Stand-Up Showcase
Stand-Up Showcase brings five comedians from the Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, New York, and broader comedy scenes to the DC Improv for a varied night of live stand-up. The showcase is designed to spotlight emerging and established local talent, with performers offering different comedic styles in an intimate club setting.
The lineup includes Ivi Demi, Alex Castagne, Eddie Morrison, Rahmein Mostafavi, and Christine O’Dea. Their credits include Gotham, the Comedy Store, the Kennedy Center, national comedy festivals, television and radio appearances, and multiple DC Improv Comedy Kumite victories.
When: November 27–29
Showtimes: Friday at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; Saturday at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; Sunday at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: $26.50, including service charges
Run time: Approximately 90 minutes
Lineup: Ivi Demi, Alex Castagne, Eddie Morrison, Rahmein Mostafavi, and Christine O’Dea
Ivi Demi: A Brooklyn-based comedian originally from Albania, Demi was named Best House Comic at Washington’s Laugh Index Theatre in 2020 and 2021. He has performed at the DC Improv, DC Comedy Loft, Gotham, the Comic Strip, the North Carolina Comedy Festival, and the Burbank Comedy Festival, where he was selected for the Best of the Fest in 2021. He also produces and performs in Don’t Tell Comedy shows around the East Coast.
Alex Castagne: A New York City stand-up who began performing at 18, Castagne has appeared at clubs including the DC Improv, Richmond Funny Bone, Levity Live, and Charlotte Comedy Zone. He has opened for Mark Normand, Sam Morril, and Michael Rapaport, won Richmond Funny Bone’s Clash of the Comics three times, won DC Improv’s Comedy Kumite 35.1 in fall 2022, and was a finalist in Comedy Kumite XL in summer 2023.
Eddie Morrison: A D.C. native, Morrison has performed throughout the region and at venues including the DC Improv, the Kennedy Center, the Comedy Store, and Magooby’s Jokehouse. He was runner-up in Magooby’s 2015 New Comedian of the Year Competition and won DC Improv’s Comedy Kumite 15.2 in spring 2018 and Kumite 30 in spring 2021.
Rahmein Mostafavi: Mostafavi developed his timing and stage presence during a decade as a cast member of “Shear Madness,” the Kennedy Center’s improv and comedy whodunit. He has produced shows under the Cool Cow Comedy banner and performed at festivals including Laugh Your Asheville Off, The Devil Cup, Red Clay, the Cleveland Comedy Festival, and the Cape May Comedy Festival. His credits include appearances on FOX, regular airplay on Sirius XM, PBS’s “The Truth About Money,” and a TEDx speaking engagement. Originally from Iran and now based in Northern Virginia, he won DC Improv’s Comedy Kumite 4.2 in winter 2016 and two Kumite Tournaments of Champions, in fall 2016 and summer 2021. His 2022 YouTube special is “Live From Helium.”
Christine O’Dea: A rising presence in the D.C. comedy scene, O’Dea combines an irreverent approach and unconventional perspectives in material about navigating ordinary life as a distinctly nonconventional woman. She co-hosts the Quick Time Gals Podcast and won DC Improv’s Comedy Kumite 38.1 in spring 2023.
Venue: DC Improv, 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036
Contact: 202.296.7008; support@dcimprov.com