Comedy team has AUS community in stitches

Stand-up comedians Mina Liccione, Ali Al Sayed and Omar Ismail had the American University of Sharjah (AUS) community doubled up with laughter at the AUStand-up comedy event held recently at the rotunda of the Performing Arts Building. 

The comedy show is part of AUS' community outreach, which focuses on serving its community by introducing different types of performing arts. It also came as part of the vibrant extracurricular life AUS provides to its students. 

Recently coined the UAE's King and Queen of Comedy by Ahlan magazine, Liccione and her partner Ali Al Sayed were also named among this year's Funniest People by Rolling Stone and were chosen for Ahlan's Hot 100 List for 2011 as the Comedy Couple.

Liccione has been nominated for the Emirates Woman of the Year Award (2012) and the New Yorker was coined the UAE's First Lady of Comedy. In 2008 Liccione pioneered the first and only Comedy and Urban Arts School in the Middle East, Dubomedy Arts School, which not only offers a wide variety of on-going training courses but is also the main cornerstone on which the UAE comedy community was built. A true hybrid artist whose two passions are rhythm and comedy, Liccione is currently teaching acting and dance at AUS. "This is my first semester teaching acting and dance at AUS and I just love it. I have seen tremendous improvement in my students, from their confidence to their expressions. My experience at AUS has been great because of them and I consider myself blessed," Liccione said.

Al Sayed was also chosen as one of the most influential comedians in the world by Toastmaster's International and he is currently nominated for Ahlan's Best in Dubai "Best Personality" category. Rolling Stone ME dubbed him the "King of Laughter." Al Sayed said, "This was a lot of fun. We have performed for all ages and nationalities but it's always good to perform to a younger crowd. It was great to see all these people turn up."

Ismail, an Emirati stand-up comedian and improviser, trained under Liccione and Al Sayed and has been performing comedy professionally with them for three years now.