Gloria Bigelow

Gloria Bigelow
Subtle, disarming and witty, Gloria Bigelow is a comic who doses out humor in bite-size chunks—easy for the listener to swallow but relentless nonetheless. With issues of sexuality, race and gender at the forefront of her work, her comedy has the ability to unite a diverse group of people with laughter. An out black woman, she's got a bone to pick with everybody. She does so by wittingly tackling issues, from "low lesbian esteem" to the ridiculousness of racism, with a smile. Coming to comedy from a background of acting, she is a natural improviser and observer of life. Her facial expressions are a punch line in and of themselves.

Originally from the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Gloria seamlessly slipped into the New York comedy scene, where she performed at all of the top comedy clubs, including the Improv, Carolines and Gotham. She quickly became one to watch on the national comedy scene. Glo, as she is called, hosted the pre- and postshow for the first-ever NewNowNext Awards for MTV network's Logo channel and was nominated the following year for their Brink of Fame Comic award. Other television credits include Laughing Matters...Next Gen and Showtime's Fierce Funny Women. Glo has also performed at numerous festivals, including the New York Underground Comedy Festival, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, the Michigan Comedy Fest and the Outlaugh Comedy Festival. Whether cruises, colleges or comedy clubs, she is a crowd favorite wherever she steps on the stage. Gloria has recently been published in a Seal Press Anthology called Here Come the Brides!: Reflections on Lesbian Love and Marriage. She is currently working on a memoir that humorously recounts her outrageous misadventures in the big city. Gloria's witty and honest brand of humor keeps her audiences laughing, thinking and wanting more.

Why Gloria says good comedy has a purpose behind it (VIDEO)

CREDITS
NewNowNext Awards (Logo)
Laughing Matters...Next Gen
Fierce Funny Women (Showtime)

Andi Smith

Andi Smith
Andi Smith is distinguished by at least two traits that allow her, in a manner of speaking, to sneak up on an audience and land a long series of surprising, forceful blows to its funny bone: wholly fresh material and an unusual, languid delivery that can stray into some unusual territory and results in big laughs. A combination of the girl next door and the girl that hates the girl next door, Andi Smith is truly a new voice in stand-up.

Andi was featured in the 2007 and 2008 seasons of Last Comic Standing and on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham. Andi has also released a comedy CD, Homeperm (one of Punchline Magazine's top 10 comedy albums of 2008) and performed at the 2010 SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.



How motherhood changed Andi's comedy (VIDEO)

CREDITS
Last Comic Standing (Seasons 5 and 6)
Live at Gotham (Comedy Central)
Bob & Tom
Two Regular
SXSW (2010)
The D.C. Comedy Festival (2009)
The Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival (2008, 2009, 2010)

Dominique Whitten

Dominique
What is there to know about Dominique? Currently featured on the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show, Dominique reaches more than 8 million listeners each week in more than 115 markets with her high-powered comedy segment. From clubs across the country to Comedy Central's hit Chappelle's Show, she's showing America what a comedienne is.

She began honing her skills unprofessionally as a civil servant on the night shift as a postal worker at the now infamous Brentwood postal facility in her native Washington, D.C. Boredom with the job and fear of going postal gave way to open-mic nights at local clubs at the behest of friends and co-workers. Dominique immediately gained a reputation for telling it like it is—raw and uncut—and unknowingly garnered a loyal following. Washington's uppity audiences gravitated toward her mixture of politics, street culture and current events. Her strong presence and a bravado rarely seen in female comics quickly gained the attention of the producers of Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam on HBO, the show that changed comedy forever. She went from shuffling mail to working with the likes of Chris Rock in no time.

Sensing that she had outgrown D.C.'s small comedy scene, she moved to the Bronx, which wasn't a far cry from Southeast D.C., and became a fixture at the clubs in New York. Places like the Comic Strip Live and Stand Up NY served as testing grounds for her new material. By chance, on a Wednesday night at a small club on the Lower East Side, she met Saturday Night Live's Tracy Morgan, who made Dominique his opening act for his run at Carolines on Broadway. The two formed a friendship and have been working together ever since. Being Tracy's feature, however, wasn't enough to keep the bills paid. So Dominique became what she calls a hustler, performing all over the country to make ends meet. From Carolines in New York, to the Improv in Chicago, D.C., Florida and Miami, to L.A.'s Laugh Factory, to the Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage 2008 cruise and every club in between, Dominique has wowed audiences with her straightforward wit and comedic standpoint reminiscent of Moms Mabley.

Upon her arrival in Los Angeles, Dominique began making the rounds in Hollywood's comedy clubs as well as the smaller, lesser-known spots in L.A. Since that time, she has enjoyed a run on the highly successful Mike Epps On the Edge Tour and numerous television appearances, including Byron Allen's Comics Unleashed, The Tom Joyner Sky Show, and HBO on Demand's Ask a Sista and Big Black Love. She has also participated in America's Urban International Comedy Arts Festival, better known as Laffapalooza!, as well as the Bay Area Black Comedy Competition & Festival in Oakland, California. Dominique has become a club staple and continues to tour clubs and colleges around the country.

These are the things to know about Dominique: She's a class act from stage to film, she's a woman with a strong point of view and a strong way of telling it, and she's ready for whatever those in the know throw her way.

What Dominique has learned in 20 years of comedy (VIDEO)

CREDITS
Tom Joyner Morning Show
Chappelle's Show (Comedy Central)
Byron Allen's Comics Unleashed
The Tom Joyner Sky Show
Ask a Sista (HBO)
Big Black Love (HBO)
Laffapalooza!
The Bay Area Black Comedy Competition & Festival

Brooke Shields

Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields began her accomplished professional career at an early age and rapidly gained fame after staring in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby, the Palme D'or Award winner at the Cannes Film Festival, and the coming of age tales Blue Lagoon and Endless Love. As a model, Brooke has graced the covers of hundreds of magazines, most notably Time Magazine as the "Face of the Eighties".

While attending Princeton University, Brooke pursued her love of theatre as a member of the Princeton Triangle Club. Shortly after graduating with an honors degree in French literature, she made her Broadway debut as Rizzo in the hit musical Grease, for which she earned the Theatre World Award in 1994 for "Outstanding Debut on Broadway." Shields went on to star in Chicago, Wonderful Town, and Cabaret, all of which earned her rave reviews.

In addition to her film and theater achievements, Shields has maintained a successful and critically acclaimed television career. Her work on The NBC hit Suddenly Susan garnered her a Golden Globe nomination, and she received an American Comedy Award nod for her guest role on Friends. Brooke is the recipient of five People's Choice Awards, and has previously starred in NBC's Lipstick Jungle, in addition to guest appearances on a wide range of hit shows including That 70's Show, Hannah Montana, Two And A Half Men and The Middle. Shields currently portrays brash and brilliant Air Force Colonel Katherine "Kat" Young in Lifetime's drama, Army Wives. Releasing this summer, Shields co-stars in the film Hot Flashes and will make her directorial debut with the Hollywood Bowl production of Chicago.

In addition to her professional career, Brooke continues to be a strong advocate for women's issues and keeping the arts alive in schools and is the happily married mother of two beautiful daughters.