TITLE: Adoptees & Humor

DESCRIPTION

In this installment of We the Experts, our adoptee panelists will be discussing humor and its unique role in their lives.

PANELISTS

Erin Alexis is an actress, comedienne, writer, and adoptee. She got her MFA in acting from Columbia University and then moved to Los Angeles. Adoption has been the focus of her work, including an article featured in the "LA Times," as well as the the award winning pilot “Moderately Put Together,” which she wrote, produced, and starred in. It premiered at SXSW and showed at many film festivals afterwards. She’s been in several TV shows including the upcoming “Station Eleven,” which will air on HBO Max, and has been in multiple commercials, most recently starring in one for Allstate. Erin is thrilled and honored to be on this panel because she loves being able to share her story with anyone who will listen in hopes of shining a little bit of light on a subject that does not get talked about enough.

Jake Kroeger was born in the Philippines in 1987 and adopted in 1988 after being left in a church by his birth mother who was on the run from terrorists. His adopted family served in the military, taking him all around the U.S., and is bi-racial, giving several different shades to Jake's perspective. Circuitously, Jake found his way to comedy and created the long standing respected resource, The Comedy Bureau, as well as performing comedy himself for over a decade. Through the last year, he has gotten involved in the adoptee community, often leading conversations about adoptee identity online. Jake believes adoptee identity is so shrouded in a fog; he’d love for comedy to help clear that up for adoptees and everyone else.

Rachel Dunbar is a transracial adoptee adopted in 1993. She has two siblings who are also transracial adoptees of different races and grew up in Arlington, VA. She now lives in Boston, MA and works as a Kindergarten teacher. Rachel is also a stand-up comedian of three years. She has performed in colleges and clubs all over the New England area and also in several clubs in New York City including Stand Up New York, Broadway Comedy Club, and Gotham Comedy Club. She was featured in the Midwest Queer Comedy Festival, the District Queer Comedy Festival, and the New York Comedy Underground Festival and was a semifinalist in the 2020 Boston Comedy Festival. Rachel is excited to be on the panel to discuss how her upbringing and experiences as an adoptee influence her comedy.

Skyler Higley is African American adoptee who was raised Mormon with white parents in Salt Lake City, and his unique perspective and sharp wit are helping him quickly become one of Chicago’s brightest stand ups and writers. Skyler has performed on stages all over the city like Zanies, Chicago’s Laugh Factory and Comedy Bar, and is a contributing writer for ClickHole. Coming from his unconventional background, Skyler is poised to take his hilarious point of view to the biggest stages. Skyler is excited to be on this panel for the opportunity to speak with other comedian adoptees about the nuanced experience of adoption and to enlighten those who are interested in listening to adoptees' stories.