Shanti Charan could be the rising star in Bay Area comedy right now. Though she started performing just two years ago, she has already graced the stages of the top clubs in the area, has won the 2011 Rooster T. Feather's Comedy Competition, and was a semifinalist in the 2011 San Francisco International Comedy Competition — one of the most prestigious in North America, and a huge feat for such a young comedian. The girl's got spunk. Charan's onstage energy and her infectious smile capture audiences, and her writing — which is clever and confident beyond her years — tends to kill. We'd quote a joke, but Charan crafts robust bits of storytelling that build and surprise, and don't lend themselves to excerpting. That said, she's funny as hell in the shortform Twitterverse: "Was a taaaad late to work cause Journey was on the radio. I HAD to keep believing!!! I just couldn't stop!" At the pace she's going, Charan doesn't look like she knows the first thing about stopping.