These comics are in the know!
The new stand-up show “Comedians You Should Know” has recently blown in from the Windy City. Produced by Saurin Choksi, Mike Lebovitz, David Drake and Jeff Steinbrunner, the show has taken over the Spare Room of the Gutter bar and bowling alley in Williamsburg. Over the last few months, the energetic hosts “Comedians You Should Know,” or CYSK, have been scoring strikes with the local comedy scene.
We caught up with Lebovitz to discuss his move from Chicago and what he enjoys about hosting the show.
Where did the show begin?
We started the show just about eight years ago in Chicago. It quickly became one of the best shows in town. It’s turned into a thing where the first time you got to do CYSK, it was something you’d been trying to do for a while and it meant something.
When did you decide it was time to move it to New York?
It happened more organically than that. I didn’t move to New York to start the show. I moved to New York to take the next step in my stand-up career, and then after I was here for a while it felt like a good idea. I missed having that show, and I felt like the way we produced and ran it, there weren’t a whole lot of shows like that here. It’s just nice to have a show that’s your home base where you can develop your act in a somewhat controlled environment. My friend Jeff Steinbrunner, one of the guys running the show in Chicago, moved out here and found this great spot at the Gutter and we said “Yeah, let’s go ahead and do it.”
How does this show compare to others in the city?
There are a lot of great comedy shows in New York. A lot of the bar shows are great, and a lot of them are not great, and there’s a huge variety. A lot of times it is sort of like “Yeah, turn on a microphone and start a show” but with CYSK we’ve always asked the audience to pay admission. It’s a small admission, but we feel like if you’re going to pay money to come in the room, you deserve to see a real show.
What’s unique about your style of hosting?
It’s a style of hosting that we’ve always done that we didn’t see as much in New York. I don’t know if it’s a Chicago style thing or a CYSK kind of thing, but we wanted to say “Host the s— out of the show!” So we wanted that to be a part of it.
What does that look like?
I always figured that when I’m performing, I know where the punch line is, but the audience doesn’t know where the punch line is or when it’s coming if I’m doing my job well, so I figure the whole thing should be funny. I love getting laughs just from facial expressions or weird movements or sounds or whatever throughout, so you keep them guessing. The goal is that it’s engaging the whole time.
Comedians You Should Know at the Gutter [200 N. 14th St. in Williamsburg, www.thegu
