About Us:
Marina & Nicco are award-winning writers based in New York. Their work has appeared on Fusion, Comedy Central, Audible, Wondery, Radiotopia, College Humor, The New Yorker, Funny or Die, as well as many stages throughout New York. Their pilot, Smüchr, won Best Comedy at the New York Television Festival in 2018.
Their four-episode audio drama series, The Off Season, was included in The Guardian's list of Best Home Entertainment and Refinery29's list of Best Podcasts of 2018, and was praised as "subtle and slyly funny" by The New York Times.
They were playwrights in residence at The Flea (2018 - 2020) and The Peoples Improv Theater (2015), where they wrote and produced new plays each month. Of these plays, Room 4 was a New York Times critic's pick and received numerous glowing reviews, and their play Unpacking had a successful three-week run at HERE Arts Center. Their recent collaborative creation, If You Do This Right You'll Probably Break Their Chest, was part of Ars Nova's All New Talent Festival 2018. They recently co-wrote a sketch comedy pilot for Fusion, and completed a playwriting residency at Ars Nova. They both teach at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. They are currently in pre-production for their first feature film. For updates, join the mailing list here.
Also -- we are SOMETIMES individuals!
Niccolo Aeed is a black/Palestinian writer and director based in New York. He is half the comedy duo Marina & Nicco, whose sketches and short films have been featured on The New Yorker, Comedy Central, Funny or Die, and many more. Marina & Nicco's plays have been produced at HERE Arts Center, The Peoples Improv Theater, New Ohio Theater and Ars Nova. Individually, Nicco has written and directed plays for The New York Fringe Festival, the Philly Fringe Festival, NY Summerfest and 7x7. He he has written and directed sketch comedy at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and The Peoples Improv Theater and teaches storytelling with The Moth.
All photos by David Bluvband
Marina Tempelsman is a New York-based writer, director, and a former Academic Director for the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. She is half the comedy duo Marina & Nicco, whose work has been featured by Comedy Central, Fusion, The New Yorker, College Humor, Funny or Die, Wondery, Audible, Radiotopia, and many other places. Their play Room 4 was a New York Times critic’s pick, and their pilot, Smüchr, won Best Comedy at The New York Television Festival in 2018. Their four-episode audio drama series The Off Season about the #MeToo movement was included in The Guardian's list of Best Home Entertainment and Refinery29's list of Best Podcasts of 2018.
Marina has also been a resident artist for several organizations, including Ars Nova, The Kennedy Center, The Flea, and Foundation House. She wrote the first season of the Ambie-award winning series "Scamfluencers" (which debuted at #1 in iTunes), as well as the first season of "The Big Flop" (Ambie nominee for Best Comedy). She recently co-wrote and co-directed her first feature film ("Intervention"), which will be touring the 2025 festival circuit.
PRAISE FOR MARINA & NICCO
"MANY COMEDIANS ARE SATISFIED SIMPLY TO WRITE AND PERFORM FUNNY THINGS, AND WE HAVE THEM TO THANK FOR SOME OF THE GENRE’S GREATEST WORKS. FEWER COMEDIANS SHOW AS MUCH INTEREST IN THE FORM THEIR CONTENT TAKES, THOUGH I SUSPECT THIS NUMBER IS INCREASING WITH THE INFLUENCE OF HIGH-PROFILE AUTEURS LIKE LOUIS C.K. AND EUGENE MIRMAN. COUNT TEMPELSMAN AND AEED, WHO MAKE COMEDY UNDER THE MONIKER MARINA AND NICCO, AMONG THESE RANKS. "
Paste Magazine
"SEEING A MARINA & NICCO SHOW IS LIKE WALKING THROUGH A MYSTERIOUS DOORWAY, AND FINDING YOURSELF IN A WORLD THAT LOOKS AND FEELS JUST LIKE YOUR OWN, BUT…DIFFERENT. LIKE PINKERTON, THE SEMINAL WEEZER ALBUM, OR WARHOL’S FACTORY, EVERY MARINA & NICCO WORK IS A SERIES OF SMALL, GLEEFUL SURPRISES, EACH OF WHICH OPENS UP A WHOLE NEW REALM OF HILARIOUS WEIRD."
KEVIN LAIBSON, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AT THE PIT
"10 BREAKOUT SKETCH GROUPS 2015"
WILDCARD COMEDY
"VERY FUNNY"
WWW.HEADSTUFF.ORG
"ATTENDEES SHOULD PLAN TO WITNESS A JOYOUS EVENT OR SOMETHING HORRIBLY GRISLY."
TIMEOUT NEW YORK
PRAISE FOR "ROOM 4"
"POWERFULLY FUNNY... 'ROOM 4' IS A TIMELY AND ENJOYABLE SERIES OF ENLIGHTENED LAUGHS AND WORTHY IDEAS, AND A DEEPLY NEEDED CATHARSIS THAT ONLY SOMETHING LIKE LIVE STAGED COMEDY CAN PROVIDE."
~THEATERISGOOD.COM
PRAISE FOR "MURDER!"
MURDER-MYSTERY/COMEDY RADIOPLAY RECORDED LIVE AT THE PIT
"THEIR SERIALIZED PODCAST 'MURDER!' WILL PLEASE COMEDY AND CLIFF-HANGER FANS ALIKE WITH ITS GENRE-BENDING PLOT... FILLED WITH ODDBALL CHARACTERS, 'MURDER!' EFFECTIVELY STRADDLES THE ABSURD LINE BETWEEN HUMOR AND HORROR. SURE TO PLEASE LISTENERS WHO JUST CAN'T WAIT FOR 'SERIAL' TO RETURN."
~ THE DAILY DOT
"THIS LIVE 'COMEDY THRILLER' WILL HAVE YOU GASPING BETWEEN LAUGHS."
~ TIME OUT NEW YORK
"LONG-TIME COMEDY-AND-SKETCH-WRITING DUO MARINA & NICCO REMEDY THAT, AS THEY BRING THEIR COMEDIC SENSIBILITIES TO THE OLD 'GROUP OF STRANGERS MEET AT A STRANGE HOUSE FOR A PARTY, AND BODIES START TO DROP' SETUP—BUT THEY’VE GOT A LOT OF TWISTS, TURNS, AND LAUGHS FOR YOU ALONG THE WAY THAT ARE ANYTHING BUT FORMULAIC."
~ GO SEE A SHOW PODCAST
PRAISE FOR "DELUSIONS OF GUINEVERE":
INDEPENDENT FILM (2014 RELEASE), BY NICCOLO AEED, ARIANNA BERNSTEIN, JOANNA BOWZER, MARINA TEMPELSMAN
"...SAVVY... A CASUALLY SARDONIC TOUCH... THE COMEDY SERVES AS A CRISP CALLING CARD..."
~ THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
"…DARKLY HUMOROUS ... SLY AND SMART OBSERVATIONS ABOUT WHAT PASSES FOR CELEBRITY STATUS TODAY."
~ THE NEW YORK TIMES
"...A SURPRISINGLY DARK SATIRE OF MODERN CELEBRITY....THE NARRATIVE BOUNCES ALONG TOWARD WHAT SEEMS LIKE A PREDICTABLE HAPPY ENDING -- PROTAGONIST COMES TO APPRECIATE THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF HER LIFE -- BUT GUIN REFUSES TO PLAY ALONG. BERNSTEIN ADOPTS A MANIACAL CERTAINTY AS GUINEVERE BEGINS TO VALUE THE CURRENCY OF ONLINE FANDOM OVER HER REAL-WORLD ATTACHMENTS. SHE VIEWS THIS TRADE-OFF AS A VIABLE CAREER PATH, AND DELUSIONS OF GUINEVERE MAKES THE FRIGHTENING CASE THAT SHE MAY BE RIGHT."
~ THE VILLAGE VOICE
"...DESERVING OF CREDIT FOR ITS DARING ASTRINGENCY...."
~ HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
“THIS INDEPENDENT FILM (LUCKILY) GOES AGAINST THE TYPICAL HOLLYWOOD FORMULA AND GIVES US AN ENDING WE MIGHT NOT EXPECT. THANK YOU, ‘DELUSIONS OF GUINEVERE’ FOR BUCKING THE SYSTEM AND GIVING US A FILM WITH HUMOR AND HEART.”
~ REEL HONEST REVIEWS
“THE WRITING IS AMAZING, THE ACTING ROCKS…A FILM THAT WILL HAVE YOU TALKING ABOUT IT LONG AFTER IT ENDS.”
~ EXAMINER.COM