How a Russian-speaking comedian conquered New York: the secrets of a successful stand-up

Irina Ginzburg is also from Riga, Latvia. She moved to New York with her parent in the 1980s. She gave up her Wall Street career and has been performing on all stages of the Big Apple as a comedian for 10 years. She also founded the annual Coney Island stand-up comedy festival. How she achieved success on stage Upa shared in the video of the publication "Voice of America".

Before becoming a comedian, Irina Ginzburg tried herself in many professions. “I had a Russian-speaking employee, Olga. She asked me for a phone number. And I wrote to her on a piece of paper "Ira" and my phone number. The next day she told me that her husband was a Dominican, very jealous. He found my phone in her bag and started yelling at her, he thought she was cheating on him. He said, “Who is this Upa? Who is it?".

This is how the stage name Upa came about.

Irina writes down her jokes and ideas in notebooks, having already written 15 pieces. "This is my life. I can write all day, but I can write nothing for half a month, a month. Usually all this accumulates in me, then I cannot sleep. And I start to write, ”says the artist.

Irina's parents do not share her interests, she shares. “I had a fight with my mom and dad for a very long time. My mom doesn't understand this. If everyone laughs, she laughs, but she doesn't understand it, ”the comedian said. Recently, her mother even suggested that she leave this activity, despite the fact that Irina today is a successful stand-up artist.

Upa shared the main secret of a successful performance. And the main rule is: “The whole audience should laugh in the first 15 seconds. If you can't do that, you won't have a good performance. "

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“Most of all people laugh at what they know, but which no one has told them about yet,” Upa shared the second secret of a successful performance.

But despite the fact that Irina has achieved success on stage, she does not receive money for her performances. “And if I do, it’s very little,” she says. "I laugh, I don't even have enough money for food."

Irina reflects on this in the following way: “If a person draws, and he is not paid anything, he also continues to draw. Spend money that is not there on paints. But it continues. It's the same with comedians. "

During her performances, when the guests laugh, Irina feels that she is understood. “I don't feel lonely,” she said.

But in ordinary life, Irina feels that way. “We (comedians - Ed.) Are always alone,” says Upa. - There are funny moments, but living with us is not funny. I am a comedian by profession, and my life is a clown. There is nothing funny, ”the artist admits.

The life of a comedian is difficult. “This is all very difficult. For a very long time, results are not visible. Then at some point you will see the result, and the next day you will lose it, ”she added.

It takes 10 to 15 years to “find yourself on stage,” said Irina. “And these ten years you have to go on stage every day, so that in ten years you will find yourself,” the comedian jokes. - You need to go through everything, through everything bad. You need to be thrown off the stage and told you: "Go away!" This is all it takes to become a good comedian. "

And although Irina has been performing on stage for a long time, she is worried before each performance.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Irina began performing even more than before. “Because you don't have to go anywhere. I perform in England, I perform in Germany. Yesterday I performed three times, - said Upa. "I'm performing in Oklahoma today."

Everything is closed in New York today. Therefore, comedians began performing in parks, on rooftops. “And, of course, it’s all closing soon because it’s getting cold. And now we are on "Zoom" - said the comedian.

However, many of the comedians do not perform. “The older ones are afraid of technology. Some comedians don't see this as stand-up because you're not performing on stage. Zero control. Because if you're on stage, you're in front of me. I can talk to you, and you will talk. Or you say, and I say: do not speak. This is control, ”explained Irina.

The themes of jokes have also changed amid the pandemic. “We started joking about masks. They started joking about the crown, about the presidential debate. Belarus, Nigeria, England. The material is what you want to cry over. This is the material. And now there is a lot of him, ”says the comedian.

Death jokes are also very popular. But during the pandemic, they also changed. “One of the comedians performed at the festival. One of his jokes was that he lost three friends. Two people died from the crown, and one just died. He says, “How could you just die this year? Everyone dies from the crown, and you just died! You can always die like that, ”recalls the comedian.

But even in difficult times, like today, comedians find something funny - “so as not to kill themselves,” Irina jokes.

Speaking about the future, the artist suggests: “Next year will be difficult. A year later - even harder. And then it gets easier. We keep laughing, we keep joking, we keep growing. I haven't been bored yet, I want to be bored. I'm tired, I sleep much less, I work harder. I cannot see darkness. I see a bright future and laughter. "