Comedian to appear at two fundraisers
November 30, 2005 by Howard Blas
On a recent trip to Israel with his wife and four-year-old twin daughters, comedian Joel Chasnoff was called on to perform his comedy routine at the spur of the moment.
Someone recognized me from a performance I had done at a conference in England, Chasnoff explained. Next thing I knew, I was doing a
four-minute stand-up routine, in Hebrew, on a Conan
OBrien-style TV show. It was stressful!
Chasnoff, 30, who lives in Riverdale, N.Y., prides himself on being one Jewish comedian who doesnt stereotype and insult Jews.
He says that his comedy is based on real Judaism and real Jewish
experiences-without the putdowns.
Chasnoff will bring his brand of comedy to Connecticut this December when he performs at both Ezra Academy in Woodbridge and Temple Beth El in Stamford.
Chasnoff, who grew up in Evanston, Ill. and attended the Solomon Schechter Day School in Skokie, got his start in comedy at the University of Pennsylvania, where he joined Mask and Wig, the
all-male sketch comedy troupe.
I learned good habits, like to write often, notes Chasnoff, who eventually became the head writer for the comedy troupe.
While in Philadelphia, Chasnoff also did some work with the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team.
They had the idea to do an
on-field improvisation group. It didnt work out so well, but it thickened my skin, I got to do the
All-Star game and have a conversation with Tommy Lasorda.
After graduation, Chasnoff put his comedy career on hold and joined the Israel Defense Forces. He served as a tank gunner in Lebanon.
I participated in a Ramah summer program and fell in love with Israel early on, he said. It was neat for American Jewish teens to see that Israeli teens exist differently than we think they do. We saw that you can be cool and Jewish. I never wanted to take Israel for granted, so I decided to join the Israeli army.
Upon his discharge from the army, Chasnoff traveled throughout Southeast Asia and South America.
When he returned to the States, he began writing comedy again. Much of his material deals with Jewish themes.
I talk about real Judaism, about living life as a Jewish
person-about keeping kosher, Jewish day schools, the Israeli army and family Shabbat dinners, he explained.
Chasnoff has performed in many cities across the United States, and he has opened for Jon Stewart. His CD, which features his bar mitzvah photo on the cover, has sold 3,000 copies. Chasnoff has performed at the Limmud Conference in front of a primarily British audience, and he hopes to bring his show to such places as Australia in the near future.
Chasnoff has also performed in front of nine birthright Israel groups in Israel, and performs and teaches improvisation workshops for adults and youth groups.
“We are very excited to have Joel for an evening of laughs and entertainment, said Marni Smith Katz, director of development at Ezra. He brings to us his spectacular reviews and his hilarious sense of humor.
Joel Chasnoff will appear in “Laugh Out Loud: An Ezra Academy Evening of Comedy, on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 8pm. at Ezra Academy, 75 Rimmon Road, Woodbridge,
For tickets, call Marni Smith Katz at (203) 389-5500, ext. 26.
Chasnoff will also perform at Comedy Night on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7:30pm, at Temple Beth El, 350 Roxbury Road, Stamford.
For tickets, call (203) 322-6901.