“Survival starts the day you’re diagnosed.”  Jenny Saldaña (Little Brown Girl) was 34-years-old when she was finally diagnosed with breast cancer because it took a year to find a doctor to biopsy the growing mass in her breast.  No family history of breast cancer and under 40, Jenny was a scientific anomaly.  But like every great comic, Jenny turned her tragedy into comedy gold with Happy Cancer Chick.  She is an advocate, a survivor and a very funny Little Brown Girl.  

Recorded at Comic Strip Live

Music: She Bad Arkitexx and Phantom Boyz

Fran Sisco (A Trans Girl Like Me) transition from male to female came at a glacial pace.  Fran discusses the underground New York City trans-scene of the ‘70’s and ‘80’s and the time she was beaten and left for dead.

Recorded at the Comic Strip Live

Music: Arkitexx and Phantom Boyz

To say their life was unconventional would be an understatement at best.   For starters, discovering their “aunt” was in fact their mother’s partner and the time they were crowned a beauty queen.

Recorded at the Comic Strip Live

Music: Arkitexx and Phantom Boyz

 

George Saltz (Funniest Jewish Comedian) is a mensch to the tenth power. His trajectory into comedy had more twists and turns than the Coney Island Cyclone but at 85-years-young he’s enjoying the ride.

Recorded at the Comic Strip Live

Music: Arkitexx and Phantom Boyz

If an energy drink was a comic it would be Larry Beyah (Letz Get Loud).  Ever-affable, kale-loving, Nipsey Russell-doppelganger,  host with the most joins Vox Celeste to discuss growing up in the Nation of Islam; how Bon Jovi brought a white nationalist and a Black Muslim together and the time Mo’Nique nursed him back  to health after he got shot.  Hold on tight.

Recorded at the Comic Strip Live

Music: Arkitexx and Phantom Boyz

 

Mr. Puntastic- Esteban “Tino” Romero (Pundamonium 1 &2)  known for his creative word play- didn’t learn English until he was 16 years-old. Esteban  joins Vox Celeste discussing his voyage from Panama to New York; adjusting to being “Black” in America and cleaning bathrooms at comedy clubs for stage time.

Recorded: Comic Strip Live

Music: Phantom Boyz and Arkitexx

Nikki Carr's (Last Comic Standing) has been through it all: abandoned by famous father-check; real-life “Not Without My Daughter” experience, in her case daughters-check; toxic relationships- check; career success- check;  homelessness- check.  If what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger- she’s comedy’s Hulk.

Joanna Briley (Black Women in Comedy Festival, Brooklyn House of Comedy) is one of the most revered figures in the Brooklyn comedy scene.  Over the past year Briley lost both her mother and sister but even in the midst of such profound grief, Joanna pulled off the Black Women in Comedy Festival (BWICF).  The first of its kind, the BWICF showcased the comedic talents of Black women comedians from all the country.  She  also opens up about her childhood and the day her father came to pick her up from her mother’s house and never brought her back home.

Recorded: Comic Strip Live

Music: Phantom Boyz and Arkitexx 

Outspoken, first-generation American, Brooklynite Reg Thomas (Productively Stoned) joins Vox Celeste talking about love, comedy, weed and the time he got stabbed.

Recorded: Comic Strip Live

Music: Phantom Boyz and Arkitexx

Neko White (Tru TV) joins Vox Celeste on the heels of celebrating his twelfth year in comedy and he isn’t even thirty-years old.  White started performing comedy at the age of 14; doing his first set on the second day of his freshman year in high school.  He credits his teacher, Mrs. Richardson for him introducing to the world of open mics and endless comedy possibilities.

Recorded: Comic Strip Live

Music: Phantom Boyz and Arkitexx