HEADLINERS
FRANCO TADDEO
We are all looking for a connection, these days from a distance, granted. The breaking of the barrier between audience and performer, so a performance becomes a shared experience for all to laugh and celebrate: this is Franco's comedy mission. At one point, for one moment, for every audience somewhere along his routine to think, "Yeah, me too!" From the unique trajectory of academia to comedy stages across North America, his ability to channel the outsider in all of us has made him a club, festival , corporate, fundraising gala radio favourite. As heard on CBC Radio-1 Montréal – Daybreak as its Parenting Columnist with his humour yet insightful anecdotes on surviving parenthood as the father of three in a world where time and patience are fleeting.
- Star of the TV Comedy Special - Whose Canada is it?".
- Performer and writer on the acclaimed CBC Radio series "THE DEBATERS".
- Star of Three National Tours and The Winnipeg – Boston- Cornwall & Laval Laughs Comedy Festival
- Franco's first Album "Franco Taddeo – You never stop" sold over 10 000 copies worldwide (2 in Ohio)
His latest, "Franco Taddeo- Live" is now available.
Catch him and see why they say:
"Bright, Articulate and Funny!" - The Suburban
"Semplicemente Splendido" - Il Cittadino Canadese
"One of Canada's Finest" - Ottawa Sun
"Critically Acclaimed" - Montreal Gazette
TARA CANNISTRACI
Tara is an Italian-American stand-up comedian born and raised in the Bronx, NY. She uses her New York upbringing as the foundation for her take on observational comedy. She has taken her talents to stage, television, film, off-Broadway and centerfield as the scoreboard host for the New York Yankees. She wrote for and and was featured on SportsNet New York’s (SNY) “Oh Yeah”.
Tara is the co-creator of We Stand Comedy, a production house that produces live shows and digital content. She is a proud member and regular performer at the world famous Friars Club, and produces and performs for fellow Friar Chazz Palminteri’s Child Reach Foundation annual event. She also has toured regionally with Danny Aiello's Italian Chicks. Tara performs regularly in NYC, throughout the country and Canada.
GUIDO GRASSO
As an actor, Guido Grasso has worked both in cinema and on TV. In 1998 he played the role of young Peter Magaddino in the film Bonanno: A Godfather Story. Then he went to New York to improve his skills at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the New Actors Workshop. There he worked with Mike Nichols, George Stills and George Morrison. Since then, Grasso has appeared in several films and TV commercials, and was chosen to star in two episodes of the famous series Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David and the great Martin Scorsese. In 2012 he played also in the film Mirror Mirror played by Julia Roberts, while in 2013, in the film Nicky Deuces with some members of the cast of the Sopranos (James Gandolfini, Michael Imperioli, Tony Sirico, Vincent Curatola, and Steve Schirripa). In 2015, in Robert Zemeckis’ film The Walk with Joseph Gordon Levitt, Guido Grasso said the phrase “Hiya Doin”. As for his career as a comedian, he gained momentum when Grasso opened the show for Joe Avati who was on a world tour.
PINO PIRILLO
His witty comedic style brings to life what it’s like growing up in an old school Italian family. He has exploded onto the Montréal comedy scene and like all things Montréal: smoked meat, poutine and potholes!
He is conquering North America having entertained audiences in Montreal, Toronto, New York and most recently Connecticut.
Star of the Italian Bad Boyz of Comedy. He has also shared the stage with some of the finest wits working in comedy and left a terrific impression on them and every audience he has come across.
N'RIKO RENNELLA
N’Riko is a talented comedian from Italy. His style is unique, effervescent and down-right hilarious. He has won the love of his audiences worldwide and continues to amuse and entertain with always fresh and new material.
He is Italian, that's for sure, but he spent many years of his life in the City of Lights. Born from the union of a Neapolitan father and a Parisian mother, N’Riko carries within him the perfect mixture of "la dolce vita" and the "savoir faire" from two of the most beautiful cities in the world.
N’Riko was born in Paris, on April Fool's day … destiny? Probably so. At the young age of one, he moved to Naples, Italy, where he did most of his growing up and where he mastered the art of comedy. As a young man, N’Riko worked hard to achieve his dreams. He tackled every and any job available to provide for himself and carve out his career as a future showman. He's been everything from a waiter to a restaurant owner, from a clerk to a nightclub manager.
In his 20s, N’Riko moved back to Paris and continued to pursue his dreams. He began performing all over Europe, in countries like Belgium, France and Switzerland. He then discovered Canada and fell in love with the local Italian-Canadian community. Performing in U.K., Australia and a headline opener for the famous Joe Avati!. With dozens of sold-out shows under his belt, N’Riko is ready to push forward and bring his comedy to the world.
JOE CACCHIONE
Thirty-five years of career as a stand-up comedian!!!
He presented over 3000 shows in Italian, French, English and Spanish mainly in Canada but also in the rest of North and Central America and in various countries in Europe.
Picking on the everyday life is his trademark. Playing with words, he’ll make you realize how strange languages could be.
School principal by day, humorist by night, Joe often wonders: how can you die of laughter knowing that laughter is the best medicine?
GIUESEPPE THE MC
Giueseppe the MC, Italo-Canadese Comedian and online sensation: Since 2015 Giuseppe has headlined all over Canada, Australia, Europe and United States. In 2023, he will start up his stand-up comedy world tour about his Italian culture.
LESLEY LYNNE
Sincerely irreverent, Lesley Lynn has been a fixture in the Sudbury comedy scene for the past seven years. She has recently begun performing in Sault Ste. Marie at venues including Tazzi's, The Loft, and The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre. A life-long feminist, she is proud to be the longest standing female comedian in the Sudbury scene. She holds her own in the male-dominated art of crafting jokes with a wry sense of humour and a killer sense of fashion. Her observational writing has been described as clever and her delivery as adorably edgy, surprising, and sly. Minivan road trips to open mics in other northern Ontario towns are a favourite pastime and she can often be found napping on the side of highway 17 between North Bay and Sault Ste. Marie.
JANELLE NILES
“Janelle Niles is a Black – Mi’kmaq woman from Sipekne'katik, Nova Scotia. She launched her comedy career in January 2019 in Ottawa, ON. Exploding in the nation's capital with her indigenous comedy show Got Land?, Janelle aims to communicate solidarity through humour and laughter. Her dream is to perform for Just For Laughs in Montreal and one day tour Turtle Island. You can catch her on CBC Gem’s New Wave Of Stand-up Season 2, she has also performed with the Arctic Comedy Festival in Iqaluit, Nunavut alongside her peers. Janelle’s humour is described as eccentric and captivating.”
CRYSTAL FERRIER
Crystal Ferrier has performed all over the world from Canada, to New York, to India. The first Indian woman to headline Kenny Robinson’s Nubian Disciples of Pryor, in addition to Kevin Hart’s LOL Network and CTV Canada’s Roast Battle, she is one to watch out for. By day, this SuperWoman is a Behavioural Therapist. By night, she is an actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Also, a mother of 2, this funny mummy’s real-life, raw comedic personality is unforgettable and will captivate anyone who falls in her company.
LAURIE ELLIOTT
Laurie is a headlining comedy performer and four-time winner of the Funniest Female Comic at The Canadian Comedy Awards. Her stand-up credits include multiple gala performances at Montreal's Just for Laughs Festival, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, the Comedy Factory in Rotterdam, Raw Comedy Club in Stockholm and a gala run at the Cape Town International Comedy Festival in South Africa. Laurie recently opened for Arsenio Hall and for comedian Stewart Francis during his farewell tour in England.
A series regular on CBC’s popular show, The Debaters, acting credits also include The Red Green Show (she married Harold), But I'm Chris Jericho, and Crave TVs, New Eden. Her voice can be heard on many animated series such as Total Drama Island, Scaredy Squirrel, Camp Lakebottom, Wishfart and Cupcake and Dino.
In addition to stand up and acting, Laurie's television writing has spanned nearly 20 ears. Selected credits include five seasons of Total Drama Island, Sixteen, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Rocket Monkeys, Total Dramarama, and Apple's Pinecone and Pony and The Snoopy Show.
ADRIENNE FISH
With a huge afro, Adrienne Fish has been making her mark on Canada’s comedy scene. Based in Toronto, Adrienne has recorded four nationally televised showcases and is regularly featured on SiriusXM and CBC Radio. She’s appeared at Just For Laughs, Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Halifax Comedy
Festival, Hubcap Comedy Festival, Atlanta’s Laughing Skull and JFL 42. An award-winning comedian, Adrienne earned COCA Comedian of The Year honors in 2019 as the top comedian for Canadian colleges and Universities and was nominated for two Canadian Comedy Awards including Breakout Artist of the Year.
