans Sardo is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian and actor. He is well-known in the Southern California comedy scene for hosting New Joke City—a signature interactive show at the Astronaut City venue where comics hit the stage with fresh, untested material that emerges from audience suggestions. He has performed at Flappers Comedy Club and The Comedy Store, and is a regular host and producer of a monthly show at Flappers. He recently performed at New Joke City as part of the Netflix is a Joke comedy festival and has toured the country doing comedy for over a decade.

Eddie Pence is a comedian, actor, and podcaster. The Hollywood Reporter named Eddie Pence one of the Top New Faces of the Montreal Comedy Festival in 2004; he was also invited back to perform there again in 2006. In 2007, Eddie performed at the HBO Aspen Comedy Arts Festival and at HBO's The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas. In 2010, Eddie was a fi nalist in the Seattle International Comedy Competition. Eddie's latest one-hour special, "The (Un)Special Comedy Special," can currently be seen on Amazon Prime Video. He has made appearances on Comedy Central's "Live at Gotham", "Crossballs", "Last Comic Standing", "The Late Late Show", "History of the Joke", and "Surviving The Holidays w/ Lewis Black" on The History Channel. Other television appearances include AXS TV's "Gotham Live" and "Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen". Eddie was also a series regular on TruTV's "How to be a Grown Up," and currently, Eddie can be heard fi ve days a week co-hosting "The Ralph Report w/ Ralph Garman" on patreon.com as well as his weekly podcasts "The Ramble" and "Not Today…" A favorite of the World Famous Improv, Eddie can be seen at clubs and colleges across the country.

Once a midwesterner, Sam Salem is an LA-based comedian known best for fi tting in with the youth (read: making up Gen Z slang for his students). When Sam isn't headlining at clubs and theaters throughout the U.S., he's creating online videos featuring his uniquely laidback comedic voice, reaching more than 100 million views across platforms. As a result, his comedy has been featured on EllenTV, iHeartRadio, and in national commentary on SportsCenter. Perhaps his most impressive feat, Sam faces his toughest audience when he's not on stage: high school classrooms.

Joanie Coyote is an artist and comedian who has performed at some of the top comedy clubs in the country and has featured for comics such as Ron White, Wanda Sykes, George Lopez, and Dave Attell. She has performed Stand-Up Comedy, Sketch Comedy, and Improv at some of the top clubs and theaters in the country. She headlined at the Egyptian Theater in Utah and performed at the Sundance Film Festival. Joanie got her degree in costume design and has designed for plays in New York, Houston, and Los Angeles as well as for film. She worked on Broadway as a dresser for Les Misérables and Most Happy Fella and at Parsons Mears as a first hand where she made costumes for many acclaimed Broadway productions, including Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon. Joanie got her start in comedy at the Laff Stop Comedy Club in Houston, TX, and had the honor of performing for U.S. troops in Asia.  Joanie has also been in numerous TV shows, commercials, and has acted in plays, including an Off-Broadway production of TOP GIRLS. She also won a Best Actress Award for her work in a short film. Besides performing, Joanie is also a writer, theater costume designer, college professor, artist, and instructor at Flappers Comedy Club. Live from Flappers Comedy Club & Restaurant located in lovely downtown Burbank - the Entertainment Capital of the World.

Joe Wong is an LA-based Chinese American comedian and former biochemistry researcher. He received a PhD degree in biochemistry from Rice University in 2000. He started his comedy career in Boston in 2001, and only two years later was a fi nalist in the Boston International Comedy and Film Festival. By 2010, he had placed fi rst in the Third Annual Great American Comedy Festival. He headlines live stand-up comedy shows in both English and Chinese. He appeared on Letterman, Colbert, and Ellen shows, and headlined at the White House RTCA dinner and roasted Joe Biden. He's acted in many blockbuster fi lms and hosted his own TV show, Is It True? in China for 10 years. In 2018, he was featured in the book First Generation: 36 Trailblazing Immigrants and Refugees Who Make America Great. Joe Wong also published several books and e-books of his own, such as Not This Shit Again! A Comedian's Guide To Tackling Anti-Asian Racism in 2020, and an autobiography in 2011, The Tao of Humor in China, which became a best seller that year. You can see him perform all over, and at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank, CA!

Nishy XL (Acsell) (Peacock TV NBC) is an Indian/Pakistani talent raised in LA. She tours all over the US and she's been featured in the LA Times. She was also an improviser and former sketch writer for the Second City Hollywood, and as an SC house cast member, she wrote and performed monthly comedic sketch revues. She was the only South Asian on the house sketch team. In 2020, she placed in the top 10 in the National Comedy Open, was in the finals in the US Comedy Contest by Audience favorite vote, and went home with the "Spirit of Comedy" Medal at the 2021 Gutty's Indiana Clean Comedy Challenge. Born in a war zone, she moved to LA at a young age, worked in corporate America, got hives from the cubicle, went straight to the comedy club, and found her calling on the stage. Nishy produces shows all over LA, including the Hollywood Improv, and promotes underrepresented voices in stand-up. Whether it's cultural, edgy, dark, or clean, she can take her material anywhere with clever writing and quick wit. Catch her streaming and at all the major LA comedy clubs. Live from Flappers Comedy Club & Restaurant located in lovely downtown Burbank - the Entertainment Capital of the World.

Joey Bragg is a stand-up comedian and actor from Union City, CA. Known for his role as Joey Rooney on the Disney Channel series Liv and Maddie, Freddie Raines in Call Your Mother, and Magoo in the television film Fred 3: Camp Fred. Joey started his stand-up career early as a teen, and has performed frequently at Flappers Comedy Club and Restaurant since the beginning, making stand-up comedy a prominent part of his life. Beginning at age 12, Joey wrote jokes and discovered a passion for comedy, so much that he was never willing to take an acting job if it meant he couldn't perform.  You can see Joey's most recent work on season 3 of The Comeback on HBO starring Lisa Kudrow, and frequently at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank.  Live from Flappers Comedy Club & Restaurant located in lovely downtown Burbank - the Entertainment Capital of the World.

On today's episode of Flappers Presents - Behind the Funny, hosts Barbara Holliday and Joshua Snyder pull back the curtain and make exciting announcements about the future of Flappers Comedy Club and Restaurant, particularly about the process of franchising! Stay tuned for more exciting information regarding this, and be sure to contact Barbara Holliday if you are a CRP!   Live from Flappers Comedy Club & Restaurant located in lovely downtown Burbank - the Entertainment Capital of the World.