Jason Rowland – Founder & CEO
Born in Victoria, BC to travel-curious parents, Jason spent time in Fort Nelson, BC, the Cayman Islands and Edmonton prior to moving to Vancouver in 1995. A life long comedy fan, Jason was introduced to George Carlin’s Class Clown album at age 13 by his Uncle Jim. To this day, Carlin remains on Jason’s Mount Rushmore of comedians.
The former General Manager of The Comedy MIX in Vancouver, BC, Jason has over a decaded of experience in the comedy community. The MIX – as it was affectionately known – was an incredible environment to develop many of the criteria Jason now uses with Comedy Feedback. As Vancouver’s premiere standup location, The MIX was *the* hub for national and international touring comedians, and an incredible Ground Zero to learn about the business of comedy. Working with club owner Mario and former booker Brandy, Jason was quickly immersed in the day-to-day operations of running a club. In addition to booking duties during his tenure with the club, Jason acted as guest judge for JFL’s Homegrown competition, Sirius XM’s Next Top Comic, and NBC’s Stand Up for Diversity. In fact, there was one day that Jason saw and judged 92 separate LIVE showcase sets IN. ONE. DAY. <not a typo>
Since moving on from The Comedy MIX, Jason has worked closely with The World Series of Comedy, and served as head judge of the competition since 2017. That has translated into watching, judging and providing feedback on hundreds of submission videos and live performances every year. A conservative estimate at time of writing (Dec 2022) puts Jason as having seen 10,000 live showcase sets and 5,000 submission videos in the past decade.
A big fan of sports and playing games, Jason can be found playing hockey, poker or golf in any spare time that isn’t already spent on the couch cheering on his beloved Oilers and Broncos.
An avid amateur photographer, you can see some of his photo posts HERE.
David Kousgaard – Senior Producer & Consultant
Growing up in the small town of Carter Lake, Iowa, David developed a love of stand-up comedy from an early age. After he finally gave it a try in college, he immediately developed a passion for performing, but he waited to fully pursue that passion until after his graduation from the University of Nebraska – Omaha. Since then, his sole focus has been to make people laugh.
Still in Omaha, Nebraska (but really Council Bluffs, Iowa), David has entertained and delighted many crowds at breweries, comedy clubs, and festivals across the country. His humor focuses mostly on anecdotes and observations about a variety of topics including his marriage, life in the Midwest, and growing up religious. He’ll even throw the occasional dark joke in there to keep you on your toes.
In 2016, his stand-up was featured on the show “Omaha Live!” which aired on the Omaha NBC affiliate, in 2019 he was featured on the show “Oma-Ha!” on KPAO in Omaha, and in 2020 he performed at The Main Event of The World Series of Comedy at the LA Comedy Club in Las Vegas. David has worked with The World Series of Comedy since 2021 – performing in over a dozen clubs a year as a host for the festival.
Ariane Seiler – Associate Producer & Consultant
Hailing from Nanaimo, BC, Ariane has worked in comedy for over a decade, include an 8 year stint at The Comedy MIX in Vancouver, BC. In her time at the club, her input was greatly valued by the booking team for the venue. Over her tenure, she became influential in the booking of developing comedians on the Pro/Am and Showcase nights, and provided insight into which local and national touring performers were suitable to re-book at the venue. In addition to her work with Comedy Feedback, Ariane works at Vancouver’s newest live comedy venue, Comedy After Dark.
Ariane’s keen observation of joke and set structure, combined with her sense of a performer’s ability to engage with a live audience makes her feedback valuable to our clients. Her work with Comedy Feedback has lead to a role as an official submission selection judge with The World Series of Comedy for the 2023 festival season.
A comedy fan through and through, Ariane has many creative outlets in her life, including painting and wrestling. Yes, wrestling. Professional wrestling. And to quote her response to the inevitable question of whether proessional wrestling is fake: “It doesn’t feel fake when you get suplexed.” There is little question as to who our resident badass is at Comedy Feedback.
Check out her artwork here: Ariane’s Instagram