"Dear Diary: Here's a Joke For You" features seven diverse comedians whose material encapsulates real moments of the human experience. Topics range from uncomfortable encounters, daily challenges, and the experience of loss. Through the powerful rhetorical device of humor, these stories transform into moments of empowerment and reclamation of one's body and identity. Co-sponsored by the Center for World Performance Studies, "Dear Diary" reveals how stand-up comedy is made up of creative risks and promotes social justice within performance.
Please contact Julianna Loera-Wiggins (wigginsj@umich.edu) with questions.

Featured Performers:

Vivian Burgett started doing comedy to cope with having the most boring job ever: research administration. She’s performed her blend of dark and nerdy comedy all over Southeast Michigan including at her monthly open mic "Fem Feedback" which she runs for female and trans comedians. She has shared the stage with Katherine Blanford and DJ Sandhu and can frequently be found performing at friends’ weddings because, that’s right, she’s the only one who’s still single!

Julianna Loera-Wiggins is a producer, comedian, and PhD Candidate. She should be finishing her dissertation, but instead performs stand-up comedy with her own perspectives on growing up Mexican American and living in the Midwest.

Sam Rager has been sharing her disarmingly dark perspective with audiences for over a decade. Rager has been a headliner at both the inaugural Detroit Women of Comedy Festival, inaugural Stand U.P. Festival and featured in Hour Magazine. Named a rising star in Detroit’s comedy scene by 101.9 WDET, her debut album Trigger Warning can be heard on SiriusXM and all streaming platforms.

Andrew Yang was voted “Best Comedian in Washtenaw County” in 2022 and 2023 by Current Magazine, Andrew Yang is a Michigan comic who runs shows at a punk rock venue in the Blind Pig and is a founder of the Tree Town Comedy Festival. Andrew has performed on festivals across the country including the Upper Left Comedy Festival in Seattle, Let’s Fest in Indianapolis, and the Treefort Music Festival in Boise. He has also been featured on NPR.

Jacob Barr is a young comic who has been performing since 2015. He uses his disability and unique life experiences to make people laugh....or scared. In the past he has opened for Big Jay Oakerson, Chris Gethard, Dusty Slay, and Joe list. Jacob was most recently seen as a breakout star on Kill Tony with "Donald Trump" and "Joe Biden."

Robert Jenkins combines his quick wit and sharp words with a disarming delivery to leave you wondering if you just heard what you thought you heard.

Alaina Bamfield is a stand up comedian with strong roots in the Michigan comedy scene. In 2023, Bamfield moved to the east coast and made Brooklyn, NY her home base. Participating in multiple festivals such as Motor City Comedy Festival, Tree Town Comedy Festival, and Savage Henry Comedy Festival. Alaina has opened for comedians such as Dave Attell, Sam Tallent, Joe Machi, and more.