Kim D’Amato
Educator, Spiritual Practitioner, Singer/SongwriterKim D’Amato is a songwriter, teacher and licensed CSL spiritual practitioner who has been singing and playing music in the Louisville area since 2003. She brings her soulful voice and folk influences ranging from delta blues to Joni Mitchell to India Arie. Kim is passionate about songs that move people. “It’s like a mix of Alison Krauss, Sade, and Portishead all rolled up into one,” said a friend when asked to describe the sound.
Mandee McKelvey
Art Therapist, Comedian Named one of Thrillist’s “50 Best Undiscovered Comics in the Country”, Mandee McKelvey unflinchingly tackles subjects about women, their bodies, and how they navigate the world with candor, a touch of vulgarity, and her infectious sense of humor.
Expertly incorporating storytelling and comedy, she reveals an earnestness and vulnerability that invites us to find the humor in tragedy. In 2022, she was featured in over 123 shows across 23 cities, headlined more than 70, and launched her second “One-Mandee” show.
She’s toured alongside the likes of Whitney Cummings, Michelle Wolf, Tig Notaro, Laurie Kilmartin, Todd Barry, and Anthony Jezelnik. Some of her proudest accomplishments include making thousands of people laugh, hundreds of people cry, and exactly seven very angry men storm out of her show in protest.
Petty Giuliana Poussey
Drag Entertainer / ActivistPetty Giuliana Poussey has dedicated nearly two decades to public service. Her local community engagement has led to serving on the board of Lexington Fairness, becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate for CASA of Lexington; as well as working in fundraising and development for nonprofits such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass and Lexington Habitat for Humanity. Petty has received National recognition for her volunteerism and community service, working in multiple sectors of many nonprofits. Petty served as Empress 37 of the Imperial Court of Kentucky. During her reign with the community’s help over $100,000 was raised for many charities including many LGBTQ+ organizations. Petty resides in Lexington with her husband and local drag entertainer, Shady Dior Couture.
Aaron Smith
Artist, Storyteller, ComedianAaron Smith is an improviser, comedian, cartoonist, and storyteller from Eastern Kentucky who’s been happy to call Louisville home for the last 12 years.
You’ve seen him on stage at Louisville Fringe Fest, celebrating love in Romantics Versus Rebels, storytelling with Doubled-Edged Stories, and as The Dread Pirate Roberts in The Cliffnotes of Insanity: The Princess Bride in 30 Minutes (or Less!).
When he’s not storytelling, you can catch him performing improv comedy every month with Louisville’s own Improv Anonymous.
Sierra Vega
Mother / Comedic StorytellerSierra is a storyteller turned comedian, using humor to shed light on challenging topics.
Her unique approach blends insightful life lessons with comedic flair, drawing from her experiences as a woman navigating the world.
After a hiatus, Sierra is returning to the stage with renewed passion, transforming complex issues into relatable and entertaining stories that leave audiences both laughing and reflecting.
Chris Radford
Educator, StorytellerLouisville native Chris Radford is an educator, connector of people, and founder of incLOUsive, LLC. No stranger to the stage, Chris caught the storytelling bug in 2017 as a Moth StorySlam winner, GrandSLAM performer, and frequent guest of Double-Edged Stories.
Chris is the friend of many, uncle to several, husband to one, and father of two – and by the time this show takes place – three beautiful children. He considers himself a curious mixture of vices and virtues who wrestles with words, trying to pen them for your listening pleasure.
Sears
Community Facilitator, Motivational HumoristSears is a comedian who learned much from her friend and mentor Louie Anderson, has opened for Fortune Feimster and been heard of on Bob & Tom.
Also an actor, Sears has been in Baskets on HULU, The Dinner Detective, Patient Justice & more.
Life credits include being an ordained minister, the Indiana State Fair USA Mullet Champion 2022, and an occasional character in the nationally published Jumble Puzzle in the newspaper.
A motivational humorist, Sears is a 5x published author in Urban Dictionary, and a Multiple Sclerosis warrior for the past 24 years who walked in New York Fashion Week 2023 . As a cancer survivor who chose to “go flat,” Sears lost her breasts in her cancer war of 2014 and later founded a Flattie’s meetup group with 5000+ members.
Sears has two beautiful children by adoption: Monkey, a Cairn Terrier mix, and Dirty Bit, a Lhasa Apso mix.
Beecher Reuning
College Professor, FilmmakerBeecher Reuning is a non-binary filmmaker and Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky whose work often uses comedy to deconstruct oppressive religious systems and social gender constructs. They’ve written and directed six short films that have screened at over 30 festivals, including Nashville, Orlando, Knoxville, Burbank, and won a 2015 College Television Award (Student Emmy’s). They currently live in Lexington, KY with their wife and two daughters.
Photo: University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media faculty headshots in Lexington, Ky., on August 16, 2023. Photo by David Stephenson
Shady Dior Couture
Drag Artist / ActivistShady Dior Couture, a native of Lexington, has been a prominent drag artist for nearly a decade, leaving an indelible mark on both the local and national drag scenes. Her journey in drag began with charity performances, helping raise funds for LGBTQA+ organizations and non-profits across the Bluegrass region. Shady has graced stages throughout Kentucky and across the U.S., gaining recognition for her extraordinary makeup skills and her ability to transform others into stunning queens. In addition to her drag performances, Shady is a gifted writer and orator. Her powerful spoken word piece, “My Black is Beautiful”, was a profound influence on the creation of Lexington’s Black Lives Matter Mural, located at the intersection of Broadway and West Short Street. Currently, Shady is part of the cast at Drag Brunch at LeMoo in Louisville, KY, where her performances continue to dazzle audiences. Outside of her life on stage, Shady balances a demanding career as a critical care nurse, while also pursuing graduate studies to become a Psych Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Together with her partner, she runs two businesses: an event planning company called Epoch Affairs and a drag-centric production company known as Cherry Pop Presents.
Leah Bomar
Author, Publisher, EducatorLeah Bomar is a two-time Best Selling Author and Publisher who was nominated Most Admired Woman 2024 by Today’s Woman Magazine and was named one of the Best Local Writers by LEO Magazine 2023.
Leah also loves assisting others in creating more joy, play and peaceful hearts as an intuitive channel, healing arts vendor, Certified Therapeutic Art Coach and JCPS substitute teacher.
Leah’s best selling debut novel GlitterBomb is a memoir about overcoming overwhelm and anxiety, dealing with grief, loss, and releasing generational trauma, encouraging others to create and follow their own glitter trail to come out of the dark and play.
Her publication A Prayer of Reclamation is a collection of poetry, prose and magical musings. She has appeared on Storyteller stages across the country, performing at Bodies After Dark, Double Edge Stories and Grown-up Storytime502.
Under her printing imprint #GlitterBombBooks, she ushers others into becoming published authors.
Justin Terawood
Educator / Actor, Writer, DirectorNo stranger to the stage, Justin Terawood is an actor, writer and director who owns the murder mystery company Killer Good Time. His interactive theater experiences delight audiences in multiple venues across Kentucky.
With a flair for the relevant, Justin enjoys writing characters and stories that have everyone guessing whodunnit –Justin lives in Lexington Kentucky with his husband and their fur babies.
Divinity Rose
Writer, Producer, ComedianJessica Lynn Mathis (AKA Divinity Rose) is a multi-award and grant winning comedy performer, screenwriter and producer/director.
In addition to producing and performing in over 500 live events, her experience in the entertainment industry ranges from performing for stage or screen with notables like Lisa Lampanelli, Nora Dunn, and Al Snow to producing for live shows, TV, commercial projects and web series in addition to working freelance crew on various projects for individual clients and networks like ESPN, Discovery, and ABC.
Her film and TV writing has garnered top awards at festivals and placed her as a finalist for prestigious writing fellowships like Sundance Episodic Labs, Ron Howard’s Imagine Impact and as a semi-finalist for the Disney/ABC Writer’s Fellowship. As CEO and founder of She Dreams Content Development and Production, LLC, she offers workshops and industry events in Kentucky where she is entrenched in the movement to increase the film and TV industry and she develops female forward entertainment with strong female leads and themes related to identity and trauma recovery.