Meet the Team

Rebecca Barnard (Podcast Creator & Host) is a comedy writer, performer and producer living in Los Angeles. She's covered the news (and written jokes about it) for live shows, national media outlets and more. Rebecca has worked and performed at Second City, iO Chicago, Comedy Central Stage, Open Fist Theater and others in NY, LA, DC and Chicago...she's also lived in a lot of different places (ask her about South Africa!) Rebecca is an alum of the DAF Onion Fellowship and Late Night with Stacey Rumaker. When she grows up, she wants to be Graham Norton.
rebeccabarnardcreative.com

Brandon Burkhart (Head Writer) is a Los Angeles-based Tex Mex comedy writer originally from San Antonio. He's written for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Onion, and The Musk Magazine. Brandon was one of seven writers chosen for the NBC Late Night Writers Workshop from over 900 applicants. He's a Moth GrandSLAM storytelling champ and his half-hour comedy script Minimum Rage won the ScreenCraft Comedy TV Pilot Contest. He would normally give his socials but it's hard to know which ones are about to get canceled, so go to his website www.BrandonBcomedy.com

Izaak Sunleaf (Segment Producer & Staff Writer) is a writer and comedian whose work has been featured in SF Sketchfest, Toronto Sketchfest, Philly Sketchfest, and Greener Pastures. He is the co-writer and co-producer of “Conventional: a convention center themed sketch show” and “Boyband Breakup: The Musical.” He is one-half of the cross-country comedy duo, Serendipity Comedy Duo. Previously, Izaak was a producer and co-head writer for movie trope sketch comedy show, Turner Classic Sketches; writer and actor for multiple BoogieManja teams in New York; an improviser on the Armory improv house team, Goliath; and a writer for Blackout Improv, a comedy troupe focused on social justice and arts access for black performers. More at: www.izaaksunleaf.com.

Sarah Cho (Producer, Contributor) is a Los Angeles-based comedy writer and playwright. She has performed at Green Gravel Comedy Festival and Laugh Riot Grrrl Festival, as well as written for house sketch teams at the Pack Theater. Her work has been featured on ComedyCake, WhoHaHa, and Funny or Die. Sarah holds an MFA in Playwriting from University of Iowa’s Playwrights Workshop, where she excelled at drinking pie shakes. To learn more about Sarah’s current work, visit her website: www.sarahcho.com

Rebecca Golden (Co-Producer & Staff Writer) writes jokes, sketch, short and long-form comedy. She worked in tech startups, ultimately as Marketing Director, traveling around the world to stage events, and to write, design, and produce for web, film, and print, including regular contributions to Forbes and documentaries for brands like Porsche and GSK. She previously worked at the firm behind Obama’s digital campaign, in a DC think tank, and at a film studio. She studied sketch with Laughing Buddha, the PIT, and Second City–and officially, history at Pomona College. Her work won a Muse Award, and has been recognized in several screenwriting competitions, including the Screencraft Screenwriting Fellowship.

Alaina Warren Zachary (Senior Senior Correspondent) has been a performing professional seemingly forever. She writes sketch comedy for the live LA-based show This Week This Week directed by Ron West. New is her weekly podcast My Senior Moment on Spotify and on The Dump. Alaina is an award-winning screenwriter and director. Performing credits include original Broadway musicals,(Grease, Nine, Baby)concerts, opera, and roles on Roswell, Better Call Saul, Wander, Half Brothers, and other tv and films you've seen.

Claire Alexander (Staff Writer) is a New York City-based stand up comedian and headline contributor for Reductress. She performs regularly at both comedy clubs QED and The Tiny Cupboard, as well as other clubs and independent shows all over the city. Claire is the producer of three-year-running, “Drule,” a weekly comedy show in Brooklyn with an all women and queer people lineup, which was featured in the New York Comedy Festival in 2021. Claire was featured in the Connecticut Comedy Festival in 2020, and has been described as “an attentive waitress” by multiple elderly customers at the restaurant she has to work at because she decided to pursue a creative career.

Shayna Nash (Guest Producer) is a recovering first grade teacher and current writer and improvisor based in New York City. She’s a graduate of the UCLA Writers’ Program and has studied sketch and improv at reputable theaters on the east and west coasts. Shayna is a headline contributor to The Belle Ringer, staff writer on the LA-based live comedy game show: Pop Cultured with Jimmy Pardo, and producer of the NYC-based variety show: Funny Over Fifty. Shayna can be found at improv jams around NYC and by the free samples at Trader Joe’s.

John Hardy (Staff Writer) is a Nottingham UK based Stand-up, Improviser and writer. He trained with Annoyance Theatre in Chicago. A writer for This Week This Week, you can find him on stage around the UK performing stand-up and improv. with his twoprov group Honey Badger or in Ensembles at different shows. Follow him on instagram.com/johnhardycomedian

Rasheda Crockett (Staff Writer) is a writer, comedian, and climate advocate using humor to inspire action on climate change. A recipient of a 2024 Anthem Award, her climate comedy series (now streaming on YouTube) creatively spotlights the urgent need for environmental solutions. Rasheda brings an intersectional lens to her work, blending sharp wit and humor with a commitment to equity, sustainability, and storytelling that drives impact.

Rick Larsen (Staff Writer) is a writer, artist, and improvisor based in Phoenix. He studied improv and sketch at the Torch Theatre (Phx), the Pack Theatre (LA), and Rise Theatre(Denver). He is a contributing writer for the new-based sketch show This Week This Week in Los Angeles and and The Dump podcast. He also cohosts Sweet Podtato, a podcast about things that are excellent. Follow him at rlarsen4 on Instagram & YouRube and ricklarsen4 on Venmo. You can learn more about him at linktr.ee/rlarsen4. He is not Banksy.

Sam Metzler (Contributor) is a midwest based comedian, teacher, and general silly person. He is trained in comedy through the Second City Chicago, is a writer for Frazzled, and for The Dump Podcast. You can catch him trying desperately not to get caught breaking his diet regularly. You can follow his career on his instagram @samuel.metzler.330 or on his X @16minutesnews.

Text

Cassie Soliday (Producer, Staff Writer) is a comedy writer and cartoonist. They’ve written and developed animated series for studios like Disney, Cartoon Network, and Warner Bros while their humor writing and cartoons can be seen around the internet at The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, The Belladonna, and more. Originally from the rural Midwest, Cass hung up their tornado survival gear to live in LA where the wildfires and earthquakes roam free.

Ben Kuerschner (Staff Writer) is a comedy writer, director, producer, and general rabble-rouser based in Los Angeles, whose credits include head writer/director/co-creator for Your Late Night Show Tonight, director for The Night Cap with Stacy Rumaker, and co-creator/producer of Family Dinner with Jodie Sweetin. He was a writer/performer on “The National Lampoon’s Final Edition Podcast,” and has contributed to numerous other projects that he could list out here, but it would make the bio very long, and that wouldn’t be fair to the other writers. Ben’s tombstone will read “I’m pretty happy with how all this turned out, but if you have any notes I’d love to hear them.”

Stephanie Leke (Staff Writer) is a first generation Cameroonian-American writer and producer originally from Massachusetts. In 2023, she participated in the Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program. In 2024, a satirical show she co-developed, reframing corporate DEI training programs, was selected as a finalist for the Yes, And… Laughter Lab. Currently working in documentaries, her credits include Piece By Piece (Focus Features), Mary J. Blige’s My Life (Amazon Studios), and Harry & Meghan (Netflix).

Anthony Cusumano (Staff Writer) is a comedy writer, performer, and producer in Chicago. His love of comedy was born from seeing Tommy Boy in second grade and making his classmates laugh with his rendition of the “fat guy in little coat” routine. Since then, he has trained and performed extensively at Washington Improv Theater, Second City, iO, and many other venues. In 2022, he co-launched the recurring DnA Sketch Show, and in 2024, he wrote and directed the full-length musical Miracle at Century High School, which returns for a second run at Chicago’s legendary Annoyance Theatre this fall.