Judges

Elizabeth “Biz” Ellis

Elizabeth Ellis hails from Birmingham, AL. Since moving to NYC 7 years ago as a stand up, she has been seen in a myriad of comedy clubs, from Gotham to Caroline’s, and she was a featured comic on Good Morning America. She has worked as a freelance writer and performer for the National Lampoon Radio Show and the Daria & Mitch Morning show on Portland, Oregon radio station105.1 The Buzz.

She has proudly been a performer and writer for MEAT, the most critically acclaimed all-female sketch comedy group in the country. She provides the voice of DIXIE the hamster in the upcoming children’s DVD and CD, Hampton and the Hampsters, and the voice of Barren from the soon to be released Xbox 360 Live Arcade game “Street Trace: NYC.”



Jesse Thorn

http://www.maximumfun.org/

Jesse Thorn is the host and producer of The Sound of Young America, a public radio show about things that are awesome. The show is nationally syndicated and heard on the internet at maximumfun.org, which also hosts the show's popular weblog.

Salon.com wrote of the show: "If you've never heard The Sound of Young America, then The Sound of Young America is the greatest radio show you've never heard."

The program and blog often focus on comedy. Past guests have included Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones of Monty Python's Flying Circus, Dave Foley of The Kids in the Hall, Bob Odenkirk and David Cross of Mr. Show, and many others.

When he's not producing public radio programs, Jesse writes and performs with the sketch comedy group Prank the Dean (www.prankthedean.com). Prank the Dean have been seen at the San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles sketch comedy festivals, as well as at the Upright Citizens Brigade theaters in Los Angeles and New York

Anne Beatts

Anne Beatts is a TV writer-producer who won two Emmys as a writer for the original "Saturday Night Live." At SNL, she and her writing partner Rosie Shuster created many of the most memorable characters, such as Todd and Lisa Lupner, Uncle Roy, Laraine Newman’s Child Psychiatrist, Irwin Mainway, and Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute.

She created and produced the critically-acclaimed CBS sitcom, "Square Pegs," and co-executive-produced the first year of NBC's long-running hit series "A Different World."

She and her producing partner, Eve Brandstein, recently executive-produced and co-directed thirteen episodes of “John Waters Presents: Movies That Will Corrupt You,” a film series for premium cable.

In 1999, she returned to SNL in prime time as a writer and creative consultant on NBC's Emmy-winning 25th anniversary special, for which she won her third WGA Award. In 1995-96 she was executive producer of "The Stephanie Miller Show," a nationally syndicated late-night comedy talk show from Disney's Buena Vista.

Her directing credits range from prime-time episodic television to numerous Los Angeles theatre productions, both serious and comedic.

She was the first woman Contributing Editor of the National Lampoon and both performed and wrote for the "National Lampoon Radio Hour." She has been published in numerous magazines, including Esquire, Playboy, Los Angeles Magazine, Vogue, Mirabella, Elle and Premiere. In 1997-98, her humor column "Beatts Me!" appeared weekly in the Sunday Los Angeles Times.

She co-edited the best-selling "Saturday Night Live" (Avon, 1977), "Titters: The First Collection of Humor by Women" (Macmillan, 1976), and "Titters 101" (Putnam's, 1984), and co-authored "The Mom Book" (Dell, 1986). She contributed a chapter on "Men vs. Women" to "Standup Comedians," (Abrams, 1996).

Her work has appeared on Broadway in "Gilda: Live" and the Tony-nominated rock'n'roll musical "Leader of the Pack."

As well as teaching sketch comedy writing and performing privately, she is an Adjunct Professor in the Writing Division of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.