The Reading Room is a gathering place that welcomes creativity and community, for this show we hope to bring loads of laughter into an already great Omaha space!

Featuring:
 
Thea L. Anderson
Thea does standup, characters, and musical comedy about religion, recovery, and being a theatre kid in an office job.

Pete Sakaris
Born with Cerebral Palsy, Pete Sakaris is an Omaha, Nebraska based comedian who has overcome many an obstacle in life. From surgeries, to bullying to just plain not understanding the world that he was prematurely born into. He uses his presence on stage, and navigation of this curious and turbulent maelstrom called life to show people that they can achieve anything, follow their dreams and be successful, regardless of their limitations or disabilities.

Bob Gurnett
Bob Gurnett is a comedian originally from Omaha, Nebraska, now based in Brooklyn. His act blends stand-up with award-winning storytelling to create an experience that is candid, sincere, engaging, but above all, hilarious. Bob is a 3 time Moth StorySlam champion and his solo show about finding his best friend, Forever Young, just completed its sold out premier in Brooklyn. Bob would love to be your new best friend.

Jonah Nigh
Jonah Nigh, whom Instinct Magazine exclaimed is "armed with razor-sharp wit, an infectious stage presence, and a fearless approach to storytelling," has appeared in a variety of roles for NBC (“Baking It,” produced by Amy Poehler and hosted by Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg), Peacock, CBS, Don't Tell Comedy, NYC Pride March, among other outlets. He has opened for Robby Hoffman and Natasha Leggero, and he was recently filmed for the comedy series "Behind the Comedian" which will air on Amazon Prime. He was awarded second place in the 2025 US Comedy Contest (Los Angeles) and 2024 Next Best Comic competition (Canada); third place in the 2025 Comedy Mob Festival at Rodney's (NYC); and he was a finalist in the 2025 NY Queer Comedy Festival and 2024 Portland Comedy Film Festival. He has appeared in commercial campaigns for Chevy, Bose, and other national brands. A former opera singer, Jonah was born in San Francisco and grew up in Minnesota and Washington, D.C.

Festival Headliner Carter Deems!
Carter Deems is a standup comic from Atlanta, Georgia.  He was a cast member on the MTV show Wild ‘N Out and a writer on the TBS show Drop The Mic.  He was also a writer on the Emmy nominated series Epic Rap Battles of History.  In 2025, Carter won the Atlanta’s Funniest Competition at the Helium Comedy Club.  Carter has also made appearances on CNN, Funny Or Die, NPR, Bravo TV and Snoop Dogg’s Gladiator School.

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