On the Mic with Mike Peters

Send us Fan Mail Tina Friml started doing stand-up in Burlington, Vt., about five years ago and began building an impressive resume pretty much right away. She was Vermont’s Funniest Comedian in 2018, appeared at the Limestone and New York Comedy Festivals and was named a New Face at Just For Laughs in Montreal all in 2019. She talked a lot about how having cerebral palsy has affected her approach...

Send us Fan Mail Dan Mills began his comedy career about three years ago in Bellingham, Wash. A comedian on the clean side with a wife and two kids -- they still love him, too -- Mills has been producing some of the best lineups on Zoom over the last few months. Featuring Matthew Broussard, Jackie Kashian, Laurie Kilmarten, Caitlin Peluffo, Steven Rogers and several other big names, The Grind with...

Send us Fan Mail Cody Webb started doing stand-up in Eugene, Ore., back in 2016 and he's still at it in 2021. Growing up on Mitch Hedberg, Webb found an open mic while at the University of Oregon and kept telling jokes while getting his Master's at Boston University. He came back to Oregon in August 2020 and has been waiting out the pandemic in Portland. He used to host a very popular op...

Send us Fan Mail "Funky" Sam Medina is a comedian out of Tracey, Calif. A San Jose native, Medina reconnected with his future wife, Athena Rodriguez, on Facebook in 2009 and started doing stand-up with her shortly after that. Now the two of them run the Hypothetical Comedy Network, which has been a fantastic tool for comedians to connect with each other during the pandemic. Medina grew u...

Send us Fan Mail Connor McGrath is a comedian in Portland, Maine. He started stand-up in 2011 and drove all around the New England area, working to get better, and was named Maine's Funniest Comedian by the Portland Phoenix newspaper in 2017 and 2018. McGrath had a Just For Laughs audition scheduled before the pandemic hit, but he's hoping to get back to where he was after his longest la...

Send us Fan Mail Brooke Barsell is a comedian and producer in Omaha, Neb., who's been doing stand-up for three years. She decided improv wasn't for her after a couple years and wanted to tell her own story. Now she's doing that at the Omaha Fringe Festival, where she's doing an hour on Aug. 13, 14 and 15. She'll also be at the Omaha Comedy Festival between Sept. 2 and Sept...

Send us Fan Mail JP Leonard has been doing stand-up for the last seven years and he's been bringing in some of the best comedic talent in the world to Lafayette, La., since 2015. A former musician and current teacher, Leonard is one of the most important comedy connections in the south, helping to book the biggest names -- Tom Segura, Mark Normand, Joe List, Kyle Kinane and Todd Barry -- to C...

Send us Fan Mail Krangus Gillespie turned a drunken, open-mic set in San Diego into a career as a headliner and comedy producer. A key piece of the scene in Biloxi, Miss., Gillespie started Landmass Comedy and runs shows and open mics to help the local talent grow. He's also bringing in Todd Barry on Aug. 11. In addition to working all over the country on the Brewery Comedy Tour, Gillespie al...

Send us Fan Mail Zeke Buckhaults is a hilarious comedian out of Mobile, Ala. After working in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., Buckhaults came back home to Alabama and found a small scene in Mobile. Over the last few years, he's become a big part of it. He's one of the co-founders of the Mobile Comedy Festival, which is back after a year off and runs from Aug. 6 to Aug. 14, and books r...

Send us Fan Mail Chino LaForge was the only comedian working on Maui when he began his stand-up career in 2007. Since then, he's helped grow a small scene on the Hawaiian island and has toured with Ari Shaffir and opened for Dane Cook, Roseanne Barr and William Shatner. LaForge hosts an MMA podcast, Stoner vs. Stoner, with Don Stoner and he's hunted a pig. Have you done either of those t...

Send us Fan Mail Russell Austin went from punk rock to stand-up and feels right at home on the stage. He got his first paid gig at 14 years old and hasn't stopped performing. The only comedian in Jim Thorpe, Pa., Austin is a regular in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Scranton and the best audience member money can buy. Seriously. You can buy his laughter. Follow Russell Austin Instagram: https:/...

Send us Fan Mail Sam Ike is a super funny and smart comedian out of Boston. He studied theatre in high school and college and then did improv before giving stand-up a serious go in 2015. He's traveled all over the country telling jokes -- at SF Sketchfest, Big Sky Festival and the Second City/NBC Universal Breakout Festival -- and has managed to find time to watch every movie ever made and pl...

Send us Fan Mail Buffalo comedian Don Johnson took a break from Ubering to talk about comedy and ska -- the only two topics that matter. Johnson's been doing stand-up in the Buffalo area for six years and he just started hosting at the Helium Comedy Club before the pandemic arrived. Maybe he's to blame. Johnson produced the Bourbon Legends podcast and runs the Tudor Open Mic in Buffalo....

Send us Fan Mail Josh Wilbert turned a decade-long dream into a reality like we all do -- by going to ... Utica? A comedian in Rome, N.Y., Wilbert got on stage at his honeymoon before finding the comedy scenes in Albany and Utica. A voice actor and Stage Time Trivia host, Wilbert ditched the dishwashing job when his daughter was born and he's been telling jokes since the start of 2019.  Follo...

Send us Fan Mail Richard Douglas Jones has been doing stand-up in Memphis, Tenn., for the last 12 years. He got his start at 30, but he's proven he's one of the best around. Jones opens regularly for Patton Oswalt and Hannibal Buress and has been a part of several festivals. He'll be at the 1865 Comedy Festival in Atlanta in June and the Altercation Comedy Festival in Austin, Texas,...

Send us Fan Mail John Bruton is one of the busiest comedians in Ohio. Based in Cleveland, Bruton runs two weekly shows -- Make Em Laugh Mondays and the Friday Late Show -- and released Nothing Special on YouTube in January. He works with Ali Siddiq and anybody who comes through the Cleveland area at the surrounding Funny Bones and the Cleveland Improv. His great uncle, Bill Bruton, played with the...

Send us Fan Mail Rhode Island comedian Maya Manion has been doing stand-up since 2006 and is one of the funniest people in New England. A mother of three supportive kids, Manion grew up in Vermont and lived in Delaware before becoming a staple in the New England comedy scene.  She's performing at the 2021 Rogue Island Comedy Festival on May 28 and May 29. Go see her if you can. Follow Maya Ma...

Send us Fan Mail Salt Lake City comedian Rachel Rothenberg started doing stand-up five years ago while canvassing in Nevada for the 2016 presidential election. An excellent writer and an avid Seinfeld fan, Rothenberg launched the PandeMic in February 2020 to tackle the online market when the pandemic began as a way to keep comedians in shape. She ran that for a year and is still producing content...

Send us Fan Mail San Antonio comedian Irma Ruiz left her teaching job and found her place on the stage. A stand-up in her sixth year, Ruiz works all over Texas, Las Vegas and anywhere in range of a casino. Born to entertain, she's a mother of four and she's determined to make a career in comedy.  Follow Irma Ruiz Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindtwistcomedy Instagram: https://www.i...

Send us Fan Mail Wes Corwin got his start in stand-up at the University of Texas in Austin and moved to Memphis for a few years. He came back to Texas to win the Best Comedian in Dallas, awarded by the Dallas Observer, and took first in the Addison Improv's Funniest Comedian in Texas in 2018. He's a hilarious writer and performer and was able to get some of his animation work on Conan du...

Send us Fan Mail Dewayne White was in the military for 23 years and ended his career in northern Virginia. After sending a kid to college, he began a new journey as a stand-up. Incredibly active during the pandemic, White is trying to stand out in a very competitive D.C. comedy scene, while also giving back to the Armed Services Arts Partnership for veterans. But what's scarier than serving 2...

Send us Fan Mail Los Angeles comedian Jonathan Flanagan made the switch from improv to stand-up and has been telling jokes all over the world. He's performed at several festivals across the country and spent three weeks at a fairly big one in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2019. Flanagan is a great writer and once played basketball with Sarah Silverman. That's all the resume anybody ever needs....

Send us Fan Mail Rebekah Gibson is a hilarious comedian and podcaster in Chicago. She started doing stand-up about five years ago in Wisconsin and moved to Chicago shortly after that. A big fan of fast food, especially Popeye's and Taco Bell, Gibson  teamed up with good buddies and fellow comedians Blake Burkhart and Jonah Jurkens to start a new podcast, Never Seen The Simpsons. Gibson is wat...

Send us Fan Mail Wendy Wilkins moved from Binghamton to Los Angeles in 1992 and she's been there ever since. A stand-up and screenwriter, she's been working in entertainment since graduating from SUNY New Paltz. From seeing Adam Sandler in the green room during college to working in production on Mr. Show and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Wilkins has been able to achieve a childhood dream.  Follow...

Send us Fan Mail After spending 15 years in the army, James Mac began his stand-up comedy career in Dallas before moving to Arizona and then to New Jersey. Firmly entrenched in the New York City and Philadelphia scenes, Mac auditioned for a spot at the New York Comedy Club before having to shift his business online. Since then, he's flourished -- both as a producer and comedian. Follow James...