Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Mazan.
Hi Steve, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a Corporate Comedian. But I’ve had many jobs along the way. From Submariner to Emmy-Winning Writer for Ellen Degeneres.
Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, I didn’t know anyone in the entertainment industry. All my friend’s parents worked in factories or in offices. Nothing glamorous. The closest was a friend whose dad was a cameraman for the White Sox TV games. So I kinda thought I’d fall into something more traditional too.
We got cable when I was 12 and I saw my first Richard Pryor comedy special. I was hooked. I knew what I wanted to do. It’d still take a long time to get up the nerve to actually try doing comedy myself. When I graduated high school, I went into the navy and served aboard a submarine for five years. Weeks at a time underwater gave me a lot of time to write down my funny thoughts and dream about a future onstage.
After the navy, I attended college back in the Midwest and then headed out to Northern California. I was getting closer to Hollywood. It was in San Francisco that I finally got up the nerve to go onstage and try telling jokes. The first time was at an open mic at a laundromat. It went awful but I was hooked. I started going out every night to practice and get good.
Within three years, I was making a living as a full-time comedian, touring the country (and sometimes the rest of the world) telling jokes. It was a great feeling to be living my dream. Probably the greatest experiences I had were traveling over a dozen times to the Mid-East to perform for the U. S. troops in Iraq & Afghanistan. We never had entertainment on my submarine so it was very fulfilling to share some laughs with those men and women so far from home.
After a decade in comedy doing clubs, colleges and cruises, I started getting some unique opportunities. As a clean comedian, I began to be offered writing jobs (“Ellen” where I won an Emmy), chances to perform on TV (Letterman, etc…) and doing audience warm-up for other TV shows. But the jobs that I became increasingly interested in were performing comedy for businesses. Corporate Comedy.
Going into a business and sharing my act with them was so much fun. Besides bringing my usual jokes, I’d spend time using my writing skills to write material specifically for and about them. These companies, many Fortune 500, loved the tailored act I brought to them. Many of these shows were at conventions, luncheons, Christmas parties or awards nights these businesses held. Any event a company had where they might need some levity or clean entertainment, I was being brought in.
I still love doing comedy clubs, but the challenge of performing a clean comedy act. tailored for a corporation is exciting. The pay is great too. Plus, the accommodations and timeline were much nicer. I could do four or five corporate comedy shows a week if the travel allowed. Whereas a comedy club is usually a whole week at the same place. I enjoy the variety.
I don’t mean to make the journey sound easy. Doing corporate comedy is very challenging, but that’s one of the things I like about it. Your act needs to be clean and inoffensive, something not required at most comedy clubs. Most comedians look at these restrictions as stifling. But I love rising to the occasion and creating a friendly and fun atmosphere for a group of employees that are in need of some levity. To do it in a set of guidelines is just another part of the job.
The companies I’ve worked for range from the biggest and most successful in the world to small business with a few employees that need a little laughter. I’m very lucky to get the chance to make a living as a Corporate Comedian. It’s a long way from a submarine hundreds of feet below the Atlantic… but the pay and smell are much better.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting comedy was incredibly tough. There is no practice field. The only way to do it is to go on the same stage as the good comedians and fail. And fail. and then hopefully fail less. Luckily, the hard work paid off for me and I got better and learned the tricks of the trade and how to bring my brand of comedy to a variety of audiences and then corporations, businesses and conventions with a very diverse crowd.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m most proud of my multiple trips to perform for the troops in the Mid-East and around the world. Nothing feels better than bringing some smiles to those men and women who may have seen some awful things and into seen a piece of America in a while. The laughter is like a reset button for them.
Performing comedy for businesses and corporations has the same effect (even if the danger and stakes aren’t so prevalent). Employees and staff need a little levity to rest their compass and exhale a bit. This allows them to go back to work and realize it’s not all just the grindstone. They are renewed and refreshed. It’s a good feeling to be the one that helps them get there.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
There is only one way to do comedy. Do it. Practice, practice, practice. No other way to learn the ropes and pitfalls.
As far as a corporate comedy, it’s a very unique arm of stand-up and you need to be clean and inoffensive. These are restrictions many people who get into stand-up don’t want to worry about. You go into comedy usually because you don’t want rules or a corporate structure. So I get those that shy away from it.
But if you can be clean and entertain a wide and diverse audience without offending anyone, the payoff is rewarding in many ways.
Contact Info:
- Email: steve@stevemazan.com
- Website: www.stevemazan.com
- Instagram: @SteveMazan
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steve.mazan.1
- Twitter: @Steve_Mazan
