This week on State of the Arts NYC we talk COMEDY. We will have young comedians sharing their love of this craft, the various types of comedy that we seem to love – standup, sketch & improv.

Joining us is Branson Reese, Mamoudou N’diaye and Dominique Nisperos. Branson has studied under such luminaries of the stage and screen as Zach Woods, Peter McNerney, Shannon O'Neill, Russ Armstrong, Joe Wengert, Rick Andrews, Anthony Atamaniuk, and many more. He's one third of surreal sketch wündergroup The Junk Brothers, and one half of NYC's rudest improv duo TJ & Blood with Carly Monardo. Branson has directed and performed in sketch festivals all across these great United States from New York to San Francisco. His credits include work with The Onion, WNYC, VH1, Cosmopolitan, The Special Without Brett Davis, and Cartoon Monsoon. Fans of Brisk Iced Tea may recognize him as the skinny man in the lemon head costume from the commercial

Mamoudoe (AKA America's Black Friend) is a Brooklyn based Mauritanian stand-up comic, writer, improvisor, & DJ. He's originally from West Africa and has been a writer/performer on Deada$$, Ryan Live, a contributor to Funny or Die, actor on MTV's Decoded, and a NBC/UCNT Diversity Showcase Semifinalist. Read his tweets @MamoudouNDiaye & follow his exploits on Instagram @thewoominati

Dominique Nisperos has been writing, performing, directing and producing comedy since 2001. She works in sketch, standup, and improv and threads her work with a politics of social justice rooted in her training as a social scientist. She is also a doctoral student in Sociology in New York City where she resides, teaches, and researches politics in humor. She was trained at the University of California Berkeley and the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre. You can find her railing against The Man and performing at comedy venues across the city.

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