Confrontational Comedy

CONVERSATIONS SERIES: INTERROGATIONS OF FORM CONFRONTATIONAL COMEDY Friday, May 17 at 7:00pm Veterans Room Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory Featuring: Nish Kumar Billy Wayne Davis Charla Lauriston Tien Tran Hosted by: Warrington Hudlin Special thanks to: Tyler Amato and Jordan Dempsey, Creative Artists Agency

SEASON SPONSORS

Support for Park Avenue Armory’s artistic season has been generously provided by the Charina Endowment Fund, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Foundation, the Marc Haas Foundation, the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, the Leon Levy Foundation, the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, the Richenthal Foundation, and the Isak and Rose Weinman Foundation. The Artistic Season is also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Additional support has been provided by the Armory’s Artistic Council.

Cover image: James Ewing

MEET THE PARTICIPANTS NISH KUMAR

Nish Kumar is a comedian who has achieved huge success on the stand-up circuit with five rave reviewed solo stand-up shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the UK, two of which have been nominated for the prestigious Comedy Award for Best Show in both 2015 & 2016. Alongside stand-up, Nish is also a frequent voice and face across both television and radio, and in 2015 was announced as the new host of topical comedy show, Newsjack for Radio 4 Extra until late last year. Most recently, Nish recorded his own topical pilot show for BBC Radio 4, Spotlight Tonight, which has since been commissioned for its first series. On screen you can catch up with Nish on the likes of Q.I., Mock The Week & Live At The Apollo (all BBC Two), Have I Got News For You & The John Bishop Show (BBC One), 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4), Russell Howard’s Stand-Up for Central, Drunk History, The Alternative Comedy Experience & Live At The Comedy Store (all Comedy Central) and Alan Davies As Yet Untitled (Dave).

Most recently, Nish wrapped filming a 6-part travelogue for BBC Worldwide with fellow comic Joel Dommett, and hosts BBC’s latenight comedy show, The Mash Report.

WARRINGTON HUDLIN

Warrington Hudlin is a veteran producer of motion pictures, television, and online media. His work challenges the dichotomy between social concerns and popular entertainment. Best known as the producer of the landmark African American films, House Party, Boomerang, and Bebe Kids, and television specials, Cosmic Slop and Unstoppable, Hudlin is now developing a genre busting, episodic drama, The Siege of Detroit. Hudlin is the Vice-Chairman of the Museum of the Moving Image and is the founding President of the Black Filmmaker Foundation (BFF) where he has been a pioneering organizer of the black film movement for over three decades.

BILLY WAYNE DAVIS

Billy Wayne Davis is a stand-up, writer, & actor who has performed in 41 states, 4 countries, and Texas. He has appeared on Conan, Last Comic Standing, WTF w/Marc Maron, voiced characters on Adult Swim’s SquidBillies, hosted a documentary for CMT, opened for Sturgill Simpson’s Living the Dream Tour, and released 2 comedy albums, “Billy Wayne Davis” & “Billy Wayne Davis: Live at Third Man Records.”

CHARLA LAURISTON

Charla Lauriston is a stand-up comedian and television writer hailing from New York by way of Boston by way of Haiti. Charla has written for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Comedy Central’s ‘Why? W/ Hannibal Buress’, TBS’ People of Earth, and FOX’s Ghosted. She appeared on The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail on Comedy Central and has been featured at the New York, Brooklyn, Cape Fear, She-Devil, and Chicago Women’s Funny Festivals. Charla was Joke of the Week in TimeOut New York and has written pieces for Elle Magazine and The Root, among others.

TIEN TRAN

Tien Tran is a former member of The Second City’s 106th Mainstage revue, Dream Freaks Fall From Space, and recently performed in the 2019 CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase.

A graduate of Boston College and a 2016 Second City Bob Curry Fellow, Tien was previously in The Second City’s 41st etc revue, Fantastic Super Great Nation Numero Uno. Her stand up was featured at the Second City NBCUniversal Break Out Comedy Festival and SCOUT Festival, and she can be seen performing all around Los Angeles.

NEXT IN THE SERIES EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED AND WOULD HAPPEN Thursday, June 6 at 5:30pm Artist Talk with Heiner Goebbels & Gelsey Bell

DRILL

Thursday, June 20 at 6:00pm Artist Talk with Hito Steyerl & Anton Vidokle

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