When the first annual New York Comedy Festival kicks off on November 9, it will be the culmination of 11 months of planning for the lady behind the laughs, Caroline Hirsch. Hirsch, the founder and owner of one of New York City’s most famous comedy clubs, Caroline’s on Broadway, talked to us about how the five-day festival, which will include performances from more than 50 standup comedians at venues throughout the city, came to fruition.
Why was the festival organized, and what was your role in the creation of it?
It’s a lot of what I do [at Caroline's on Broadway], but on a bigger level. The idea for it really started after 9/11, when people were telling me they just wanted to laugh and have a good time, and that coming to the club was healing. So that was part of it. And then my 20th anniversary gala at Carnegie Hall [in March 2003] was such a fabulous evening that we thought, Well, why don’t we try to put a week of this together?
Who helped put the event together?
We partnered with NYC & Company, and with Alliance, which is a branded entertainment company that’s part of Grey Advertising. They brought the corporate sponsorships into this. [The Festival’s corporate sponsors include Mercedes-Benz Tri-State Dealers, Sierra Mist, and Time Out New York.]
I was introduced to Jarrod Moses, the president and C.E.O. of Alliance, at the Hamptons Film Festival. We wanted to work on some projects together, and we called him about this festival and he loved it. We also have some freelance help working with us, and the office has taken up a lot of slack. We hired an outside PR firm as well.
Why was the festival organized?
Because I wanted to do it! I got this notion, and I just felt it was right for the city. I wanted to take what I do here to another level. You’ll never see these people on a stage in one week in New York City [any other time]. Roseanne [Barr] hasn’t done standup in New York in 20 years, so we’re really looking forward to that. And Denis Leary, with the success of Rescue Me… Drew Carey last played at my club 10 years ago and he’ll be at Carnegie Hall with his friends. It’s just chock-full of great stand-ups.
What is the goal of the festival?
My goal is to have everybody talking about what a great time they had!
Anything else? How will you measure the success of the event?
It?ll be a success if all of the shows sell out, and if people are happy with what they?ve seen and want more for next year.
So are you already planning the second annual New York Comedy Festival?
Yeah, there will be another one. But we need to get through this one first!
How did you coordinate with all the venues? And was that awkward since Caroline's and other spaces may be seen as competitors?
Well, the other spaces really aren’t competitors—Carnegie Hall, City Center, Town Hall…any producer can go into these venues. But there was a lot of detail work involved—it’s going to all the venues, coordinating
the press, coordinating production of the shows and running the shows. There’s a lot of little details that go into each show.
What was the most challenging part of putting an event like this together?
The talent, and dealing with everybody and their people. You have to deal with agents and managers, and press agents. That’s pretty much what I have to deal with. Also, coordinating all the press, and getting these people to do these things. But we’re coming through.
Who are you looking forward to seeing perform the most?
I’m looking forward to all of them, but [especially] seeing Roseanne and Denis…they’re all different and great. And Drew, I haven’t seen in years. I’ll be at each venue for some amount of time each night.
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
Posted 11.09.04
Why was the festival organized, and what was your role in the creation of it?
It’s a lot of what I do [at Caroline's on Broadway], but on a bigger level. The idea for it really started after 9/11, when people were telling me they just wanted to laugh and have a good time, and that coming to the club was healing. So that was part of it. And then my 20th anniversary gala at Carnegie Hall [in March 2003] was such a fabulous evening that we thought, Well, why don’t we try to put a week of this together?
Who helped put the event together?
We partnered with NYC & Company, and with Alliance, which is a branded entertainment company that’s part of Grey Advertising. They brought the corporate sponsorships into this. [The Festival’s corporate sponsors include Mercedes-Benz Tri-State Dealers, Sierra Mist, and Time Out New York.]
I was introduced to Jarrod Moses, the president and C.E.O. of Alliance, at the Hamptons Film Festival. We wanted to work on some projects together, and we called him about this festival and he loved it. We also have some freelance help working with us, and the office has taken up a lot of slack. We hired an outside PR firm as well.
Why was the festival organized?
Because I wanted to do it! I got this notion, and I just felt it was right for the city. I wanted to take what I do here to another level. You’ll never see these people on a stage in one week in New York City [any other time]. Roseanne [Barr] hasn’t done standup in New York in 20 years, so we’re really looking forward to that. And Denis Leary, with the success of Rescue Me… Drew Carey last played at my club 10 years ago and he’ll be at Carnegie Hall with his friends. It’s just chock-full of great stand-ups.
What is the goal of the festival?
My goal is to have everybody talking about what a great time they had!
Anything else? How will you measure the success of the event?
It?ll be a success if all of the shows sell out, and if people are happy with what they?ve seen and want more for next year.
So are you already planning the second annual New York Comedy Festival?
Yeah, there will be another one. But we need to get through this one first!
How did you coordinate with all the venues? And was that awkward since Caroline's and other spaces may be seen as competitors?
Well, the other spaces really aren’t competitors—Carnegie Hall, City Center, Town Hall…any producer can go into these venues. But there was a lot of detail work involved—it’s going to all the venues, coordinating
the press, coordinating production of the shows and running the shows. There’s a lot of little details that go into each show.
What was the most challenging part of putting an event like this together?
The talent, and dealing with everybody and their people. You have to deal with agents and managers, and press agents. That’s pretty much what I have to deal with. Also, coordinating all the press, and getting these people to do these things. But we’re coming through.
Who are you looking forward to seeing perform the most?
I’m looking forward to all of them, but [especially] seeing Roseanne and Denis…they’re all different and great. And Drew, I haven’t seen in years. I’ll be at each venue for some amount of time each night.
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
Posted 11.09.04
