host bios: get to know us

Growing up in Oak Ridge, TN, Bryce started his trivia career at a young age, as captain of the Oak Ridge High School Science Bowl team that won a state championship in 2001. In his naive younger days, he tried to make the world a better place, once receiving an environmentalism award from President Bush and organizing an eating contest for charity which pitted the offensive line of the UVA football team against celebrity eater Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas. Today, however, Bryce has been occupied with corrupting the minds of trivia fans in NYC, DC and beyond as the Founder and President of TriviaTryst.

A rising star on the NYC comedy circuit, this Rutgers engineering grad once supervised mechanics at a power plant, and if you don't laugh at her jokes she will throw a monkey wrench at you. Luckily, she is one of the funniest hosts on the TriviaTryst team and her electrifying style will have you coming back week after week. Carol is also Vice President of Operations for TriviaTryst.

Originally from Westchester, Rachel graduated from Northeastern in Boston before moving to NYC to surround herself with sports fans she could tolerate. Like Carol, Rachel makes her rounds on the NYC comedy circuit. She writes for National Lampoon and, of course, herself. Visit Rachel's personal website, creatively named rachelarbeit.com.

A graduate of the University of Georgia, Chelsea's original nickname was "Sweet Pea." Chelsea made some changes when she moved to NYC last summer to become a producer-in-training for a leading visual effects production studio, and started trying to cultivate a harder image. Her nickname refers to the fact that her TriviaTryst events are so popular they are "The Circumstance" which determines whether or not a given bar or restaurant is on or off the map.

A lifelong entertainer, proud USAF veteran and New Jersey native, Dane joined the Screen Actors Guild in 2002, scoring roles on HBO's The Sopranos, and several international TV spots (Coca Cola / Phillip Morris). As "Noodles" he has been featured on several mixtapes prominent in the underground music scene, and recently made a cameo appearance in Xzibit & Adil Omar's "Off the Handle" music video. If TriviaTryst isn't enough Dane for you, subscribe to youtube.com/DaneCurley or check out his online portfolio at DaneCurley.com.

When this Cincinnati-native and Ohio State alum is not hosting epic TriviaTryst games, you can find him fielding complaints in many languages from tourists at the NBC Studio tour desk. In addition, he willingly hands the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater his paychecks from said tour desk position in hopes of one day performing what Del Close considers improvisational comedy. If asked a trivia question outside his category wheelhouse of sports, movies, or music he will just stare and nod at you. He considers himself in the top 37th percentile of all human beings based on immune system alone. And his friends will say he is limber, local and ready to listen... to your problems.

From the halls of Bethel Middle School to the grounds at Westconn, John, a Connecticut native, was always told by his teachers to shut his mouth. In the ultimate form of revenge, not only did he get a job working in radio with duties ranging from on-air to promotions & marketing, but he sings in a local band and hosts TriviaTryst. There's no shutting him up now! When John isn't behind a mic he's probably behind a camera working on short films or riding his ripstick in the driveway.

From an early age, Michael's Mom knew that he belonged on the stage when she would videotape him dancing to Paula Abdul in the driveway of their Long Island home. She immediately entered him into dance school. Although that didn't work out, Michael continued to perform in various theater schools and was even President of both his High School Drama AND Musical Club. He then went on to graduate from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama, and continued his acting career in Los Angeles where he landed several commercials, music videos and TV show gigs. Now back in New York and sane again, he is happy to continue his career on the 'right' coast and host for TriviaTryst! He also has his own band which can be heard here. For more information about Michael, visit his page on LA Casting or see him back at his dance roots on YouTube.

Originally from a small town in Texas, Mandy is a horse riding poker player who brings her southern sarcasm to TriviaTryst. Aside from taking guys' money at the poker table, this adventure seeker also models part time and works as a property manager and private investigator. She may seem sweet, but there's no getting away with cheating at her events! You can check her out at mandymcmahan2.webs.com.

A UMich alum who hails from the hardscrabble streets of Brooklyn (but currently resides in Westchester), Ryan is a talented actor and martial arts master. When he's not kicking ass on stage or in the streets though, Ryan hosts some of the meanest trivia games around. At Ryan's events, when the mic goes on and the beats fire up, you'll quickly realize that it's "Business Time."

Adam "Normal Guy" Janos is pretty famous. Born in Toronto, Canada in 1983, Adam quickly established himself as the loudest member of his family and progressed steadily through elementary, middle, and high school. He first kissed a girl at thirteen but found the experience overwhelming and scary. He didn't enjoy making out until the 9th grade. He got the nickname "Normal Guy" while riding his bicycle down the streets of Manhattan one day. People barely looked at him, and when they did, they looked at him as if he were normal. I guess technically no one gave him the nickname... he sort of gave it to himself. Adam also thinks you shouldn't feel bad that you didn't know the capital of Moldova. No one gets that question right!

A native of the Washington DC area, Crystal Park has been making a living working in television/video production since graduating from the University of Maryland. An avid consumer of everything pop culture, you can usually find her on the couch, watching a "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" marathon for the 6th time. When she's not watching reality TV, she's usually running or taking photographs. Her nickname, "Panhandler," is more than just an alliteration; once you play one of her games, you'll be begging to come back for more!

Born on Long Island, life coach Laura Ann Allahverdi coaches clients by day, but at night she asks the questions that really matter - trivia questions! Either way, it's up to you to you to come up with the answers. Laura's tell-it-like-it-is persona is guaranteed to keep you entertained and put you in your place! For more info on Laura visit her website, lauraslifecoaching.com.

When not listening to music by Justin Timberlake, he's listening to music featuring Justin Timberlake. A Northern Virginia native, you can usually find Min having a dance-off at a club, doing improv, or you can't find him, because he's a ninja. Having practiced martial arts for over 15 years, he watches over your friends and families from the shadows. He has a degree from George Mason University, and really likes to give great high fives.

President Barack Obama has called him, “the best trivia host since George Bush,” and Alex Trebek has asked him to be on standby for Jeopardy, but Alex “Guinness” Innes has taken his talents to the wild streets of Washington D.C. where he has been giving the city with the most alcoholics nationwide a reason to come to the bar on a weeknight. Follow Alex on Twitter @alexanderdinnes to see where he's hosting next and what he does when he's not behind the mic.

Kevin’s charismatic attitude and fascination with other people and their stories makes him nothing short of his name. This University of Georgia alum started his hosting career in Florida as a TV news anchor, bringing his professionally sarcastic attitude and weird knowledge about Italian ice cream to the mic. Perhaps more interesting than his last name is the fact that some people still have difficulty spelling it. "Like a Storybook" is Kevin’s quirky explanation. Character, now a grad student and Central Park employee, spends each day fighting off raccoons and trying to explain to non-English speakers the best route to Times Square. There’s always something absolutely tweet-worthy happening. Visit one of Kevin’s TriviaTryst games to hear more of his crazy stories!

Crashing into show business in 2006, Pack began by pawning all of his possessions, buying a motorcycle, and traveling across all fifty states while working odd jobs, performing original oral stories and sleeping on the sofas (and in the backyards) of many strangers. His albums of stories sell on iTunes and he is in the process of publishing his first and second novels. Pack's career in ‘showbiz’ took a major step forward in 2011 when he was hired as a full-time corporate speaker, Master of Ceremonies, and TriviaTryst Host. In a previous life, Pack won an NCAA National Championship as a member of the Texas Longhorn baseball team where he became friends with over a dozen Major League Baseball players.

A native Virginian and proud Northwestern alum, Sarah is a professional actress with many hidden talents. She once scored 594 points in a Scrabble game and has been known to play Rock Band by herself. When not hosting TriviaTryst, she is most likely acting in something, making organic ice cream, or dominating a crossword puzzle. Or telling her dog how little he is.

Scott has had a long and luscious career as a comedian. Ever since his first viewing of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective he has had a passion for the art form, and started making jokes and trying to find the humor in everything from a young age. In college, Scott was the Improv Director for The UAlbany Sketchy Characters. Recently performing standup and comedy raps, Scott’s trivia career started with learning the theme song to "Green Acres" and has no foreseeable end. It is his belief that there is no such thing as “useless trivia,” just “useless beliefs about there being useless trivia.” He also claims to have learned the facts of life by watching NBC's "The Facts of Life."

Nate "Natopotato" Peterson, otherwise known as People magazine's sexiest man alive for 21 years running, has been performing ever since Whose Line is it Anyway convinced him that you could become successful by going on stage and making stuff up. Nate's dastardly good looks and never ending fountains of charisma have led him to become close friends with CEOs of numerous Fortune 500 companies. These include, and are not limited to, none of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Nate's educational background includes reading text messages and the Complete and Total Idiot's Guide to Psychology in hopes of better understanding women.

When the planet Funkatron 5 was destroyed, a tiny vessel escaped carrying the last remaining survivor through space before it crash landed into the Oakland backyard of Mr. and Mrs. Waterman. Inside the vessel they discovered a tiny baby boy. Raising him as their own they named him Noah (because apparently the idea of someone named "Noah Waterman" was too good to pass up). Noah had spent many of his adult years going back and forth between both coasts before he eventually landed on the island of Manhattan. A former actor and comedian, Noah is now sowing his seeds to become the Clown Prince of New Media, producing music videos and web series including the upcoming show The Upstarts (which, once aired, will be found at www.theupstartsonline.com). When not producing or hosting trivia, Noah can often be found admiring his collection of Tiki mugs & Luchador masks, concocting strange yet delicious specialty cocktails and performing Lou Bega's "Mambo #5" at Karaoke.

Dee is a hula-hooping, Russian speaking, Grateful-Dead-loving, firecracker of a Trivia Host. Born in Moscow, raised in northern CT, and a New Yorker for the past 6 years, Dee has made a name for herself as an actor/director/producer in the NYC theatre scene. Having recently returned to school, Dee is now on a mini-hiatus from "The Biz", but keeps her chops fresh by rocking the mic for TriviaTryst. When not hosting trivia or cracking the books, Dee can be found gallivanting around town, causing madness wherever she goes... but only the good kind.

Emme hails from the warm tropical shores of Puerto Rico, where she learned how to be an AC-TUH and drive on unsafe road conditions. A professional actor and voiceover artist, she spends way too much time checking out friends of friends' Facebook profiles. She also enjoys showing you pictures of her cats, sleeping in 'til noon, and thrifting like a villain. Being a trivia host is pretty much a dream job for Emme because once she collects enough random tidbits, world domination will soon follow.

While Laura doesn't personally know a lot of trivia, she is very good at pretending like she knows what she's talking about. Most likely due to the fact that her last name is extremely difficult to pronounce, her friends gave her the name "L Train" in high school and it has stuck ever since. Hailing from Flip, Flip Flip-adelphia and graduating from St. Joseph's University, she really stepped out of her comfort zone and made the big move to Northern New Jersey... Here she works a full time job for "insert big company name here" and decided to test her abilities on the mic. Her passions include, but are not limited to, running, cycling, baking, rooting for a terrible football team, growing chia pets and snorkling in the Hudson.

Prior to age seven, Emily could not pronounce the letter "C" and therefore called herself Emily Toad until second grade. A Tufts Drama Grad and native New Yorker, Emily has studied Alpine Botany in France and is unable to drive in certain states due to possible outstanding warrants. She keeps a jar of Nutella in her desk at 59E59 Theaters' Box Office and will never turn down a dance off. Emily’s family and friends are shocked and relieved she has channeled her Jeopardy! “problem” into a marketable skill. Learn about her burgeoning acting career at emilycode.com!

After graduating from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, Christy realized it was time for her to move back to the place to be, Washington, DC! Christy realized she needed to be a TriviaTryst host after winning over karaoke audiences with her rendition of "Baby Got Back" while she whipped her "unbeweavable" hair around on stage. Christy's a dancing diva, gym addict and believes that she was a sumo wrestler in her past life due to the ginormous amounts of food that she can consume for a little lady her size. When not hosting, you’ll usually find Christy jammin’ out in her car to some Mariah Carey or Salt-N-Pepa with the mic (her phone) in one hand and the other on the steering wheel. Don’t panic folks, she practices safety first by always wearing her seatbelt!

Trent is not the most interesting man in the world. Although he did share an elevator with him one time. Interesting Man base jumped from the 32nd floor with only an “I heart NY” shirt as a parachute, Trent on the other hand got off the elevator half way up because he had to go to the bathroom… A recent classical acting grad from the University of Central Florida, Trent has been trying the acting thing in NYC since his move there in May. And since everyone knows being a TriviaTryst host is step 2 of the “6-steps-to-Broadway-fame” he’s very happy with his progress thus far. Growing up in Lexington, KY instilled in him a love for horseracing, bourbon, and not wearing shoes on his 25 min trek into town to get milk… and he’s also stupid enough to think self-deprecating humor is still funny, so go easy on him….. The real (and less indulgent) story can be found at trentfucci.com.

Dayonel’s upbringing was split between the dirty streets of NY and the Dirty South. While he wasn’t able to pick up any of that Southern charm you hear about, he managed to hold on to that fast talking, smart alek-iness that would earn him the title of "El Capitán" of St. John’s. Wishing to impart those gifts onto future generations, he became a part-time educator and professional computer nerd. Now he spends most of his days hosting trivia, emceeing, rapping in the shower, and perpetuating the war between Macs and Pcs.

A self-professed geek, Jamie Frevele works for a blog (for a living) where she writes about all that fun nerd stuff you think you're too cool to admit you like. (Admit it: you love Star Trek. It's okay. It's awesome to love Star Trek.) With her background in sketch, improv, and standup comedy, Jamie sincerely hopes that you'll find yourself entertained by her fanatic love for random information. If not, she'll just look into becoming a Ghostbuster.

When you get a pop-quiz from The Dean, it’s the kind you’ll enjoy. It has been said that Adam has a voice made for trivia, and it’s true! Graduating Cum Laude, at the top of his field (T.V./Film), this smooth talking, question-sling’n host hails from Arlington, VA. With a theatrical background he has had his hand in everything from break dancing to pro-clowning, and it won’t stop there. So if you’re in the D.C. metropolitan area, prepare to be schooled by The Dean.

A man of many talents yet a master of none, Josh "Primetime" Goldman brings an unrelenting enthusiasm and that extra touch of class to TriviaTryst events. By day you can find Josh figuratively and literally hugging trees as an environmental attorney but at night, Josh transforms, much like a pupa, into DC's hottest, and most unknown, DJ. You can find him playing 90s hip hop and thumpin dance music way too loud at house parties throughout the DC area. When not out on the town, Josh is a devoted family man and lounging enthusiast. Come check Josh out at the next great DC TriviaTryst event!

Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, Alex moved to Manhattan in late 2011 after an unfortunate cow-tipping incident. A self-described connoisseur of fine scotch and buffalo wings, Alex is a perfect example of earnest Midwestern charm and bad $20 haircuts. Awkwardly standing at 6'4", Alex suffers from "Too Tall to Comfortably Fit on the Island of Manhattan-itis." When not hosting TriviaTryst games, you can find Alex alone in his Hell's Kitchen apartment, reenacting scenes from last week's episode of Mad Men.

Tara hails from a far off land in Virginia where they drive their tractors to school and hunter’s education is mandatory in the seventh grade. She left the farm to attend the University of Virginia and now lives in the nation’s capital, where she feels they could really use just one more cupcake shop and food truck. Skilled in the area of people and their twisted minds, she works in the field of psychology and plans to use her training to analyze each of her patrons. Her lack of actual trivia knowledge is made up for by the fact that she is walking evidence that women actually can be funny. Her dimples may make her look innocent, but watch out, her biting wit and sarcasm often hit below the belt. Tara’s volunteer work with high schoolers and passion for hockey have prepared her to be heckled, so bring it!

A Westchester native and SUNY Binghamton alum, Mike has been working the reality TV production circuit for two years and finally decided to claim some of the spotlight for himself. He can be a little quiet sometimes, but get a few drinks in him or put him in front of the mic and you'll see the high school theater nerd and all-around ham he loves to be. Although, he wishes he was a little bit taller, a baller and had a girl who looked good. He'd most likely call her.

When Allison is not having a blast quizzing bar folks with trivia, you can find her glued to a blog, volunteering with animals, making ridiculous greeting cards for her friends, terrorizing children at her day job or performing stand up. She was named “least intimidating person you will ever meet” by Muscle and Fitness magazine an impressive 5 years in a row and was used as the primary research subject in the forming of Murphy’s Law. As a result, she developed an irrational love of mid 1990’s televised wrestling and now runs into every room saying “What The Wruk Is Cooking!". Be forewarned TriviaTryst players, this one is an animal.

Nicole is a SUNY Stony Brook graduate, a painter and an amateur chef. She is also a national Mario Kart champion, mastering Rainbow Road in one minute and twenty two seconds. Now that Nicole's an unemployed college grad, with a degree in Studio Art, she's been trying her luck at some odd jobs. Recently, she starred in Shrek 5: The Return of Farquad as the voice of Shrek's mom.

Long Island native and all around swell guy, Patrick is an avid trivia enthusiast. Patrick loves the nightlife, he also likes to boogie. When he's not hosting trivia, he's probably performing with his Irish Rock Band, DJ-ing, or pouring beer and giving tours at the local brewery. Patrick's love of beer, Irish music, and aforementioned love of nightlife/boogie-ing is what earned him the nickname "The Wild Rover". Patrick's inability to read or write earned him his other nickname, "Illiterate Pat". Patrick's complete lack of resemblance to rapper 50 Cent is what earned him his third nickname, "Not 50 Cent".

(Bio coming soon.)