The guru who’s changing stand-up comedy from the dog eat dog of open-mic nights to a culture of caring
- Comedy instructor Gerry Katzman aims to change the culture of the Los Angeles comedy scene into one of kindness and inclusiveness
- His students, such as Heather Pasternak – who has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – are starting to make an impression
It’s a Thursday night at the Ha Ha Cafe Comedy Club in Hollywood. The place looks like something straight out of a movie: brick wall, shaky spotlight, the whole semi-seedy tableau.
The roster is long; 13 comics, no big names. But it is one of those rare magical nights in stand-up, and the atmosphere is electric, the energy rising with each comic, until by 9pm the crowd is screaming.
It’s not only the long run-time and exuberant audience that makes the show exceptional. Stand-up comedy can be a brutal, lonely business, full of rivals and short on friends. But tonight comics descend the stage after their allotted six minutes and are rushed by their peers, fellow comics circling around them and embracing them.
“You did such a good job! You killed it! We love you!” they say.
The most extraordinary thing is not the love in the air but the comics themselves. For most, it is their first time on stage.
This is the final showcase for the entry-level class of comedy instructor Gerry Katzman, whose beginner showcases have become legendary in the Los Angeles comedy scene. The shows themselves would be accomplishment enough for most teachers, but Katzman has loftier ambitions. Through his class, he wants to change the very culture of stand-up comedy and, most remarkable of all, he is actually doing it.