Myles Weber started doing stand-up in Vallejo, Calif., right out of high school. He convinced 30 of his friends from school and the gym to watch his first open mic and he's been at it ever since. Over the last seven years, he's recorded two Dry...

Josephine Rivera started doing stand-up about 2 1/2 years ago when she was 29. She moved from New York to Pensacola, Fla., for college and stayed put. She produces shows with Carson Tucker under Whippersnapper Comedy and they're working all ove...

Luke Thayer started doing stand-up in Indianapolis about 21 years ago. A year in, he and his wife, Abi Crutchfield, moved to New York City together, where they still live. He's been on Gotham Comedy Live, Fox, TruTV and The Food Network. He rel...

Jeremy Pryal started doing stand-up in Scranton when he was 17. He opted to stay out of the Marines and chase success in comedy. He spent eight years in Philadelphia before a bad set and the personal issues took him off course. Now married with...

Chris Dolan started doing stand-up at a comedy class at the Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia when he was 46. He's been writing ever since. It's all thanks to his wife, who pushed him in the right direction. He's been able to find a home in th...

Bill Squire is one of Cleveland's best comedians and if he has his way, he always will be. He started doing stand-up in 2004 after leaving the Mormon religion. He spent 12 years working on The Alan Cox Show on WMMS in Cleveland. His latest spec...

Dana Charitonchick studied biology at West Chester University and had a career as a scientist before jumping into stand-up when she was 30. She's four years in and has her footing in the Philadelphia scene. She's been able to keep those worlds ...

Kevin Andrews started doing stand-up in Buffalo when he was 33 years old. He's about two years in, but he's already produced shows and works pretty consistently. It's a good thing his mom said she'd be disappointed if he didn't give it a shot. ...

Dan Turco started doing stand-up about 11 years ago when he was 25. He moved around a lot as a kid, but went to Eastern Michigan for college and settled in Detroit, where he's made his home in the comedy community. He's in his third year workin...

David Britton started doing stand-up at the Comedy Attic in Bloomington, Ind., about 13 years ago. He's in Schenectady, N.Y., now, where he's also acting, writing and directing. He produces comedy shows and gets on stage as much as he can. He w...

Gerrit Elzinga fell in love with stand-up early and got onto his first stage at 15 years old. He's been telling jokes for almost 19 years, despite being only 33. He's the house emcee at Dr. Grin's Comedy Club in Grand Rapids, Mich., and is hopi...

Zach Russell started doing stand-up when he was 21 and a student at Boston College. He moved to New York City after school and has been working all over the city and the East Coast. He grew up in Annapolis, Md., where I interviewed his friends ...

Zach Peterson has been doing stand-up for the last 17 years. He started in Omaha, Neb., and spent nine years in Chicago and one in Los Angeles before coming back home. He's 43 years old, but he can still play basketball and tell jokes, so he's ...

Dan Shelly has been doing stand-up in the Allentown, Pa., are for the last 16 years. He started in 2008, a couple years after starting riffing with a friend, Adam Yenser. He's been bartending for most of his adult life and spent a couple years ...

Angel Penn is a really funny comedian in Silver Spring, Md. He's been doing stand-up in the Washington, D.C., area for the last six years. He used to run Spaghetti on the Beach, an open mic, and he's currently co-hosting the Try Out Comedy open...

Ant Perez started doing stand-up in October 2020 in the Zoom days. He persevered and has flourished since getting onto a live stage. He's a regular feature at the clubs in the Virginia Beach, Va., area. A father of two boys, he was able to tour...

Caleb Goldberg has only been in the Rochester comedy scene for a couple years. But he really started in high school. He won two national stand-up contests while chasing college scholarships, then chased improv while in college. He switched back...

Aaron Rosen started doing improv back in 2013 and only tried stand-up a few times before going all-in on it in 2022. A teacher in Jersey City, N.J., he's a favorite among the students. He's a very talented impressionist, too, which helps. He's ...

Juan Pantaleon grew up in the Albany area before moving to Florida following a break-up. He got into stand-up six years ago on the verge of a break-up. He's back in New York now -- he's got a different girlfriend -- and helping Albany keep deve...

Ryan Flaherty started doing stand-up in Scranton in 2018 and has become one of the most positive, driving presences in the scene. He didn't really take stand-up seriously until a house fire changed his perspective on his place in the scene. He ...

Ralph Tetta started doing stand-up in 1988 and was an anchor in the Rochester, N.Y., comedy scene before hitting the road in 2001. He managed a comedy club and just got passed to do Carnival Cruises. He teaches a comedy class every year and co-...

Kaelin Clements is a comedian, designer and photographer living in Hunt Valley, Md., a few miles outside of Baltimore. She started doing stand-up in 2022 at the Church of Satire Comedy Club in Hanover, Pa. She's become a regular there and is wo...

Derek Humphrey is a very funny comedian in New York City. He grew up in Ohio, joined the navy and then started doing stand-up in 2008 while in Charleston, S.C. He moved to New York in 2012 and released his debut album, "Late Bloomer," on Sept. ...

Brian Roe started doing stand-up in October 2011 when he was going to Purdue University in Indiana. He came back home, right outside of Chicago, to do mics in the suburbs and moved to the city after school. He sold out The Lincoln Lodge and rel...

Chris Gullo started doing stand-up in Buffalo back in 2008 while in college and began his career in the wrestling business in 2011. He's still doing both, but outside of Asheville, N.C., now. He moved down there earlier in 2024 and began produc...