For previous participants, see the Bio Archive.

Born in the Great State of New Jersey, Dean's comedy comes in large part from his unique background of being the son of a Palestinian father and a Sicilian mother. Dean, an award winning comedian who was at one time a practicing attorney, has appeared on ABC's "The View," Comedy Central's "Axis of Evil" Comedy special and is the co-creator and co-producer of Comedy Central.com's critically acclaimed Internet series "The Watch List," featuring a cast of all Middle Eastern-American comedians performing stand up and sketch comedy. He is also one of five comedians profiled in the upcoming one-hour documentary airing nationally on PBS in 2008 entitled: "Stand Up: Muslim-American Comics Come of Age."  

Maysoon Zayid is an actress and professional standup comedian, who received her BFA in acting from Arizona State University. She is the co-founder and co-executive producer of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and can be seen on Comedy Central's The Watch List and in the upcoming Adam Sandler movie, You Don't Mess With Zohan. She has appeared on As The World Turns, Law & Order, MTV, NBC Nightly News, CNN, ABC's 20/20, The New York Times, and WashingtonPost.com.  

Waleed will be seen in the upcoming HBO/BBC miniseries about Saddam Hussein, "Between Two Rivers," playing his best friend, Adnan Hamdani. Broadway: Sixteen Wounded. The Public: Mother Courage (w/Merly Streep & Kevin Kline), Stuff Happens (Drama Desk Winner, "Outstanding Ensemble")...  

Broadway: Cyrano De Bergerac, Dir. David Leveaux. TV: The Grid - TNT, The Sopranos, Law and Order CI, The Education of Max Bickford, Conan O' Brian, Chappelle's Show, One Life To Live, As the World Turns, David Letterman, 60 Minutes, Discovery Channel...  

Ryan P Shrime is a Lebanese-American actor born in Dallas, Texas. He began training classically as a dancer and lyric tenor at the age of 15, and much of his pre-college performance was dedicated to musical theater. While at Harvard, he had the opportunity to study closely with the faculty of the American Repertory Theater. Graduating with a BA in Economics, naturally, Ryan moved to New York, landing his first Off-Broadway role shortly thereafter... 

Al Nazemian recently acted in the independent film Love, produced by Jim Stark, which screened at the Tribeca & Venice Festivals this year. His character Ali is a Lebanese hitman who falls in love with an American girl in NYC. Other film credits include Teknolust (w/ Tilda Swinton & Karen Black) & Nola (w/ Mary McDonnell & Emmy Rossum). Al has also appeared on Law & Order & Saturday Night Live.  

Alia is the co-writer and one of the stars of this year's hilarious spoof 'Beirut Hills.' Known as the "ethnic kid" at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, Alia has been in numerous commercials such as the Iowa Lotto where she was cast as a Columbian newlywed and in many industrials for companies such as Best Buy, where they cast her as a sassy Italian... 

Amanda Baramki's dry wit and off kilter perspective led David Manning of The Ridgefield Press to call Baramki, "laugh out loud hilarious!" Baramki generally delights her audiences with musings ranging from irreverent topics like flag burning, and hot button issues like crossword puzzles and scrabble! You can catch Amanda, and other great comedians, at her own weekly show at The Village Lantern (167 Bleeker Street) every Friday at 9pm. 

Amer Zahr is a Palestinan-American currently living in Michigan. His comedy comes from his experiences and thoughts growing up as an Arab-American. Amer has been performing stand-up for 4 years and before that was an active pro-Palestinian voice. His activism included dozens of published writings and appearances on TV, including two appearances on ABC's Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher. 

Jordanian filmmaker, Amin Matalqa, spent almost half his life stuck in Ohio. After a successful business career in the telecommunications industry, he decided to pursue his childhood dream and start over by moving to Los Angeles and making short films while writing feature screenplays and attending the Directing MFA program at the American Film Institute. 

Aron Kader is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian who has been featured on Comedy Central's Premium Blend and has guest-starred on FX's award-winning drama The Shield. Aron can be seen regularly at the Comedy Store in Hollywood, Calif. and has been featured in Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post for tackling social and political issues in his comedy. 

Specializing in sketch and character-driven comedy, Neil and Bethel have written and performed close to a dozen original shows across the country. Other shows include: Legs Wide Shut at the Bank Street Theater, Insomnia at the West Bank Theatre, and Faking It, Again at the HBO Workspace in Los Angeles. Neil and Bethel perform throughout New York City, including NBC's prestigious PSNBC, Carolines on Broadway, Luna Lounge and are contributing writers for US Magazine. 

Daoud Heidami returns to the stage after recently shooting the feature film You Don't Mess With The Zohan with Adam Sandler. New York Theater credits include: Masked at DR2; Green Zone at Lincoln Center Directors Lab '07; Aswat at New York Theatre Workshop; (I am) Nobody's Lunch... 

Eman is a Palestinian Canadian living in Montreal. She decided to give Stand-up a shot a year ago after watching several performers on various open-mike nights and realizing "I think I can do that". As it turns out, her very first two times on stage were actually right here in New York City.  

Born and raised in New York, Eman Ahmed is an Egyptian-American attorney, specializing in employment discrimination. She received her B.A. from St. John's University, Suma Cum Laude, and her J.D. from New York Law School, having served as an editor on Law Review...  

Fajer Al-Kaisi is a recent arrival to the city and is thrilled to be making his New York Theatre debut with the Arab American Comedy Festival. Iraqi Canadian by way of Texas, Fajer is geographically confused, at best. Fajer has just completed his Masters in Acting from the University of Texas at Austin... 

George is 23 years old who was born and raised in suburban-Detroit. He is half-Palestinian and half-Jordanian. A graduate of the University of Michigan who is currently working on his law degree at Wayne State University Law School. George has been writing and performing stand-up comedy around Metro-Detroit for the past 4 1/2 years. 

Egyptian born Haythem has a BA in Economics from CCNY and is currently studying acting with William Esper. Noor is the nephew of legend Kamal El-shinnawi. He decided to peruse acting in 2002. He has recently appeared in Law & Order, Without a Trace, Third Watch, Law & Order - Special Victims Unit...  

Helen Maalik was born in Damascus, Syria, and came to the United States at the age of 7. A stand-up comedienne based in New York City, Helen performs regularly at top comedy clubs. She was featured on ABC's 20/20 on a segment about Arab American comedians and had a recurring role as an interior designer on the Oxygen Network's home improvement show Nice Package. 

Born and Raised in the Middle East, Hend moved to NYC two years ago and has since co-starred in the Emmy award winning film Death of a President, Comedy Central's 'The Watch List,' and in The Lark Theatre's production Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo... 

Jacob Kader was born in Provo, Utah to a Palestinian Father and a Mormon Mother. His family moved from Utah to Reston, Virginia where he grew up the youngest of four brothers, which made him very sensitive. He has performed Stand-up and Improv comedy in New York and appeared in the play Grenade in the 2004 New York Arab-American Comedy Festival. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two cats.  

Jimmy Goson is one of the very few comedians in the United States of Lebanese heritage. Originally from Akron, Ohio, Jimmy has performed at comedy clubs such as the Improv and Comedy Store across the country and delighted audiences with stories of his family upbringing that appeals to all ages. Jimmy has performed for many charities such as St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Retinitis Pigmentosa, numerous organizations and business conferences. 

From the start of his career, stand-up comedy fit like a glove for Joe DeRosa. Within his first year, Joe was a regular at all the major clubs in the Philadelphia area, using the stage as an outlet for venting his pet peeves and general annoyances. Since his arrival in New York City, Joe has written for MTV and works his aggressive rants regularly at venues such as Caroline's and the Laugh Factory. 

High-energy, commanding and versatile — but enough about her sex life — Kerri can entertain any audience with her warmth and razor-edge wit. So it's no wonder that NBC took Kerri all the way to the finals in the show Last Comic Standing with Jay Mohr. Kerri's broad appeal has made her a natural on television appearances like NBC's Access Hollywood, The Apprentice, ABC's The View, Comedy Central, VH1, 20/20, and New Joke City. 

Born in England to Syrian parents. Studied at the William Esper Studio under William Esper. TV: Recurring on Third Watch, Law and Order - C I, The Sopranos, Rescue me and Traveler. Film: Sadiq, Arranged, The Visitor, Spiderman 3, The Last New Yorker, Slippery Slope, Mama’s Boy and A piece of America.  

The Black Eyed, New York Theatre Workshop; Girl Blog From Iraq: Baghdad Burning, Barrow Street Theater/Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Stage Theater Award Nomination, Outstanding Ensemble); Dinner Game, New York Arab-American Comedy Festival; Stuff Happens, Public Theater (Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Ensemble); Details of Silence, Symphony Space; "A" Date, New York Arab-American Comedy Festival... 

As newcomer to the Arab-American comedy scene, Leila is very excited to be performing in this year's festival. She studies fulltime at the William Esper Studio with Suzanne Esper. 

Writer/performer: ISite (U.S., Europe and China); In the Crossing (Dir. Shana Gold - Nibras, New York Theatre Workshop: The Public: "New Work Now!" 2006); Hkeelee (Cherry Lane: "Middle East in Pieces" 2006)... 

Leila's career has included hosting stints on Entertainment Tonight, E!, Style, WE, PAX-TV, Metro-TV, and the Oxygen Channel. In addition, her television guest appearances include roles on MTV's Apt 2F, All My Children, Guiding Light, and Conan O'Brien. Leila's film credits include The Reunion, which was a winner at the New York Independent Film Festival, and Fractured. Leila is currently hosting Hi-Jinks on Nickelodeon (Nick at Nite).  

Lena, a Palestinian-American, made her acting debut in "Live With Pascal and Chantal!" at the 2003 NYAACF and the 2004 NYC Fringe Festival. Lena wrote and acted in "Layla's Sahra" for the 2004 NYAACF, and later extended it to a feature-length play for the 2005 NYC Fringe Festival. She has written several comedic sketches for the NYAACF, including "Living It Up in Long Island" in 2006. She has performed stand-up comedy at Gotham Comedy Club, Stand-Up New York, The Laugh Factory and New York Comedy Club, and at various "Middle Eastern Bizarre" comedy shows. She also specializes in Middle Eastern voice-overs. 

Leaving behind her hometown of Columbus, Ohio, Maria Shehata quickly earned herself a place at the table at some of the best comedy clubs in New York City. Maria's sharp and original stand-up, combined with her crowd pleasing conversational delivery has brought her appearances in NY's Arab-American Comedy Festival, the Emerging Comics showcase at the NY Underground Comedy Festival, Comedy Central's The Watch List, TLC, WE Network, and numerous guest appearances on Sirius Satellite Radio. 

Meena Dimian has been climbing the NYC comedy circuit in leaps and bounds. His loveable and stimulating appeal has caught the attention of audiences and industry figures alike. Meena has starred in the powerful documentary "Freedomless," and you can catch him in Spike Lee's upcoming NBC series "M.O.N.Y."  

Despite stellar reviews of his third grade stage debut as an elf in his school's Christmas pageant, Michael Tarazi is better known for his recent work as a spokesperson for the PLO. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he has been featured on the cover of The Wall Street Journal and has published political commentary in The New York Times and The Washington Post. He makes his comedic debut at the NYAACF as he reflects on working in the West Bank, encounters with celebrities and life as a single, gay Arab American. 

Born to Egyptian parents, Michele attended Circle in the Square Theatre School and is an alumni of the William Esper Studio. Michele recently starred in the world premiere of "The Fever Chart: Three Visions of the Middle East" at the Mill Mountain Theater in Virginia... 

Mike Batayeh is a native of Detroit, Michigan who is of Jordanian descent. Mike, a comedian, actor and writer who resides in California performs regularly all around town including such notable venues as the Laugh Factory, the Comedy Store the L.A. Improv and the Icehouse. As an actor he has guest starred in numerous telvision shows including, "The Shield", "Everybody Loves Raymond", "JAG", "Life"... 

Masters in Musical Theatre (The Boston Conservatory); BFA in Musical Theatre (The University of Michigan). His one-man show, MUSLIM: the musical!, has been seen regionally.  

Mohamed Masoud is Egyptian but was born and raised in Jersey City, NJ and lives in Roselle, NJ. He is a Personal Trainer, receiving a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Mohamed has opened for Ahmed Ahmed at the Egyptian American Alliance of Youth (EAAY) conference. He has also performed in Arabian Nights at the Univeristy of Maryland. 

Najla is an award winning actress, comedian and writer. As an actress, she has appeared Off-Broadway, regionally and internationally, as well as in film and television. She is a founding member of Nibras Theatre Collective, and one of New York Theatre Workshop's "Usual Suspects." She is currently working on her one woman show... 

Nasry Malak is a hilarious actor comedian who has been in the business for over ten years. He grew up in Jersey City, NJ, where he found a lot to laugh at. He quips about his youth in Jersey City saying, "Nascar races should be held in Jersey City. Spend 5 minutes in J.C. and you can't wait to race out of there." 

Negin (AKA token Iranian) just completed producing/directing the Comedy Central series, The Watch List. She also directed the upcoming feature film, Nerdcore Rising about nerdcore hip hop. As a standup comedian, she has opened for the likes of Al Franken in venues ranging from the Comedy Store in Los Angeles to Town Hall on Broadway... 

Neil Malik Abdullah is a professional and international actor from Germany. He recently acted in the movie "Chico" which is in post production and produced by Fathi Akin. He also worked in international productions like "Hamburg Cell" and the German TV-Show "GSG9", which was shown in more than 13 countries... 

Noel Elgrably grew up in the nation's capital but left his day-job selling insurance to pursue his calling as a stand-up comedian in Los Angeles. The son of a French-Moroccan father and Moroccan-Israeli mother, he offers an original comedic perspective on growing up as a child of immigrants below the Mason-Dixon line. Noel's rare genius reminds us in comic terms that we're all the same even when we think we're different.  

Film: Michael Clayton (dir. Tony Gilroy), The Interpreter (dir. Sidney Pollack), Celebrity, Hollywood Ending, Small Time Crooks and Curse of the Jade Scorpion (dir. Woody Allen), Strip Search (dir. Sidney Lumet), The Standard Man, Prime, People I Know, The Peacemaker, Conspiracy Theory. TV: The Sopranos, Flight of the Conchords, 30 Rock... 

Rasha is ecstatic to be making her debut with NYAACF and is looking forward to many years to come. She was last seen in Church and also in Poetics: a ballet brut during the Under The Radar Festival at The Public Theatre... 

Born in Western Massachusetts, Remi Kanazi is a Palestinian American poet and writer living in New York City. Much of his writing and poetry focuses on Palestinian life and politics. Remi is the co-founder and primary writer for the political website www.PoeticInjustice.net and the editor of the forthcoming book of poetry, Poets for Palestine. 

Habib was born Habib Abdul-Habib in Baghdad, Iraq in 1980. The young Habib got his start in show business in 1983 working as an oud polisher for Munir Bashir. A year later Habib began working as an opening act for various acts across the region.  

Born in Miami and raised by Egyptian parents, Ronnie is a comedian, actor and screenwriter. He has taped for Comedy Central, A&E, and been featured on sketches for Conan O'Brien. He has been in numerous, national comedy festivals, written for Collegehumor.com, and featured on Air America, NPR and BBC. He hopes to one day rule the world. 

Sarah A. Abdallah is a first generation Egyptian-American and is a native New Yorker. During the past few years, she has continued on to earn her Interior Design degree from Parsons School of Design and is currently working in a world-renowned design firm in NYC. She continues to explore different avenues of how one can bridge the issues revolving around the Arab and Arab-American communities through the arts. 

Sarah Siadat is a recent graduate from Marymount Manhattan College with a BA in Theater Performance, She is a native from Oregon but holds dear her half Saudi half Persian roots. She was recently seen in the Vagina Monologues, the Crucible, The Complete Work of William Shakespeare Abridged... 

Everything about Egyptian-American stand up comedian Sherif Hedayat is skewed, including his hair, nose and path in life. He was born in Greece, raised in Egypt and finally settled down in Dayton, Ohio. He speaks English, Arabic and French. His past careers include radio disc jockey, radio account executive, CEO of an internet company, race car driver and professional poker player before deciding to pursue a career in stand up comedy. 

Off-Broadway: Betty Shamieh's Roar (The New Group). Broadway workshop: The Threepenny Opera (Roundabout Theatre Co.) with Alan Cumming and Edie Falco, directed by Scott Elliot.
Sherri made her scriptwriting and directing debut last year with the comic short The Night of Then (available on YouTube), in which she played the lead. 

Raised in the bomb shelters of Beirut, Tamar Da Star is a force to be reckoned with. Her bold and brassy personality, which she erected while doing gritty roles in San Francisco theatre, would shy away any drag queen. Credits include: Tony and Tina's Wedding, Live with Pascale and Chantal, Vagina Monologues, Layla's Sahra, Hi Joan! Leila Layla...  

Tracy Francis is an Egyptian-American director and actress. She was recently the assistant director on "The Black Eyed" at New York Theatre Workshop (Off-Broadway). Other directing credits include "A Marraige Proposal" at the Falaki Theatre in Cairo, as well as numerous off-off Broadway and university projects... 

Just finished playing Demetrius in Midsummer Night's Dream last month at the Impact Theatre (Brooklyn). Before that, as Smirnov in Columbia University's production of Chekhov's The Bear . Also seen at the Fringe NYC'07 in the successful...