about us
I MOSTLY BLAME MYSELF is a blood hungry sketch comedy team with a 2 year running Off-Broadway residency at The Players Theatre, and appearing throughout New York City. It's not a matter of IF they're funny, it's a matter of how much you hate yourself afterwards. Check please! Follow us here for live updates!
the cast
NICK SHANMAN or “daddy,” as the group calls him, is a writer, actor, and director from the flawless state of New Jersey. He’s had his work featured in The Austin Comedy Film Festival, The New York Comedy Film Festival, The Fort Myers Film Festival, and other irrelevant film festivals. He’s known for making way too many Jewish jokes and justifying it by saying “It’s cool, I’m Jewish.” He is Jewish though. He has also written and produced a TV Pilot called High Sobriety starring Lenny Clarke (Rescue Me, Fever Pitch), that is currently in development.
ALEX UBALDE has been performing comedy since high school but capturing hearts forever. Born and raised in Southern California, Alex began her long journey to fame and fortune in Comedy Sportz, a competitive improv team. Her love of comedy (and attention) grew and at Hofstra University, Alex was a cast member in the Emmy winning Thursday Nite Live as well as Tequila Mockingbird. She took to the main-stage in Why Torture is Wrong, And the People Who Love Them and her standup show To Damn College! She continues to write and perform standup and sketch in NYC. In her free time you can find her coming up with great movie ideas but not writing them down or hunkering down for a nice nap.
JUSTIN DESILETS feels weird writing another bio in the third person, as if he is some sort of villain. He grew up in Northern California and has been acting for 13 years--his favorite roles over that time having been Edmund in Long Day’s Journey Into Night, George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and Salieri in Amadeus. For his professional acting training, Justin attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts for Drama where he also decided to get a second major in psychology probably because of masochism. Thereafter Justin has performed in several off-broadway and off-off broadway houses, his favorites having been Theater for a New City and The Brick. He’s so happy to be performing comedy with a group of people he feels lucky to call friends and hopes you enjoy the show.
Oh! Also he did some monologues over quarantine if you wanna check them out: @themonologist2020 | https://www.youtube.com/user/Farkingawesome
KAYA SIMMONS looks a lot like that guy from that Keeps Commercial. Kaya’s acting journey began in high school when he jokingly auditioned for the first ever un-cut high school version of Spring Awakening and got cast. Kaya’s acting career continued in college at Northeastern University in Boston where he had the privilege to be a part of numerous professional and collegiate plays. Boston/Regional credits include Jonathan in Mud Blue Sky (Bridge Repertory Theatre, IRNE nomination) and Willie/Male Ensemble in How Soft The Lining (Bad Habit Productions.) Previous New York credits include Sean in Two-Fifths (Manhattan Repertory) and Fedotik in Three-Sisters (Columbia University.) Be sure to catch Kaya this spring as Spenser Cox for the premier of War Stories at The Tank.
EMMA MCKEEN is thrilled to be a part of this sketch comedy gang! Though a recent graduate of the BFA program at the Hartt School, Emma has trained in acting and improv for over ten years. Originally from Albuquerque, Emma moved to NYC last summer where she shares an apartment with her partner Nick and their Frenchie, Bumbus. Emma’s days are spent auditioning, taking furry friends on walks, and writing very very niche communist jokes.
JACKSON HINDEN Unfortunately, there is nothing funny about Jackson. He is a very serious man. This native New Yorker attended LaGuardia Arts High School. If you would like to know about his performing credits there, give him a few beers, and he’ll happily share for hours. He then traveled to the West Coast to study Musical Theatre at UCLA. Some of his post college theater credits include: Mamma Mia at the Hollywood Bowl, Green Day’s American Idiot, and Spring Awakening. Now he is back in his home city and extremely grateful to be back on a stage, performing for audiences again! Before the end of his bio, he would like to apologize to his mother for the sketches that we have done and for all future sketches. Sorry, ma. Love you..
ALLISON MCHUGH Originally from North Carolina, this one has spent the past five years performing sketch and improv comedy in New York City. She’s currently finishing up a 2-year Meisner acting program at Maggie Flanigan Studio and has previously trained at Upright Citizens Brigade. She’s been a standing member of numerous improv teams with theaters around the city—most recently, The Babysitters Club at The PIT. Allison credits remembering her love for the stage and comedy to her college improv team, TOAST!
the crew
Patrick Moriarty, NJ-based Lightning designer, is thrilled to be working with the cast of I Mostly Blame Myself. He specializes in Theatrical, Film and Photography lighting. To see more of Pat’s work check out ptmld.com and follow him on his social media @patrick.moriarty_
Justin Cooper, or “Justin 2” as he is known around I Mostly Blame Myself, is psyched to make his sketch comedy debut with such an awesome cast of talented people and Nick. A graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in Radio/Television/Film, Outside of comedy, he is a recording artist and producer with over 1,000,000 streams across all streaming platforms (and still at least 30 streams if you don’t include his mom), a personal trainer, a tutor and public speaking instructor, and a national champion debater, award-winning magician, and chess master.
SEAN MANA began acting professionally at age 5. Uh oh. Now dude has over 20 years of experience on set and on stage. Training from elites like The Lee Strasberg Institute, Upright Citizen Brigade, Anthony Abeson, Patrick Page and Hofstra University. Career highlights include his co-starring roles on 30Rock, playing a series regular on FOX's Jonny Zero, and working venues like 5959E,The Samuel Beckett Theatre, and New York Theatre Workshop
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Recent Work: Tiresias in “Oedipus Rex”, the MoMA performance "Eating the Wall Street Journal." and Listen! The River" earned him a Planet Connections Best Actor nomination. On top of sketches, Sean wrote his first feature-length screenplay; an adaption of the poem 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner,' placing as a Quarter Finalist in the New York International Screenplay Awards.
On his free time, Sean records music and streams video games on Twitch.tv.
