Shaun Eli — The Entertainers Network

✨ Shaun Eli ✨

BIO:

I'm Shaun Eli. I'm a stand-up comedian from NY. But I'm not stuck in NY. I've headlined shows on five continents and before the pandemic I was trying to figure out how to get to perform on the other two. Yes, I was actually trying to perform in Antarctica. They have scientists there. They said they're not going to use scarce space on their planes to fly in a guy to tell jokes. Well, I tried. South America's the other continent and that'll be easier. I can either find a place with enough English speakers, or learn Spanish or Portuguese. I actually speak some French but it takes a pretty high level of language skill to perform stand-up comedy and I'm not there yet.

So what do I do? I perform in theatres and performing arts centers, comedy clubs, at corporate and charity events, for private groups like country clubs, and sometimes for private parties. Rich people have big houses and can fit a lot of their friends in one room. And when you're rich you probably have a lot of friends, or at least people who claim they're your friends. And they often have a lot of very expensive chairs which aren't that comfortable. I think furniture comfort and cost are inversely proportional. The most comfortable chair is a bean bag, right? You rarely see them in mansions.

I sometimes describe my job as telling jokes to drunks in bars, and sometimes I say I stand on a box and talk into a stick. But when I was asked the function of my job in society I said "It's my job to make you forget how much you hate your job." And that got such a good reception that it's now on the back of my business card and it's a trademarked slogan.

Interview Series

1. If you could live out your WILDEST dream with no fear of failure, what would you be doing?

I'm trying. I'd love to be a famous comedian- I mean, even MORE famous than I already am. Selling out arenas. And maybe also hosting The Tonight Show. And I'd have a big house with lots of big rooms and some of them would just have bean bag chairs in them. I can't do that now because people would think I'm nuts- what adult has beanbag chairs in the 21st century? But if you're rich they think you're just odd, or maybe even at the start of a new trend. Plus if you're rich you can tell people they're not beanbag chairs, they're filled with caviar, and people would believe you.

2. What is the most memorable, funniest, or craziest thing that has happened to you on your entertainment journey?

I'd have to say this: https://www.brainchampagne.com/comedic-essays#NZ

I was on tour in New Zealand and the day of our biggest show a flood cut the south island in half. Obviously we were in one half and the show was in the other half. It was a pretty wild adventure to get there. You can read about it all by following the link above. Also when I first started out in comedy I managed to finagle an audition for Last Comic Standing. I'd been a comedian for less than a year, which means way, way, way inexperienced. I was nervous auditioning and it showed. It was just me and two judges in the room. The two judges asked me if I was nervous because I was performing for just two people. I said "No, I've performed for audiences half this size." They laughed and I thought for sure at least that would get on TV. But it didn't.

3. Congratulations! You just hit the lottery for 100 million dollars! What do you spend it on?

I told you to keep that a secret! And it's way less than $100 million after the upfront payment discount and taxes and buying all that silly caviarbag furniture.

4. Do you have any hidden talents or party tricks?

Let's see, not really a hidden talent but I'm a former world-class rower, national champion dragon-boat racer, I used to be able to ride a unicycle and I won an economic forecasting competition by guessing.

5. What advice would you give to your younger self?

I'm not sure. Part of me wishes I'd started performing in my twenties instead of later in life, but I also wonder if I'd have succeeded or would have given up. It's not an easy thing to do because everybody starts out terrible. I mean, we all start out terrible at everything but for most things- music or sports for example- you're with everyone else who's terrible and also six year old, and you have the support of parents, teachers and coaches. If you start stand-up comedy as an adult everyone expects you to not suck right from the beginning. And that's not how things are.

6. Who, in the entertainment industry, do you love that you think more people should know about? Why? Shout them out and spread the love!

I thought this was all about me!