PUTNEY — Gordon Clark and his Vermont Comedy All-Stars return Friday, June 17, at 7:30 p.m. for a night of stand-up comedy at Next Stage Arts, following their enormously successful shows in November and March. Featured performers will include several contest-winning and touring comedians most often seen in the Burlington area.
“We all need reasons to laugh, and the Vermont Comedy All Stars do an outstanding job,” Keith Marks, executive director of Next Stage Arts, said in a news release. “Comedians will be coming from all around the state to perform - partnering with the All-Stars allows them to reach a new audience in the southern part of the state and build a new following.”
The cast of stellar performers includes:
• Jessie Baade, a long time stand-up performer, hailing from the Catskills of New York but now located in Brattleboro. She performs regularly at venues throughout the Northeast, and has been featured in the Women In Comedy Festival, Boston Comedy Festival (2021 competition), Chris Fleming's Gayle web series, and the New York International Fringe Festival.
• Emma Dooley is originally from the Hudson Valley of New York and started doing comedy in Albuquerque, N.M. She recently returned to the Northeast, specifically the Brattleboro area, and says she “is excited to bring her charming, awkward, weirdo comedic energy to Vermont.”
• Meredith Gordon was a finalist in the 2019 Vermont's Funniest Comedian Contest. She was featured at the Gilda Laugh Fest and has performed several one-woman shows in Burlington with the Off Center for the Dramatic Arts and the Vermont Comedy Club. In her spare time she operates her own business, Deep Cut Creations, where she makes custom and pop culture dolls.
• Jeremy Rayburn is a Burlington-based comedian, writer, and filmmaker who produces and hosts two monthly shows in his home town: Junk Island, a late-night-style comedy variety show, and Whale Tales, which features comedic storytelling. He also produces and hosts a weekly radio show, Tight 60, which blends comedy and music on 99.3 WBTV Burlington.
• Gilman Seymour hails from a small New England town and has studied improv, hosted radio shows (including Sunday Spins in Concord, N.H.), and won comedy contests, including the A-Brews Comedy Contest in Dracut, Mass.
• Mike Thomas is a veteran Vermont stand-up and a five-time finalist in Vermont's Funniest Comedian contest. He performs regularly at the Vermont Comedy Club and has opened and featured for national headliners including Wyatt Cenac, Kyle Finane and Sam Jay.
Gordon Clark is the producer and host of the Next Stage comedy shows, and the director of Vermont Comedy All-Stars, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the comic arts in Vermont. He also produces and hosts the monthly “Second Wednesday” Comedy Jam at Nectar's in Burlington.
Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. For more information and updates, visit nextstagearts.org.