This showcase features recent graduates of Lauren Kincheloe’s Squalid Gold Comedy School. Watch Kingston’s freshest comics take the stage for an evening of homegrown hilarity.  Featuring Elena Cruz, Jess Edelman, Mie Inouye, Jill Mary, Sarah Mesler, and Svetlana Chirkova. Hosted by Lauren Kincheloe.

Lauren Kincheloe – After goofing off on stage in New York City and Los Angeles for 20 years, Lauren Kincheloe moved to Kingston and started Squalid Gold Comedy School. For five years now she has been cultivating the local comedy community by coaching, teaching workshops, and producing shows that feature her awesome students.

Mie Inouye – is a professor of political theory and an aspiring Bills fan. When she’s not making jokes or grading papers, you can find her two-stepping and country-swinging at the VFW.

Jill Mary – Local Veterinarian, mother of three kids, and generally exhausted, Jill has been using stand-up as her much needed alternative to therapy for two years. She has been featured in past Squalid Gold shows, opened for touring comics such as Isabel Hagen and Adam Mamawala, and was a finalist in the 2025 Ladies Room Comedy Festival in Harlem.

Elena Cruz – A Staten Island native, Elena Cruz has called the Hudson Valley home for 26 years. She is the chef and co-owner of the beloved Diego’s Taqueria, which can be found on the pop-up scene these days (@diegoskingston). Her credits include: Food Network’s “Chopped”,  Kingston’s Assembly, Bard’s Spiegeltent, and Carnegie Hall (TWICE). She firmly believes that when life gives you a dumpster fire, you might as well make s’mores.

Sarah Mesler is a Hudson Valley based, Michigan born stand-up comedian. A recent graduate of Squalid Gold Comedy School, they have performed at Assembly, Spiegletent at Bard, Unicorn Bar, and the Rosendale Theatre. Mesler explores themes of sexuality and gender in a candid style, proving that nothing is too serious to joke about.

Svetlana Chirkova – Svetlana climbed over the iron curtain of the crumbling Soviet Union to be raised by kangaroos in Australia, eventually settling in Kingston, NY where she dreams of founding a pastoral retreat for senior German Shepherds. She has played in bands, created rock operas about whales and bacteria, and is currently the co-host of the “4 minutes in heaven”

comedy open mic.

Jess Edelman- Originally from Syracuse, Jess Edelman has called Ulster County her home for over 25 years. Like many, she took the pipeline from SUNY New Paltz to Kingston where she has lived, worked and laughed for over a decade. Jess is the producer behind Queer KIngston, as well as the host for Stockade Sessions, a monthly stand up open mic at Kingston’s Stockade Tavern. Jess is proud to have lubed up the stage for Beth Stelling, Charlene Kaye and Isabel Hagen.

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