Category: Comedy

Innovative Artists has developed one of the premiere Comedy departments in the entertainment industry. In keeping with the agency’s commitment to inclusive representation, Innovative Artists’ client roster ranges from established comedians to the freshest up-and-comers, making them among the most coveted in the stand-up, personal appearance, and comedy communities.

Comedy Stand-Up

Aida Rodriguez

Post author By Assistant Joseph Flaherty
Post date March 21, 2022
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Aida Rodriguez is a comedian, actor and writer. Lauded by Esquire Magazine as “raucously funny,” she has become a favorite with fans and critics alike. With her first hour standup special now streaming and her own TV series in development, both at HBOMax, Aida is bound for the comedy stratosphere. In November 2021, Aida’s first hour standup special Fighting Words premiered on HBOMax. In the special, the comedian takes to the stage to address today’s audiences about cancel-culture and the social issues of the day, not just because they’re ripped from the headlines, but because they are in the pages torn out of her personal life. Additionally, Rodriguez is developing her own half hour comedy series with HBOMax based on her own incredible life story, which includes surviving two kidnappings, sexual abuse, and a period of homelessness. Co-written and ExecutiveProduced by Rodriguez, Chris Case (Showtime’s Flatbush Misdemeanors) and Nastaran Dibai (Netflix’s Dear White People), the project examines the struggle of a comedian (Rodriguez) who is trying to kick start a career while raising two very different teenagers on her own over multiple time zones. It is an uplifting story of survival and triumph in the face of a darkly funny Miami inner-city upbringing, where she learned
skills that allowed her to thrive and endure.

In 2020, Aida headlined the HBO LatinX standup special Entrenos while also appearing in Showtime’s Shaquille O’Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam, one of only four women
to have performed on the series in its 15 seasons. Prior to that, she had her own half hour special on Netflix’s hit comedy series They Ready, Executive Produced by Tiffany Haddish and Wanda Sykes. In reviews Decider gushed that the special “will have you
laughing, crying and begging for more” and Esquire Magazine declared “This is Rodriguez’s genius—using comedy to turn pain into progress, to give voice to the voiceless, and to laugh instead of cry.”

In addition to her TV projects, Aida was handpicked by director Taylor Hackford for his feature film “The Comedian” starring Robert De Niro. She is also the five-time host ofPBS’ Imagen Awards, which recognizes and rewards creative excellence of Latinos in television and film. She is a guest writer for Buzzfeed as well as a regular Commentator on the popular online progressive political talk show The Young Turks. Rodriguez hosts
her own podcast, Truth Serum, which is an interactive weekly wrap up show covering the week’s hottest topics, where inclusivity and diversity are a standard, not an initiative.

A long time favorite on the standup circuit, Aida was a finalist on NBC’s Last ComicStanding and has been featured on several comedy fan-favorite TV series, including Comedy Central’s This Week at the Comedy Cellar, HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay, and TBS’ Tournament of Laughs. She tours the country performing her distinct brand of poignant and insightful comedy to sold out audiences, inviting her longtime fans to laugh
hard, think hard, and feel hard.

For more information go to www.FunnyAida.com
Follow Aida on Instagram and Twitter – @FunnyAida

College Comedy

Daniel Franzese

Almost anything can be a stage.

Many years before originating the classic role of Damian in Mean Girls, starring as the boundary- breaking HIV-positive Eddie in HBO’s Looking, launching the successful YASS! You’re Amazing! two-year comedy tour, and raising awareness for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, Daniel Franzese identified the inclusive potential of entertainment. As a child in Brooklyn, the actor, writer, producer, comedian, podcaster, and activist hopped on the coffee tables of family and friends and recited jokes, sang songs, told stories, and inspired smiles.

These formative performances set the stage for him to emerge a a confident body-positive voice for entertainers in the LGBTQ community and beyond. “My grandfather had twelve brothers on the same block in Brooklyn where we all lived,” he recalls. “Whenever I learned something, he would take me around to see family and friends, and I’d perform in their living rooms. Now, I call it the ‘Coffee Table Circuit.’ Very early on, I learned I could bring people joy by entertainment. Comedy was always a part of me. It’s been there throughout my life. I used laughter to battle everything I dealt with growing up. When I came out of the closet, it allowed me to be fully authentic, and authenticity is exactly what you need to be a comic. For the first time in my career, I feel like I’m being who I’m supposed to be. This is the real version of me.”

He quietly worked towards unveiling this version. After booking his first commercial in second grade,
Daniel committed himself to acting. He often visited a local Barnes & Noble and “bought a coffee just to
read all of the books in the acting section.” Graduating from high school in Florida, he caught his first big
break with a role in Larry Clark’s cult classic Bully. Following Party Monster in 2003, he lit up the screen
in Mean Girls a year later. The blockbuster emerged as a cultural force and accelerated Daniel’s career.

Relocating to Los Angeles, he appeared in everything from Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster War of the Worlds to the critically acclaimed remake of I Spit in Your Grave. He wrote and created his own rock opera, JERSEY SHORESICAL: A FRICKIN ROCK OPERA! Following its premiere at The Fringe Festival on theEast Coast, it ran at the Hayworth Theatre in Los Angeles. In its wake, he launched the one-man Off-
Broadway show I’ve Never Really Made the Kinda Money to Become a Mess and achieved viral success
with the YouTube series Shit Italian Moms Say viewed over 10 million times.

In 2015, he joined the cast of Looking for the duration of the second season as well as Looking: The Movie. Depicting the first HIV-positive character on scripted television in a decade, EntertainmentWeekly christened Eddie as “such a modern version of someone living with HIV” and “very groundbreaking.” Around the same time, Daniel became an ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. As part of his activism, he implored Hollywood to spotlight the stories of characters living with HIV and AIDs, presenting a media playbook to MSNBC in tandem with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and GLAAD. 2016 saw him star in ten episodes of Recovery Road on Freeform before playing Jackson Morrison on ABC’s Conviction. While filming the latter in Toronto, he immersed himself in standup by regular performances at The Second City. This paved the way for the YASS You’re Amazing! tour. Not only did he pack clubs, theaters, and colleges, but he also built a platform for up-and-coming comedians to shine such as Anthony Desamito, Nicky Paris, Katie Molinaro, and many others. With more tours and roles on the horizon as well as increased activism for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and launch of his YASS! Jesus! podcast, he continues to empower and unite from any and all
stages.

“I like to unify audiences,” he leaves off. “I try to create something where everyone can be involved. I
endeavor to be a people curator and bring everyone together.”

College Comedy Hosting

Cheech Marin

Primarily known as an actor, director, and performer, Cheech Marin has developed the finest private collection of Chicano art in the United States. Much of it formed the core of his blockbuster exhibition “Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge,” which broke attendance records during its groundbreaking 12-city tour during 2001-2007 to major art museums across the United States. Some of these paintings were also shown in Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A.: Selections from the Cheech Marin Collection, which was on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), June 15 to November 2, 2008. Currently touring is “Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection {size doesn’t matter}.”

College Comedy

Brian Parise

Brian got his start in DC before moving to New York City, performing on New Faces at Montreal Just For Laughs, and going on to win an Emmy for his writing on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. He performs standup in NYC and on the road, hosts one of the hottest monthly comedy shows in Brooklyn, and has selected to perform at a number of other festivals including Laughing Skull, Laughing Devil, Skankfest, Asheville Comedy Festival, Cinderblock, and the Boston Comedy Festival.

College Comedy Hosting

Teresa Topnotch

Teresa is set to recur in the upcoming Universal/Peacock series FIGHT NIGHT opposite Kevin Hart and Taraji P. Henson. Teresa recently starred in the Bentley Evans ALL BLK digital streaming series MILLENNIALS. Teresa’s first professional acting gig was in a dramatic role on BET’s TALES. Since then, she has worked consistently, playing roles in BounceTV’s LAST CALL, MTV’s WILD N OUT and playing a supporting role in the Universal feature film, HOW HIGH 2, opposite Mike Epps. Teresa has also gained popularity with her comedic rants on Instagram (#Topnotchworldd) garnering over 1 million followers.

Comedy Hosting

Keraun Harris

Keraun (aka King Keraun) is an actor, writer, host, and influencer who originally rose to prominence through his comedy sketches on Instagram, where he has over 2.1 million followers. He can currently be seen as THE SPOKESPLAYER in the new Madden Campaign for EA Sports as well as the host of his own show on FuseTV, That White People Shit, which is now in its second season. He had notable roles on HBO’s Insecure as well as on ABC’s Blackish and he just wrapped production on season one of the new UMC comedy Millennials, where he plays the lead role of Jaheem.

College Comedy Hosting

Justina Valentine

Justina Valentine, is an (Italian) American TV Star known as the quick witted fan favorite from Nick Cannon’s Wild N Out and most recently VH1’s FUHGEDDABOUT CHRiSTMAS, a feature film Justina wrote, executive produced, directed, and starred in (playing multiple roles). The movie was acquired by MTV Entertainment and premiered on VH1 in December 2022. A social media influencer with millions of followers, bright red locks, and an infectious personality, Justina Valentine is an entertainer who acts, hosts, writes, sings, raps and is widely known for her freestyling ability. Also passionate about helping animals, Valentine was nominated for a PETA Hero Award in honor of her campaign.

Justina began dropping mixtapes and joined the Vans Warped Tour in 2012 to kick off her professional career. She has since been featured on a series of McDonald’s commercials and did a powerful campaign in 2019 with Mountain Dew that received a Shorty Award nomination. Valentine has hosted / co-hosted many other popular MTV shows such as TRL, Singled Out, The Jersey Shore Reunion, The Challenge Reunion, Ex on the Beach Reunion, Ridiculousness, Double Shot At Love Reunion, “How Far is Tattoo Far?” and Basic to Bougie. Valentine was also a cast member on MTV’S number one show The Challenge. Justina stars in her own MTV shows, Justina Makes Over Your Man , Lip Locked, and The Justina Valentine Show. She recently wrapped filming her 13th season of MTV’S Wild N Out as the longest running female cast mate. She also made special guest appearances on MTV’s Revenge Prank with Jersey Shore stars DJ Pauly D & Vinny.

Justina’s original music has been featured on NBC, VH1, MTV, Oxygen, CW and national TV commercials for brands such as Maybelline. Justina made hip hop history on popular radio show Sway in the Morning becoming the first female to freestyle off the top on Sway’s famous “5 Fingers of Death”. Valentine’s latest musical release Fuhgeddabout Christmas is the original soundtrack to her movie released December 2022. The project has received millions of streams. Her previous albums Infrared and Favorite Vibe both debuted in the top 5 on Itunes charts. Valentine is an entertainer who offers 100+ million social media impressions which grows daily. She continues to bust down barriers as a powerful female presence with a strong pulse on multiple areas of the industry and an army of fans following her journey.

Comedy Hosting

Josh McDermitt

Good humored, multi-faceted, and tenacious are all words that could describe Josh McDermitt. As a well-known name in the comedy scene, Josh is showcasing not only his skill in comedy, but in dramatic roles as well. Josh is currently a Series Regular on AMC’s record breaking hit “The Walking Dead” playing the role of ‘Dr. Eugene Porter.’ The drama, developed by Frank Darabont, is based off the comic book series of the same name and follows a group of survivors finding their way through a post-apocalyptic world dominated by zombies. Josh also recurred on the final season of Matthew Weiner’s “Mad Men” (also AMC) on which he had a dramatically different role.

College Comedy Hosting

Jordan Doll

Jordan Doll is a standup comedian, actor and writer from Denver, Colorado where he is a regular at the world famous Comedy Works. If he looks familiar it might be because you saw him on Viceland’s Flophouse, or the Comedy Central snapchat channel, or dressed up like a potato skin in that one TGIFriday’s commercial. Or maybe you caught him performing at Just for Laughs Montreal, or the High plains comedy festival, or San Francisco Sketch Fest; opening for the likes of TJ Miller, Bryan Posehn and Rory Scovel. Jordan’s outlandish standup has been featured on Seeso, TruTV, and Comedy Central’s Comic’s to Watch, so if he looks familiar that’s probably why. Or maybe it’s something else. He does kind of have one of those faces.

Comedy Hosting

Jeremy Parsons

Jeremy Parsons is a television personality whose skills in front of and behind the camera have taken him around the world to host and produce shows and interview the biggest stars – giving viewers engaging, unique and authentic access to the most prominent culture shapers of our time. From one-on-one chats to red carpet premieres, comedy sketches to reality docu-series, Jeremy’s impressive combination of experience and variety most recently led him to multiple appearances as entertainment anchor on LA’s number one morning show – the KTLA Morning News. Jeremy can be seen as the co-host of People.com’s daily show, “People Now.”