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BACK ISSUES INTERVIEWS Stand-Up Comedians Jim Norton Robert Kelly Donnell Rawlings Brad Stine Tammy Pescatelli Leighann Lord George Sarris Nick DiPaolo Russ Meneve Shang and more By Tasha Harris, NYC Comedy Journalist STAGE TIME The Magazine That Stands Up For Comedy |
By Tasha Harris, Editor-in-Chief
on New York magazine’s “The Ten Funniest New Yorkers You’ve Never Heard Of.”
Even after scoring a victory for New York City comics and receiving Cringe Humor’s highest honor as
“The Impact Player of 2005,” Russ continues looking out for the betterment of his fellow comics – educating and empowering them to seek their fair share in the comedy business.
How did you get started in stand up?
I started in '93 so I’ve been doing it 13 years. I was always fascinated by it. I didn’t know I was going to
do it for a living growing up. I knew I loved it. I did a talent show in high school when I was 17 and I never
thought about doing it again…
How long was the time gap between when you did stand up in high school until you started doing it again?
What brought you back to stand up?
From [age] 17 to 23. I always loved it. I had a job at Pricewaterhouse, an accounting firm and I hated it.
So I said let me just try this thing I’ve always wanted to do.
Where did you perform?
I went to the open mikes here in the City: I went to the West End Gate or something, Gladys Comedy
Room. I remember going to open mikes for a long time and barking for customers.
Who are some of the other comics with whom you started?
Dan Naturman, Ben Bailey, Judah Friedlander and Pete Correale, I think was around. A lot less…a lot of
people didn’t really make it past the first few stages.
You started at the end of the comedy boom, so how you find work during that time?
For me at that time, the fact that there was going to be less money or whatever the situation was, I wasn’t
going to see money for years anyway. I just wanted to get better and get good at it.
Did you find a lot of work?
In the beginning – no. The first five years are hell. You don’t really get any work, any good work anyway.
You get a part-time job but I don’t have any fond memories of the beginning because it was so hard.
What type of material did you do?
I think it’s the same as now: it’s an observational kind of thing. I did dirty and clean, so I did both…
Even after scoring a victory for New York City comics and receiving Cringe Humor’s highest honor as
“The Impact Player of 2005,” Russ continues looking out for the betterment of his fellow comics – educating and empowering them to seek their fair share in the comedy business.
How did you get started in stand up?
I started in '93 so I’ve been doing it 13 years. I was always fascinated by it. I didn’t know I was going to
do it for a living growing up. I knew I loved it. I did a talent show in high school when I was 17 and I never
thought about doing it again…
How long was the time gap between when you did stand up in high school until you started doing it again?
What brought you back to stand up?
From [age] 17 to 23. I always loved it. I had a job at Pricewaterhouse, an accounting firm and I hated it.
So I said let me just try this thing I’ve always wanted to do.
Where did you perform?
I went to the open mikes here in the City: I went to the West End Gate or something, Gladys Comedy
Room. I remember going to open mikes for a long time and barking for customers.
Who are some of the other comics with whom you started?
Dan Naturman, Ben Bailey, Judah Friedlander and Pete Correale, I think was around. A lot less…a lot of
people didn’t really make it past the first few stages.
You started at the end of the comedy boom, so how you find work during that time?
For me at that time, the fact that there was going to be less money or whatever the situation was, I wasn’t
going to see money for years anyway. I just wanted to get better and get good at it.
Did you find a lot of work?
In the beginning – no. The first five years are hell. You don’t really get any work, any good work anyway.
You get a part-time job but I don’t have any fond memories of the beginning because it was so hard.
What type of material did you do?
I think it’s the same as now: it’s an observational kind of thing. I did dirty and clean, so I did both…
Most Valuable Player
RUSS MENEVE
Making the Comedy World a
Better Paid Place
RUSS MENEVE
Making the Comedy World a
Better Paid Place
It’s a chilly Sunday night in March as I enter Caroline’s to
meet one of the hardest working comics on the New York
comedy scene, Russ Meneve, despite feeling under the
weather, came out to talk to STM about his comedy career
and how he co-founded the New York Comedian’s
Coalition with Tom Shillue and Ted Alexandro, which united
over 400 comedians to ask club owners for a long overdue
pay increase. After several meetings with comedians and
club owners, Meneve and the Coalition negotiated a raise for all working comics in the city. Meneve is a natural leader onstage as well as offstage. The Hawthorne, NJ native has appeared on The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Last Call with Carson Daly, and Last Comic Standing and his delightfully wicked and hilarious standup earned him a spot
meet one of the hardest working comics on the New York
comedy scene, Russ Meneve, despite feeling under the
weather, came out to talk to STM about his comedy career
and how he co-founded the New York Comedian’s
Coalition with Tom Shillue and Ted Alexandro, which united
over 400 comedians to ask club owners for a long overdue
pay increase. After several meetings with comedians and
club owners, Meneve and the Coalition negotiated a raise for all working comics in the city. Meneve is a natural leader onstage as well as offstage. The Hawthorne, NJ native has appeared on The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Last Call with Carson Daly, and Last Comic Standing and his delightfully wicked and hilarious standup earned him a spot