2019 HOST - Austin von Johnson

Austin's stand up comedy career began with being a semi-finalist in 2017's Boise's Funniest Person competition. From there, he quickly became one of Boise's favorite hosts and feature comedians. He's performed for the Campfire Theatre Festival, the Boise Ad Federation, and multiple venues around the Treasure Valley. 

Austin has also performed in improv shows all over the Pacific Northwest including Sun Valley Film Festival, Campfire Theatre Festival, The Egyptian Theatre, The Orpheum Theatre, Liquid Laughs, and more! He's performed as part of Open World Comedy, Recycled Minds Comedy, and Zip Zap Zop and is the founder of The Idaho Improv Collective, a private improv networking organization.

Austin has an enviable comedian's day job as an accomplished actor with credits ranging from drama, to horror, to comedy. He primarily works out of Boise and travels all over the country for film and commercial bookings. He is known for his work in Friday the 13th: Mythos, About Andy, Hero, Netflix and Kill, Make it Count, and more!

Boise's Funniest Person is THRILLED to have Austin back on our stage for the second year in a row!

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2019 MentorS

The charm of SOPHIE HUGHES allows her to say and do things she shouldn't be able to get away with. Her good looks have helped her to achieve regular work as a voice actor. She has performed at Limestone Comedy Fest, 208 Comedy Fest, and Politically Re-Active with W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu.

BEN HESS was born upside down and backwards. And so goes his comedy. With his cavalier style, he relates his unique life experiences by providing new and odd perspectives. Whether musing on elevator werewolves or espousing the realities of mental health, Ben's all-inclusive approach will leave you thinking. And if not thinking, at least he'll leave you laughing.

ERIC COLE was born fully formed, as he sprang to life from the inside of a fish tank, so It's easy to see where he gets his irreverent, nonsensical sense of humor. He's made 'em laugh from Idaho to Reno and back again, hosted the shit out of the main stage at the 2017 Idaho Laugh Fest and is Boise’s own roastmaster general.

According to a former classmate, KC HUNT has had sad eyes since the fourth grade. KC's sarcastic mix of observational and absurdist humor touches on subjects from the mundane to the profane, connecting with diverse audiences while still challenging their assumptions. All with a look on his face like his mustache smells funny. In 2016, KC’s contestant was Boise’s Funniest Runner-Up.

MONTANA BURKE is a writer and comedian from Boise, Idaho known for his unique takes on everyday topics, belligerent rants, and creative use of non-sequiturs. While attending Washington State University Montana directed and wrote for two television shows for Cable 8 Productions. In 2015 Montana started doing stand-up comedy and now regularly performs at Liquid Laughs Comedy Club in Boise.

2019 JUDGES 

Teen mom turned meth addict turned comedian, JESSA REED tells raw and candid stories about about her past and her new life as a homeschooling housewife trying to blend in with the normal people. Her honesty is shocking, inspirational and not for the faint of heart. She is co-host of the popular podcast "Mormon and The Meth-Head."

Check out Jessa on  Comedy Central's "This Is Not Happening..."

​Listen to Mormon and the Meth-Head HERE!

AARON WOODALL'S unique perspective has been entertaining sold-out comedy clubs and half-empty bars across the West for the last six years. In 2015, Aaron made his national television debut when he performed on “Laughs” on Fox.  He has competed in festivals including the Big Sky Comedy Fest, Inside Jokes Los Angeles, The Rocky Mountain Laugh Off, where he was a finalist, The World Series of Comedy, where he was a quarter-finalist, and NYC’s Devil Cup, where he was a finalist. He’s never won anything. He is co-host of the popular podcast "Mormon and The Meth-Head."

JESSICA KEENAN is a Mexican/ Lebanese comedian, born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. The consummate oddball, she spent her childhood making her friends and family laugh until she went into comedy professionally. Jessica stands out as one of the funniest and freshest faces on the LA comedy scene today. She can be seen at The Comedy Store, The Improv, Laugh Factory, Westside Comedy Theater, and in the movie “The Love Section” on Netflix.

MATTIO MARTINEZ comes to Boise from Los Angeles, where he has opened for comics such as Ali Wong, Theo Vaughn, Iliza Shlesinger, was one of the top three finalist at the 2017 Ventura Comedy Festival. He is an award winning filmmaker with writing credits that include BBC, ABC, Sony, has written stand up for Jeff Garlan and Chelsea Handler, and has performed at top comedy clubs such as the Comedy Store, the Laugh Factory, and the Hollywood Improv.

DYLAN HAAS is no fun, does not like fun things and has no imagination. Dylan is the co-founder and co-director of the 208 Comedy Fest as well as the co-director of Comedyfort, the funniest part of Treefort. He is the president of Almost There productions and host of "Fun in Sobriety" on the EaseDrop Podcast Network. 

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AMY ATKINS, former ​Editor-in-Chief of the Boise Weekly, ​ describes herself as a "writer, maker of jewelry, listener of music, watcher of TV, reader of books, surfer of Internet, and lover of hitchhiking cats and all things pink." She's a passionate consumer and reviewer of entertainment, and has lent her excellent judging and commentary skills to all six years of Boise’s Funniest Person. Amy will be judging every round of BFP 2018. Thanks, Amy!

A theater nerd turned burlesque powerhouse, FRANKLY FRANKIE (Anne McDonald) has played a key role in establishing the burlesque scene in Boise. Her character-driven performances lean towards gender-bending and the absurd, and when coupled with her classic features and charm, leave audiences simultaneously horrified and aroused. In 2016, Frankie was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the State of Idaho, challenging the archaic obscenity laws held by the state which directly affected her ability to create and share her art. The lawsuit resulted in a change of Idaho’s statute, allowing freedom of expression in all art forms. She was co-founder and managing director of the Red Light Variety Show (2007-2015) and the driving force behind Frankly Burlesque. Frankie received her BA in Theater Arts at Boise State University, and has studied at the Movement Studio Theater, the NY School of Burlesque, and the Funny School of Good Acting. 

Boise’s Blonde Bombshell, Minerva Jayne, is a versatile entertainer, writer, and artist. For the better part of 20 years she has been bringing her own style, activism, and sense of humor to the community in Boise and beyond.

​You can read her column, “Minerva’s Breakdown: Advice for those on the verge,” in the Boise Weekly

BRETT BADOSTAIN has no business judging anyone’s comedy, but here we are. Brett has been involved in comedy in one way or another for more time than should be allowed for how little he has to show for it. He has done stand-up, improv (but not very well), and many podcasts, including the aptly named but now defunct, Jean Pod Van Damme. He was one of the people who started the mildly popular Comic Cinema Remix, which was a rip-off of MST3K, but had trivia and more angry outbursts. He most recently started the EaseDrop Podcast Network, which is the culmination of many years of thinking “the world needs more podcasts.”