Zak Nelson
Zak Nelson is native to the northwest. He sometimes grows on the south side of trees, where he writes, produces, and performs sketch comedy with Drop the Root Beer and Run. He originally did comedy on a lark in college, and ever since then he just can’t seem to stop. Zak is also for available for extended conversations regarding music and soccer. No one has taken him up on soccer yet.
Ben Laurance
Ben has been performing in and around Seattle since 1994. He manages the back-end of the website and programs the SketchFest Seattle Comedy Film Challenge. Send him your funny video!
film@sketchfest.org
Justina Kolb
Justina is a member of the sketch comedy group Sleepover, who formed in 2016, and have since performed in New York, Portland, and North Carolina comedy festivals. She is also co-creator of the monthly late-night comedy talk show, Everything’s Fine Tonight LIVE! w/ Jordan, in which she appears, writes for, and produces. When Justina isn’t busy with her creative endeavors, she spends her time absorbing very important, very cool information regarding a variety of “rock and roll” bands.
Cassia Ward
Cassia loves three things: laughing loudly, sending emails, and the Seattle sketch comedy scene. They’re thrilled that they get to combine these three loves into one by working with Seattle SketchFest. When they’re not behind the booth, they are performing on stage as one member of the sketch comedy trio The “Responsible” “Adults.” Outside of the comedy realm, you can find Cassia playing video games, attending indie pro wrestling shows, and playing obscure 1960’s tabletop roleplaying games.
Michael Henning
Michael is a jazz musician and a technical wizard, and has been with Seattle SketchFest since 2020. After transitioning the festival to a temporary virtual format during the pandemic, Michael has stayed on as SketchFest’s in-house tech. When he’s not pushing buttons in the booth, you can find him composing music, playing video games, and tinkering with his computer.
Amanda Gemmill-Strauss
Amanda Gemmill-Strauss is a multi-disciplinary artist and cat obsessed ding dong living in Federal Way. She has written and performed stand up, sketch, and improv in the Seattle area since 2017, and has volunteered with SketchFest since 2019. She loves the amazing creativity of the sketch and comedy performance community and is always excited to see new groups and performers at the Fest.
