Opening Night

Kick off the 2017 Pittsburgh Comedy Festival with a showcase of stand-up and improv! Featuring Change Machine, Brenda, and "Dance, Monkey!", as well as stand-up comics Ossia Dwyer, Alex Homyak, Blair Parker, Nore Davis, and Joey Welsh!

Featured Acts:

Change Machine

Change Machine has been performing its unique brand of long form improvised comedy for over 3 years in Pittsburgh and around the country. This group of close knit friends uses every trick in their ever-expanding book to spontaneously create original and entertaining worlds of quirky and thought-provoking characters. In addition to regular shows at Pittsburgh’s Arcade Comedy Theater, Change Machine has enjoyed performances at the Pittsburgh Comedy Festival, the Chicago Improv Festival, the Baltimore improv Festival, The Hell-Yes Festival (New Orleans). and the Nestival Comedy Festival (Columbus, Ohio). Change Machine, change your life–it's pleasing!

Brenda

Brenda is a long-form improv group of best friends from Ann Arbor, Michigan. They are featured on the Pointless Theater stage every Friday night. Their show, “Choose Your Own Adventure,” is a high-energy, character and relationship driven performance filled with bamboozlement, cahoots, spoofs, and a whole bunch of goofs.

"Dance, Monkey!"

“Dance, Monkey!” is a one-woman show with an ever-emerging cast of thousands. Music inspires characters, points of view, location, time, tone and pace as one scene moves to the next. Imagine yourself in the word of the fully-evolved comedic theatre piece, except everything is made up and the characters are talking right to you.

Ossia Dwyer

A relative newcomer to comedy, Ossia Dwyer uses her self-deprecating humor in lieu of therapy because insurance is complicated. She has opened for Aparna Nancherla, Shane Torres, and participated in the 2017 Burning Bridges Festival. In addition to performing regularly around Pittsburgh, she is also one of the head writers for Pitt Tonight- a late night show written and produced by a bunch of college students avoiding their actual responsibilities.

Alex Homyak

Alex Homyak is a six foot smear of khaki from Pittsburgh, PA. He uses his personal, insightful style to strip mine jokes from his life and the people kind enough to be a part of it. This has led him to perform at local venues such as The Arcade Comedy Theater and Club Cafe and many, many bars up and down the East Coast. Winner of the 2016 Pittsburgh Comedy Festival Stand Up Contest, he opened for Shane Mauss as part of his “A Good Trip” tour.

Blair Parker

Blair Parker hails from Pittsburgh where she started stand-up comedy three years ago. She has been a part of the Burning Bridges Comedy Festival 2016, and has performed at places such as Arcade Comedy Theater, Club Cafe, and The Pittsburgh IMPROV. Her style of comedy can be described in the same manner as a homeless man’s sex life: raw, honest, drugs. Blair is trying to find herself in this world by bringing humor to her everyday life experiences. Please help her find her way.

Nore Davis

NORE DAVIS, a refreshing face of comedy, delivers an energetic performance filled with witty quips and sharp punch lines, combined with an amazing stage presence. Edgy and clean, NORE tells it like it is, speaking to audiences everywhere.

Recurring on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, he can also be seen in Luke Cage on Netflix. Co-starring role on Kevin Can Wait CBS with appearances on Inside Amy Schumer, Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and two appearances on Gotham Comedy Live AXS TV. Recorded an hour special Off the Chain for Bounce TV and New Wave Entertainment. His first CD Home Game was released on RoofTopComedy and his second CD Away Game was released on Comedy Dynamics. He was a writer on Comedy Fight Night and writer performer on Bullet Pudding truTV as well as on seriously.tv.

Joey Welsh

As a Pittsburgh native and firefighter, Joey Welsh brings his unique personal experiences to life on stage through hilarious story telling and his strong point of view. He was a finalist in the 2017 March Madness Stand Up competition and Bash in the Burgh Roast Battle, both held at the Pittsburgh Improv. He currently just won 2017 PCF Stand Up competition. He also is the co founder of We Got Next Comedy. A comedy group that puts on monthly showcases and biweekly podcasts.