On the Mic with Mike Peters

Chris Jones started doing stand-up in the Poconos when he was 15 years old. He started doing bar shows and open mics when he was 19. He's 28 now and after a few years away from the stage, he's back and being productive. He's emerged as one of the stand-outs in the Northeast Pennsylvania scene and has big plans for 2024. 

Follow Chris Jones: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i_gotadumper/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chrisjonescomedy
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chrisjonescomedy

Paul Clemente started doing stand-up when he was 36 years old and is doing all he can to keep comedy alive in Jamestown, N.Y. Always a performer at heart, he did improv at the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival and is trying as hard as he can to get local comedy into the National Comedy Center. The only constant member of the Jamestown comedy scene and the founder of Crescent City Creative and Karate Sleepover, he's been bringing in talented comedians from Buffalo, Rochester, Erie, Pa., and Pittsburgh for years. He's also a life-long Pittsburgh Penguins fan and used to run a successful blog. 

Follow Paul Clemente: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_boopaul/
Karate Sleepover: https://www.facebook.com/karatesleepover
Crescent City Creative: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552211034875

Dan Alten started doing stand-up in Louisville, Ky., back in 2012. He studied journalism at Indiana University, but was told by a professor he should be writing comedy. A sitcom guy growing up, he decided to move to Louisville and get good at stand-up. He co-hosts the Funny Dinner podcast and travels all over the country -- even in Cookeville, Tenn. Try the doughnuts. 

Follow Dan Alten: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danalten69/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoofyDanAlten
Funny Dinner: https://www.youtube.com/@funnydinner5798

Brian Enck got a laugh in an English class in middle school and turned it into a career as a stand-up comedian. He grew up in Rochester and got his start in comedy as a freshman at Keuka College. After doing open mics and a few shows, he transfered to film school in New York City, where he got good at stand-up. Enck moved up to Syracuse during the pandemic with his now-wife and is doing shows all over New York. He's working on his second half-hour special now. Not bad for a back-up lacrosse goalie.

Follow Brian Enck: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enckcomedy/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brianenck
Firstest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYPaBg4KXAU&t=9s

Steve Vanderploeg started doing stand-up in Denver, his hometown, 11 years ago. All he wanted to do back then was get a five-minute booking at the Comedy Works open mic. Now he's headlining there. Vanderploeg is touring the country and founded Roatating Tap Comedy back in 2019. He's putting that English degree to work. He's performed at the High Plains, 10,000 Laughs and Limestone Comedy Festivals and the SF Sketchfest. He's seen Denver become one of the best comedy scenes in the country and reveals the secret to why. 

Follow Steve Vanderploeg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slumdogchillionaire/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarthVaderploeg
Website: https://www.ploegcomedy.com/
Rotating Tap Comedy: https://www.facebook.com/rotatingtapcomedy

Anna Huntley is a very funny comedian in Washington, D.C. She moved from South Carolina for a job and decided to get on stage five years ago at 36. A lifelong learning, she took improv, acting and stand-up classes and writes and performs on a sketch team. She also got permission from her landlord to get a cat, which might have a deeper, sadder meaning.

Follow Anna Huntley
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bananahuntley/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annacate

Dan Clark has been doing stand-up in Philadelphia since 2016. He gave it a try following a divorce and discovered he was pretty good at it. A graduate of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, Dan worked as a journalist until 2021. He also played rugby and played bass in a punk band. Now he's working on getting booked and starting the Idiot Bridge podcast. 

Follow Dan Clark: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talldinklage/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dclar456

Uzair Malik is a graduate student at Northeastern in Boston and only 15 months into his stand-up career. But he's already made some impressive strides. After growing up in India, he started doing comedy in San Francisco before moving to the East Coast. He finished second at the New England's Funniest Comedian competition in 2023 and participated in the World Series of Comedy. He's opened for Dusty Slay, Shafi Hossain, Benny Feldman, Jaspreet Singh and Anthony DeVito.

Follow Usair Malik: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uzair.comedy/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uzair.comedian

Gary Sharp, Jr. grew up playing football and basketball and running track in south New Jersey. He played college football at Johns Hopkins and began doing stand-up when his mom gave him the information for a comedy class at Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia. Since starting in August of 2019, he's been working hard and is starting to stand out in the scene. He's been at clubs around Pennsylvania and just began the Gray Area Comedy Podcast with Jim K. Plus he's got a 3-month-old daughter, so the jokes are coming along nicely. 

Follow Gary Sharp, Jr.: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garysharpcomedy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/garysharpcomedy
Website: https://garysharpcomedy.com/

Holly Johnston graduated from Hofstra with a psychology major and radio, TV and film minor and then started doing stand-up in 2019 -- following in her dad’s footsteps. She grew up in Hopedale, Mass., and moved to Austin, Texas, where she was able to get plenty of time on stage. Holly moved back to Hopedale in the fall and is producing shows, too. She’s co-producing the Wooster Roast Battle at the Hotel Vernon on Friday, Dec. 29.

Follow Holly Johnston:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly.johnston_/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxInZxzHidizVmKTVgDE_ZQ
Website: https://www.hollymjohnston.com/

Steve Burke is a comedian, actor and writer in Ithaca. He's been performing for the last decade -- starting stand-up in 2013, then beginning improv the next year. He's part of the Comedy Flops, Ithaca's best improv troupe, and he works closely with Paul Kozlowski at the Ake Gallery in Cortland. After taking a little time off, Burke has jumped right back into the Ithaca comedy scene and is making his mark in the upstate area.

Follow Steve Burke: 
Comedy Flops: https://www.facebook.com/comedyflops
Ake Gallery: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077302282493

Zachary Wycuff started doing stand-up at the University of Cincinnati when he was 21 years old and he stayed put. He's been at it for eight years and has established himself as a strong comedian in the Midwest. He was just at the Flyover Comedy Festival in St. Louis and has a Dry Bar Comedy special waiting to be released. He worked as a probation officer before taking a job as a social media director at his church, but he's happiest on stage. And he works clean, too, so he's mother-approved.

Follow Zachary Wycuff: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wach_zycuff/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wach_Zycuff
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZachWycuff
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wach_zycuff

Andy McDermott has been doing stand-up in the Husdon Valley and Albany areas for almost a decade. He's one of the strongest comedians in the upstate area and runs More Than Jokes, his production company, where he books talent across the Northeast. He works regularly at the Syracuse Funny Bone and the Laugh it Up Comedy Club in Poughkipsee, among others. He takes writing jokes very seriously and has opened for Kyle Kinane, Big Jay Oakerson and Eddie Brill. A father of a 1-year-old, McDermott has a wife, but he might actually like jokes more. 

Follow Andy McDermott: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andymcdermottmtj/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andy.mcdermott5
Website: http://www.andymcdermottcomedy.com/home.html

Ray Roberts grew up in Ohio and started doing stand-up while at Kent State back in 2014. He's worked all over the Midwest and is based in Milwaukee, Wisc., for now. Chicago is in his future. He features for Zoltan Kaszas and released his first album, "B-Sides All That," in 2020. He also hosts the Comedy and Mushroom Cult podcast. 

Follow Ray Roberts: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whoisrayroberts/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/whoisrayroberts 
Website: https://www.whoisrayroberts.com/ 

Jared Hazen is four years into his stand-up career and just moved to Bristol, Tenn., in May. He spent eight years in the Air Force, working in the medical unit as a surgical technition and trying to relive what he saw on M*A*S*H. He got drunk at his first open mic at Chilkoot Charlie's in Anchorage, Alaska, and things have gotten better from there. He's learning the Tennessee scene now and just returned from the Lookout Comedy Festival in Chattanooga. 

Follow Jared Hazen: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefake_jaredhazen/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefakejaredhazen
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jaredhazen

Gabbie Watts started doing stand-up in Atlanta about six years ago. She grew up playing the upright bass in orchestra and picked up the electric bass and guitar. She played in a punk band and recently decided to add a music element to her comedy repertoire, leading her to create the monthly show, Comedy Bandstand, at the Dynamic El Dorado in Atlanta. Gabbie works for IHeart Radio, too, where she's co-hosting the podcast, American Filth, which centers around the unseemly parts of the country's history. 

Follow Gabbie Watts: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gahhhbbiewatts/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gahhhbbiewatts
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gahhhbbiewatts
American Filth: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/american-filth/id1704951641

Erin Lok started doing stand-up in Madison, Wisc., after she promised her dad she'd give it a try. Four years later, she's running her own shows in Charleston, S.C. A track and field athlete and sociology student at SUNY Cortland, she began her comedy career by auditioning for an improv troupe. When her dad got sick, she came back to Long Island and changed paths right before the pandemic. She kept with stand-up and has been in the Vermont Comedy Festival, where she got an idea for her first comedy competion, which is happening at Two Blokes Brewing Co. in Charleston on Friday, Dec. 8. 

Follow Erin Lok: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinlokcomedy/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ErinLokComedy/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClctzVV9JuJodo1Euus08Ag?app=desktop
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@erinlok?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Ronnie Fleming grew up doing improv in Havre de Grace, Md., and moved to New York City to pursue film school. He began doing stand-up when he got there and really improved when he started working the road. That's where he found his alter-ego, Chase Freely, too. He's working with Steve Hofstetter's Steel City Arts Foundation in Pittsburgh and runs Don't Tell Comedy shows. Fleming's special, "The Second Funniest Kid in School," debuted on YouTune in August.

Follow Ronnie Fleming: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ron_flem/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ron_Flem
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ron_flem
The Second Funniest Kid in School: 

Andrew Yang started doing stand-up seven years ago in Ann Arbor, Mich. He watched sets on Conan to get the feel of stand-up and decided to give it a try after his late-night packet wasn't selected. The host of the Blind Pig open mic, Yang founded the Tree Town Comedy Festival in March before deciding to let go of it. He's a husband and has a 3-year-old daughter, so he's busy enough. 

Follow Andrew Yang: 
Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewyang_fan_account?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==