Full Description
Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, comedian-turned-actor DeRay Davis can most recently be "scene" and heard in the blockbuster mega hit 21 Jump Street, Jumping the Broom and his wildly successful Showtime 1 hour Comedy Special, DeRay Davis: Power Play. He lends his voice and writing talent to countless characters on Kanye Wests Albums the BoonDocks and currently on Adult Swims Black Dynamite! DeRay, developed and honed a hip, sardonic, streetwise mentality at an early age and parlayed it smoothly and efficiently into the comedy-club circuit. Davis achieved his career breakthrough at the Laffapalooza Festival in Atlanta, GA, then scored a triple whammy by winning the Comedy Central Laugh Riots Competition and landing covetable spots in the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival and the Cedric the Entertainer Festival. Throughout, the comic wove vulgar and droll, yet also telling and deeply personal, routines around the subjects of race, poverty, and his challenging experiences growing up in the Windy City projects with a dysfunctional African-American family. The transition from behind-the-mike spots to movie roles represented a relatively short jump, for most of Davis' early film assignments emphasized the same subject matter as his routines. He played the "Hustle Guy" in Barbershop (2002) and its sequel, Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004), rapper Mario "Fa Real" Greene in the Martin Short comedy Jiminy Glick in La La Wood (2004), and a Jamaican stoner in Johnson Family Vacation (2004). Davis expanded his genre focus with roles in Rupert Wainwright's supernatural horror outing The Fog (2005), and Todd Phillips' comedy remake School for Scoundrels (2006). Subsequent feature assignments include License to Wed (2007), Semi-Pro (2008, as basketball player Bee Bee Ellis), Imagine That (2009), Life As We Know it and Old Dogs. Davis also appeared on television series including Entourage, Reno 911!, and televised comedy revues such as Comedy Central's Premium Blend and was a Standout MVP on Shaq's All Star Comedy Jam Tour. He is now making the rounds on the tour circuit preparing for his next 1 hour comedy special, Home, Street Home: The Hood Hero Returns, Premium Blend and was a Standout MVP on Shaq's All Star Comedy Jam Tour and is now making the rounds on the tour circuit preparing for his next 1 hour comedy special, Home, Street Home: The Hood Hero Returns.Other Events
Special Event: Chad Daniels
at Capitol City Comedy ClubChad Daniels is a writer, performer and comedian from Fergus Falls, MN. He is one of only 13 comedians to have appeared on the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. Additionally, he has been featured on Live at Gotham, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilbourn and Craig Ferguson and CONAN on TBS. Most recently he appeared in the documentary ‘I Need You to Kill’ with Tom Segura and Pete Lee, which was released December 2017. Chad has received numerous awards for his standup including City Pages ‘Artist of the Year’, Aspen Comedy Festival’s ‘Comics Comic’ award and was named the winner of the Gilda’s Laughfest Competition in 2012. He released his first half hour special on Comedy Central in 2010, which he followed with the release of his hour special ‘As Is’ in 2012. He debuted his fifth comedy album ‘Footprints on the Moon’ in February 2017 which was one of the top streamed comedy albums on Pandora that same year. Chad was a New Face at the JFL Montreal festival in 2004 and was then invited back to be a part of ‘The Masters’ showcase in 2012. He tours comedy clubs, colleges and festivals all over the world and has performed at such festivals as JFL Montreal, Aspen Comedy Festival, Gilda’s Laughfest, Wild West Comedy Festival, Boston Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival and Moontower in Austin, TX.
The Red Room at Cap City: Sureni Weerasekera
at Capitol City Comedy ClubSureni Weerasekera is a Sri Lankan-born, San Diego-raised, & New York-based stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. She was recently announced as a performer on 2024 Netflix is a Joke “Introducing…” showcase. She is known for her lighthearted, conversational banter to her ruthless, dark jabs. She has performed at New York Comedy Festival, San Francisco Sketchfest, Desi Comedy Festival, Oakland Comedy Festival, and Silicon Valley Pride Festival. She recently opened for Hari Kondabolu, Irene Tu, and Ashley Gavin. She has been featured on Amazon Prime and HBO. Sureni was recently featured on Don’t Tell Comedy. With an aptitude for writing, Sureni was awarded the 2019 Diversity in Comedy Writing Fellowship at Killing My Lobster SF. She is the creator of “Medium Roasts,” a mini-video series about the cafe world, whom she wrote, edited and acted in. She runs a monthly show called Earth Tones at Union Hall in Brooklyn, NY featuring QTBIPOC comics.
The Red Room at Cap City: Sureni Weerasekera
at Capitol City Comedy ClubSureni Weerasekera is a Sri Lankan-born, San Diego-raised, & New York-based stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. She was recently announced as a performer on 2024 Netflix is a Joke “Introducing…” showcase. She is known for her lighthearted, conversational banter to her ruthless, dark jabs. She has performed at New York Comedy Festival, San Francisco Sketchfest, Desi Comedy Festival, Oakland Comedy Festival, and Silicon Valley Pride Festival. She recently opened for Hari Kondabolu, Irene Tu, and Ashley Gavin. She has been featured on Amazon Prime and HBO. Sureni was recently featured on Don’t Tell Comedy. With an aptitude for writing, Sureni was awarded the 2019 Diversity in Comedy Writing Fellowship at Killing My Lobster SF. She is the creator of “Medium Roasts,” a mini-video series about the cafe world, whom she wrote, edited and acted in. She runs a monthly show called Earth Tones at Union Hall in Brooklyn, NY featuring QTBIPOC comics.
