Gordon Clark and his Vermont Comedy All-Stars return for a night of stand-up comedy at Next Stage Arts! Featured performers will include several contest-winning and touring comedians most often seen in the Burlington area.

“We’ve got to keep laughing to handle the news, these days,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “The Vermont Comedy All Stars bring the best and brightest from around the state and beyond. We’ve had a number of Vermont comedians go into New York and start careers. We’re proud to give them a space in southern Vermont to be seen.”

JESSIE BAADE

Jessie is a Catskill native who moved to Vermont by way of NYC and Boston. One of the hardest working comics in the Northeast, she has been appeared in the NY International Fringe Festival, as Comic-in-resident at Boston’s Comedy Studio, been in a bunch of festivals including the Boston Comedy Festival competition, and the Women In Comedy Festival, and starred in Chris Fleming’s web series/live shows “Gayle” as cast super weirdo Linda. She’s also performed as MC Mama Bang Bang (and occasionally some other people) for Boston’s Rogue Burlesque where she also wrote scripted variety, and in independent movies including “The Invention Of Lying” “The A Plate” and “The Polka King.”

Jessie is the recipient of the 2019 Audio Verse Award nominee, and can be heard voicing a plethora of women of a certain age with heavy American dialects often in Europe (when not on strike). Also she is a really good swimmer and can roller-skate.

AUSTIN BORG

Austin lives in a van with his dog, Summit, and never parks in the same place twice.  After escaping the confines of conventional schooling, he loaded his things into a backpack to start his real education. He’s done the 2176 mile southbound thru hike of the Appalachian trail, trekked in the Himalayas where he stumbled into a 10 day silent meditation, and hiked the Andes – where he met a Shaman and spent the next 12 days drinking a highly psychedelic brew.

Austin’s been doing comedy for five years  – an art through which he shares his stories and unconventional perspective. When he isn’t building out his van for his next adventure with Summit, he makes a living on the excess of others, flipping those things on eBay.

JULIA DiFERDINANDO

Julia is a Vermonter and comedian. After touring and teaching comedy for over ten years with the world famous Second City in Chicago, in 2018 she returned to Vermont to be the Creative Director at the Vermont Comedy Club where she developed all programming and artistic content for the groundbreaking theater. In 2019 she won the London Short Series Best Actress for her performance in “The Coat Room,” which she also wrote and produced.

Teaching and performing comedy has taken her around the world, most notably to Birmingham, San Francisco, and Beijing. Last year, she took a job at South Burlington High School as a Theatre Teacher, where she brings her love of comedy to the students and has directed and produced a wide range of performance opportunities for the students. Follow her on all social media handles @juliadifer

ADISON EYRING

An up-and-coming standup in Burlington, Adison is a recent Texas transplant that has all her shots and no bite history. She was recently voted Best New Comic at the Vermont Comedy Club Awards, not that it’s a big deal. Her work has been described as “funny, but I don’t get why” by her mother. You can find her performing regularly at shows and open mics throughout Vermont, and on Instagram at @adidaughter.

LIAM WELSH

Liam Welsh is a Burlington based stand up comic. A multiple finalist at Vermont’s Funniest Comedian Contest, including 1st runner up in 2019, he performs regularly around Vermont and especially at the Vermont Comedy Club, where he has featured for national headliners such as Michael Rapaport, Solomon Georgia, Jenny Yang, and Jay Jurden, to name a few. He also hosts a weekly comedy game show, Free Stuff, at Lincoln’s in Burlington.

GORDON CLARK (HOST)

Gordon Clark is proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks. A lifelong organizer and activist, he took up comedy when he was nearing 60…  and never looked back. Mostly because it hurts his neck when he turns that way.

Gordon is the director of the nonprofit Vermont Comedy All Stars, through which he produces and hosts monthly stand-up comedy showcase specials in Burlington (at the iconic Nectar’s) and Montpelier (Bent Nails Bistro), as well as the quarterly showcase at the Next Stage Arts Theater in Putney. He lives in Burlington with his wife, dog, cat, and an alarming number of eggplants from his garden.

Next Stage Arts

Next Stage is located at 15 Kimball Hill in downtown Putney, VT. All talks are free to attend, but donations are appreciated. Advance registration is available at nextstagearts.org. For information, call 802-387-0102.

Next Stage Arts serves southeastern Vermont as a regional cultural hub, arts producer, and instigator of meaningful cultural experiences. Founded in 2010 as a nonprofit organization, Next Stage Arts is a transformative, community-centered project dedicated to revitalizing Putney’s cultural and economic village center through excellence in arts programming valuing diversity as a springboard for nurturing community.