In an industry where the only way to be seen was to get a spot on the tonight show or a time slot in one of the legendary clubs, the internet has been a game changer. This panel of Comedians, Venues, Networks, and Bloggers will study the state of Stand Up Comedy, how social media can benefit aspiring and established comics and how the saturation of original comedic content online has affected mainstream media and the business of comedy.
Having started in the mail room of a talent agency, Alf LaMont slogged his way through the Hollywood machine. After working in management for three years and achieving the heights of Jr. Manager at a prestigious firm, Alf found himself leaning more and more towards digital media as a primary source of income. In 2007 he began consulting with production companies and studios, but returned to full time management of talent where he went directly to streamlining and perfecting the firm’s online capabilities. In 2008 he was approached by Pauly Shore to head up the marketing and development for the family business. Since then he has created one of the the most robust social networks of any comedy club in the U.S., as well as garnering national attention for his creative use of social media and community building to revitalize his company and brand. His work has been featured on Comedy.com, Comedy Central Insider, Laugh Button, Venues Today, The Comic's Comic, Connectedcomedy.com and and Fifteen Minutes Media where he was referred to as a “Rising star of Social Media”. Alf has also been a featured speaker at Sports and Entertainment Venues Tomorrow Conference, 140 Conferences in NY and LA, South By Southwest, The Gravity Summit, Social Media Week Los Angeles ,The Digital Media Conference West, The USC Anenberg School Center for The Digital Future.
Jordan Ellner is currently Director of Comedy Central’s Jokes.com and Atom.com. Before joining Comedy Central in July 2010 he previously launched and ran the MySpace Comedy channel since 2006. Jordan is also a stand-up comedian of thirteen years under the name “Jordy Fox”.
Kambri Crews owns and operates her own production and PR company in New York City. Clients include SketchFest, the comedy club Comix, her husband Christian Finnegan of "Are We There Yet?", "Best Week Ever" & "Chappelle's Show", and David Koechner of "Anchorman" and "40 Year Old Virgin".
Additionally, she is the comedy booker for the 92Y Tribeca and Luca Lounge and Executive Producer of the ECNY Awards.
As a storyteller and author of the upcoming memoir "Love, Daddy" (Random House) she has performed on critically acclaimed shows including Moonwork, The Moth and Mortified. She’s appeared at Comix, Broadway Comedy Club, UCB Theatre, The People's Improv Theater, The Bitter End, and the illustrious KGB Bar.
Visit kambricrews.com and lovedaddy.org for the whole nitty gritty.
For over fifteen years, Marc Maron has been writing and performing raw, honest and thought-provoking comedy for print, stage, radio and television. A legend in the stand-up community, he has appeared on HBO, Conan, Letterman, his two Comedy Central Presents specials and almost every show that allows comics to perform. His book based on his solo show, The Jerusalem Syndrome: My Life as a Reluctant Messiah, is available on amazon.com. His three CDs, “Not Sold Out’, ‘Tickets Still Available’ and ‘Final Engagement’ are comedy cult classics and are available on itunes. His forthcoming album will be available on Comedy Central Records in 2011.
This year, Marc headlined an episode of Comedy Central’s John Oliver’s NY Stand-Up Show and was ranked #7 in Comedy Central’s annual Stand-Up Showdown. His podcast “WTF with Marc Maron,” featuring in-depth interviews with comedy icons like Judd Apatow, Robin Williams and Ben Stiller, premiered in September 2009 and now averages 230,000 listeners per week. The show hits #1 on the iTunes comedy charts regularly and has been downloaded by 8.5 million people since its inception in Sept 2009.
After a career in print journalism that included stops at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and the Arizona Republic, Sean L. McCarthy launched The Comic's Comic as the first online site devoted to comprehensive coverage of comedians and comedy. It has become a daily must-read by both fans of comedy and those who work in the comedy industry (read: show business). A long, long time ago, McCarthy also worked as a professional stand-up and improv comedian, opening for many comedians you know and some you don't know but should. He was awarded the title of New York's Funniest Reporter in 2007, so take that for what that's worth.
