“This is why I’m Hot” , the theme song to Lebanese Comic Nemr Abou Nasser. Nemr represents a grand sector of Lebanese population that was forced to immigrate out of Lebanon due to the war. After living in the USA for a period of time, Nemr returns to Lebanon to study at the American University in Beirut (AUB) and single handedly start the Lebanese comedy circuit. His jokes are mixed with sexual comedy, cynical comedy, and cultural eccentricities.
Nemr associates with Bassma (a social development initiative sans political or religious association) and Children’s Cancer Center Lebanon.
Aron Kader is a Palestinian-American, Muslim morman comedian from DC. Unlike several of his fellow Arab-American comedians, Aron is a professional performer who studied in the performing arts and honed his comic skills both within the Los Angeles comedy club circuit as well as in the “The Groundings” Sunday sketch theatre company.
One of the things that makes Aron unique is that he gives back to the Middle Eastern community, not just through countless hours of fun and entertainment, but also through formal education. Aron is the first person to formally teach comedy in the Middle East both in 2008 when he taught comedy to a classroom of Jordanian students prior to the “Amman Comedy Festival” -- cofounded by his fellow comic Dean Obeidallah- and in 2009 when he set-up a four week comedy workshop during the Dubai Shopping Festival.
Dean Obeidallah is a uniquely Palestinian, Italian, American Comic. Born in New Jersey and educated in Law, Dean somehow ends up as a world renown comedian and the co-founder of the Arab American Comedy festival along with Maysoon Zayid.
Dean’s style of comedy is typically very personal where he uses events from his life growing up in a multicultural house-hold in America to connect with his audience and deliver a very personal message from a very nice guy. Dean draws from the personality clashes of an Arab-Muslim father, with a Sicilian Mother growing up in a primarily Italian-American community in New Jersey. He also delivers a wealth of political comedy and satire that is understandable considering the unique role that Arab American comics play as Ambassadors for the Middle East in the United States, as well as Ambassadors for the general American public to the Middle East.
Be sure to check out Dean’s shows on the comedy central online channel …
Omid Djalili is a British Iranian comic who claims that he started his professional life as a management consultant. During his corporate life he started moonlighting as a type-cast actor in serveral local shows always playing the ‘ethnic’ parts no matter what ehtnicity that was, so long as it wasn’t white. He got his big break during the Edinburgh comedy festival in 1993 and 1994 and hast literally been a sell-out comic since then. He’s also starred in several ‘ethnic roles’ on the big screen including roles in The Mummy and Gladiator. Omid is one of my personal favourite comics providing a rapid pace of non stop punchlines and laughter anywere from ‘ethno-centric’ to physical to political comedy.
Since his debut on February 14, 2007, Saad has opened for notable comedians, including Pat Kilbane (MADtv, Day of the Dead with Ving Rhames, Semi-Pro with Will Ferrell, Starship Dave with Eddie Murphy), Rocky LaPorte (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Comedy Central), Geechy Guy (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Star Search), and many other national headliners.
Whether it’s a comedy club, bar, college, or fundraiser in a small town or a big city, Saad has shown he can connect with people of all types because of his background, material, and style. Saad’s act is mostly one-liners that have nothing to do with anything. He is a regular at Mason City Limits comedy club. He also performed at Gotham Comedy Club and New York Comedy Club in New York City in March 2009.
Saad graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, which in his culture, is equivalent to a GED.
After breaking all box-office records at the Edinburgh Festival and then going on a forty date sell-out tour across the UK, this is Omid's greatest show, recorded live at The Long Palladium captured in all its glory.
