Help us kick off the Fest with the opening stand-up showcase featuring five comedians from all over the country.

Stand-up

Bree Kalhorn's fresh take on comedy is candid and provocative. Her cutting wit has resonated with audiences at the Des Comedie, Laugh Out Loveland, Funlap, and Sno Jam comedy festivals. Locally, Bree is known for her sharp tongue, winning several roast battles around Omaha (and one in Iowa). She was interviewed about this on KPAO TV show, “Food and Laughter,” episode 10. She later returned as a guest host in season 2, episodes 9 and 10.

Absurd/alternative standup comedian. Basic setups with unexpected endings. Touching on topics like mental health, the glass room above the Walgreens entrance and the mailman.

Julian Fernandez is a non-binary, latino comedian and impressionist from Los Angeles, CA. They started doing stand-up at seventeen, mixing celebrity impressions and voices with observations and stories from their, not so, everyday life. Julian's comedy has been featured on shows like, first impressions with Dana Carvey, Laughs On Fox, and ESPN Sportscenter. In 2022, Julian produced and released their first comedy special, “Thirty”. They've traveled all around the country performing at clubs, colleges, festivals, apartments, and other events like Kevin & Bean's April Foolishness in 2017.

Kelly is a Los Angeles-based comedian who originally hails from the subjectively wonderful state of New Jersey. She's done comedy throughout the US and even parts of the world like Mexico, Paris and the UK. Kelly brings a dark self deprecating, brutally honest humor that anyone in the world can relate to and laugh at least a little bit.

Megan Malone has a knack for clever, observational humor that cuts right to the heart of growing up in the Midwest. She started her standup career to hone her dialogue skills after working on a TV pilot, and now performs regularly throughout the region. Her work has been published in Found Magazine, Current Television, and Good Magazine.