| StageTimeMag.com | Vol. 2 No. 1 |
Comedy news, interviews, reviews and essays
STAGE TIME | "The Comedian's Magazine"
| Interviews |
| Terms | Staff | About Us | Contact Us ©2005-2007 STAGE TIME - The Magazine That Stands Up For Comedy. All rights reserved. |
| Home | News | Features | Interviews | Cover Story | Reviews | Essays | Anatomy of a Joke | New Releases | Archives | Feedback |
INSIDE THIS ISSUE FEATURES Festival Wrap Up: New York Underground Comedy Festival Hustle & Grow: STAGE TIME Celebrates 1st Anniversary Comic Resolutions 2007 Comic's Final Progress Report 2006 INTERVIEWS Brad Stine **NEW** Careers in Comedy: Ryan McCormick PR Manager COVER STORY Shang REVIEWS Angry Bob Comedy Jump Off Doug Powell Eric Schwartz James P. Connolly **NEW** Anatomy of a Joke "Racism Damnit!" Written and Performed by Shang |
RYAN MCCORMICK - PAGE 2
How does handling publicity for a festival differ from that of a comedy club?
A festival encompasses several comedy clubs and a much wider audience. With the NYUCF, there are
shows that can appeal to every person in the world and with that being said, the field of reporters is
substantially greater. I’m simply not reaching out to entertainment reporters but, also those who cover
business, philanthropy (the NYUCF does a ton of charity work), religion, sports, and lifestyles. Publicity for
a festival also requires so much more planning in advance (1-3 years at least).
With a comedy club, publicity is a daily/weekly goal – it’s a show-by-show basis. It’s letting the world know
about the great performers you have at your club and giving an infinite amount of reasons why the
masses should see them. I love working for the Comic Strip Live.
How did you get involved with the NYUCF?
In 2004, I was covering it for Two Drink Minimum magazine. It was so much fun and people were really
excited about it. When I interviewed George Sarris, I saw in him a very passionate & enthusiastic
individual who wanted to help comedians and put on a great festival. I believed in his and Jim Mendrinos’
vision of what they wanted the NYUCF to evolve into. The following summer they offered me the
opportunity to publicize the festival and it’s been that way since.
Why did you choose to do PR for the Strip?
Because the Strip is an incredible club with so much illustrious history. It’s another dream opportunity.
Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Colin Quinn, and so many other legends got their start at the
Comic Strip Live. Working with John, Greg, and JR has been great. It’s a fun atmosphere and people are
always happy to be there.
What advice do you have for comics on how they can publicize themselves? And at what point in their
career should they hire a publicist?
The first thing I would recommend any comedian to do is to study Steve Hofstetter and Patrick Milligan
from Cringe Humor. I think Steve is a marketing genius and he has my highest respect. I think the way
he’s marketing himself, he’s one step ahead of everyone. Patrick – if you compare Cringe Humor to
wrestling, it’s kind of like the ECW of wrestling. People are passionate about Cringe Humor. Obviously,
they love the comedians that are on there, but I think the brand and style and what Cringe Humor is all
about, people cheer about it. I give him a lot of respect for bringing and marketing that.
Volunteer to work at festivals. Don’t be afraid to put hard work in to just network. When you say
“networking,” I think the less you ask of people, the more you get.
When [comics] feel they are ready and they’re on the road on a regular basis, that is a time when you
need a publicist. If you had a publicist, they can call the radio station, book you on the radio and do
some call ins and then when you come into town, those people will come out. That’s what Larry the Cable
Guy did…Apparently, what he would do is call radio stations across the country every morning and provide
them content so when he did actually come into town, the radio stations had such a great rapport with him
that people would come out and his shows would sell out. I thought that was a really incredible marketing
idea. Kevin Downey, Jr. does something really interesting. Every time someone comes out to his show, if
they send him their email, he sends them a T-shirt. I think that’s a wonderful idea as well.
Comics can publicize themselves by giving the press a good reason to do so. Before committing to a story
a reporter will usually ask themselves:
If you call a reporter with a request for coverage, you only have 20 seconds to make an impression.
These people receive hundreds of requests a day and they’re always on deadline. Make those 20 seconds
count with enthusiasm and passion and answering the what, where, when, and why. The reporter might be
interested and grant you additional time. The rest lies in their hands.
A festival encompasses several comedy clubs and a much wider audience. With the NYUCF, there are
shows that can appeal to every person in the world and with that being said, the field of reporters is
substantially greater. I’m simply not reaching out to entertainment reporters but, also those who cover
business, philanthropy (the NYUCF does a ton of charity work), religion, sports, and lifestyles. Publicity for
a festival also requires so much more planning in advance (1-3 years at least).
With a comedy club, publicity is a daily/weekly goal – it’s a show-by-show basis. It’s letting the world know
about the great performers you have at your club and giving an infinite amount of reasons why the
masses should see them. I love working for the Comic Strip Live.
How did you get involved with the NYUCF?
In 2004, I was covering it for Two Drink Minimum magazine. It was so much fun and people were really
excited about it. When I interviewed George Sarris, I saw in him a very passionate & enthusiastic
individual who wanted to help comedians and put on a great festival. I believed in his and Jim Mendrinos’
vision of what they wanted the NYUCF to evolve into. The following summer they offered me the
opportunity to publicize the festival and it’s been that way since.
Why did you choose to do PR for the Strip?
Because the Strip is an incredible club with so much illustrious history. It’s another dream opportunity.
Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Colin Quinn, and so many other legends got their start at the
Comic Strip Live. Working with John, Greg, and JR has been great. It’s a fun atmosphere and people are
always happy to be there.
What advice do you have for comics on how they can publicize themselves? And at what point in their
career should they hire a publicist?
The first thing I would recommend any comedian to do is to study Steve Hofstetter and Patrick Milligan
from Cringe Humor. I think Steve is a marketing genius and he has my highest respect. I think the way
he’s marketing himself, he’s one step ahead of everyone. Patrick – if you compare Cringe Humor to
wrestling, it’s kind of like the ECW of wrestling. People are passionate about Cringe Humor. Obviously,
they love the comedians that are on there, but I think the brand and style and what Cringe Humor is all
about, people cheer about it. I give him a lot of respect for bringing and marketing that.
Volunteer to work at festivals. Don’t be afraid to put hard work in to just network. When you say
“networking,” I think the less you ask of people, the more you get.
When [comics] feel they are ready and they’re on the road on a regular basis, that is a time when you
need a publicist. If you had a publicist, they can call the radio station, book you on the radio and do
some call ins and then when you come into town, those people will come out. That’s what Larry the Cable
Guy did…Apparently, what he would do is call radio stations across the country every morning and provide
them content so when he did actually come into town, the radio stations had such a great rapport with him
that people would come out and his shows would sell out. I thought that was a really incredible marketing
idea. Kevin Downey, Jr. does something really interesting. Every time someone comes out to his show, if
they send him their email, he sends them a T-shirt. I think that’s a wonderful idea as well.
Comics can publicize themselves by giving the press a good reason to do so. Before committing to a story
a reporter will usually ask themselves:
- Does this grab my attention?
- Is this news timely?
- Will it benefit my viewers/readers/listeners if they know about it?
- Why should I commit to this request out of 2,000 others I received today?
If you call a reporter with a request for coverage, you only have 20 seconds to make an impression.
These people receive hundreds of requests a day and they’re always on deadline. Make those 20 seconds
count with enthusiasm and passion and answering the what, where, when, and why. The reporter might be
interested and grant you additional time. The rest lies in their hands.
Tell Us What You Think
Was this interview helpful? Send us
your feedback.
Was this interview helpful? Send us
your feedback.