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Entertainment & Arts

Funny people on the way up

Here are five new rising stars of the alt-comedy scene. By Gina Piccalo Ansari started doing stand-up while still a business student at New York University. He and veteran UCB, N.Y. Upright Citizens Brigade New York regulars Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel in 2005 formed the sketch group Human Giant in 2005, which debuted as an MTV series in 2007. This year, Ansari appears in Judd Apatow's "Funny People" and co-stars in UCB founder Amy Poehler's NBC sit-com "Parks and Recreation." Next year, he’ll co-star in Apatow Productions' summer release "Get Him to the Greek," with Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. See his blog at azizisbored.tumblr.com.

Here are five new rising stars of the alt-comedy scene.

By Gina Piccalo

Ansari started doing stand-up while still a business student at New York University. He and veteran UCB, N.Y. Upright Citizens Brigade New York regulars Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel in 2005 formed the sketch group Human Giant in 2005, which debuted as an MTV series in 2007. This year, Ansari appears in Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” and co-stars in UCB founder Amy Poehler’s NBC sit-com “Parks and Recreation.” Next year, he’ll co-star in Apatow Productions’ summer release “Get Him to the Greek,” with Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. See his blog at azizisbored.tumblr.com.  (David Sprague / For The Times)

Wyatt Cenac

Cenac came to Los Angeles about eight years ago and got a job as a writer on “King of the Hill.” He spent three years there, and then left to spend the next four years soul-searching and doing sketch and stand-up comedy at UCB, L.A. His impersonation of then-Sen. Barack Obama posted on YouTube got him some attention during the presidential campaign and led to an audition for “Saturday Night Live.” But he was passed over for Fred Armisen. Last summer, Cenac was broke and panicked. Then he nailed an audition for “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” earning a correspondent gig. Earlier this year, he starred in a well-received indie feature, “Medicine for Melancholy.” Check him out at wyattcenac.com.   (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Aubrey Plaza

Plaza moved to New York largely to be close to UCB. She got to intern at “Saturday Night Live” and page at NBC, all the while posting online videos, including her dead-on Sarah Silverman impersonation. But it wasn’t until she auditioned in L.A. that her career launched. In one week last summer, Plaza landed three major roles: Seth Rogen’s love interest in Judd Apatow’s “Funny People,” Amy Poehler’s intern on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” and a part in next summer’s “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” See her site here: aubreyplaza.com.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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