STEPHANIE VANACORE
(The first time I saw this woman on stage, I followed her out into the hallway after her set. Within seconds, I believe, I asked her to be profiled on the "Hudson Valley's Funniest People". Smart as a whip, and just as unforgiving, no one is safe when Stephanie Vanacore is on stage.... Especially not the other comics! After this profile, I felt lucky she hadn't gone after me.)
NAME: Stephanie Vanacore
HOMETOWN: Middletown, NY
BIRTHPLACE: Hospital
BEEN DOING COMEDY SINCE....:2009-ish
COMEDY HEROES: Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Louis CK, Joan
Rivers, Dave Chappelle, George Carlin, Roseanne, Bill Cosby, Mitch Hedberg, Amy
Schumer, Jon Stewart
WE RECENTLY MET IN PERSON AT DAVE SAITZYK'S "LAUGH HOUSE" OPEN MIC
AT A.O.H. IN MONROE, NY. IT WAS MY FIRST TIME THERE AND I SAW SOME GREAT
ACTS. I WAS ALSO VERY IMPRESSSED WITH THE ROOM ITSELF. YOU SEEM LIKE A
REGULAR ON THE SCENE. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT ROOM?
That room can be a rough
at times. Great place to work on dealing with hecklers sometimes good for crowd
work. I mostly look forward to that room as a place to hang out with the crew
and the post-diner wrap up that normally follows.
I WOULD HATE MYSELF IF I DIDN'T ASK THIS.... WHEN YOU MENTIONED
YOUR BOYFRIEND'S NAME ON STAGE, THE ROOM CHEERED. I'M OUT OF THE LOOP.
WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?
My boyfriend Paul Byrne
is one of the founding members of our comedy family. He is the one who first
organized the A.O.H. room, due to his affiliation of being very Irish, and the CV’s
Hideaway room where we both worked together for a while. To know him is to love him and they all know
and love him. In less than a month he
will return and no doubt re-establish his place in this lovely group of funny
folk.
YOU AND I BECAME FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK LONG BEFORE WE ACTUALLY MET
PLAYING "CANDY CRUSH" AND "SONGPOP" ON FACEBOOK. GIVEN HOW ACTIVE YOU
ARE IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA GAMING SCENE, HOW DO YOU ACCOMPLISH SO MUCH AS A
COMIC?
Honestly, Skyrim has
taken way more of my time. Candy Crush
is a newly found shame and I hope I can get over it soon enough so I can devote
more time to my Xbox. I am an unapologetic gamer. I have learned over the years
to schedule in my time wasting and with marginal success towards the greater
good. To answer your question though, I
need to accomplish more as a comic so maybe I should just stick to Words With
Friends.
I LAUGHED QUITE A BIT DURING YOUR SET BUT I TOOK SOMETHING BIG AWAY
FROM IT AS WELL. IN A ROOM THAT INCLUDED ERIC ALBERT, MIKE FALCONE AND
DAN DiMARINO, IT WAS ACTUALLY YOU WHO SHOCKED THE CROWD THE MOST BY SORT
OF ROASTING SOME OF THE OTHER COMICS ON THE LOCAL SCENE. IN A BUSINESS
THAT IS SO MUCH ABOUT NETWORKING, WHERE DO YOU GET THE BALLS TO MAKE FUN
OF YOUR COLLEAGUES?
Where do I get the
balls? Hmmm. I think the same place people get balls telling other people’s
jokes and passing them off as theirs.
Yeah, that place. Or next door to that place. It takes balls to do
comedy, it takes even more balls to write a joke nobody heard before, deliver
it, and get laughs or risk silence. Making
“fun of my colleagues” isn’t something I do often but one of my favorite jokes written
last year was about Ryan Dalton.
IT SEEMS LIKE A GENERAL THEME OF THESE PROFILES TO ASK ABOUT THE
LOCAL COMEDY COMPETTIONS. I KNOW YOU HAVE APPEARED IN MANY WITH REALLY
GOOD RESULTS. DO YOU LIKE THE COMPETITION THING AND WHAT MAKES YOU
PERFORM SO WELL?
The competition shows
are ok. They provide stage time and the opportunity to network. Best case scenario
is you get booked from one; worst case scenario you aren’t happy with your set
and neither is anyone else. Even in
shows where I am ‘competing’ against my friends we still support each other and
motivate each other to be better.
YOU RECENTLY GRADUATED FROM SUNY NEW PALTZ AND ARE CERTIFIED FOR A
"REAL JOB". (I'M JEALOUS). THE QUESTION IS, DO YOU SEE YOURSELF GIVING
UP THE STAGE AND BECOMING A "RESPONSIBLE ADULT" ANY TIME SOON?
I just take the stage
into the classroom. Students pay attention
to teachers who amuse them. Teaching English is a great way for me to keep
writing. Besides, the material I get
working in a school would make it impossible to walk away from standup comedy. It
will be nice to make more than a high school student. I am looking forward to
that part of adult life.
CAN YOU GIVE ME AN OVERALL OPINION ON THE HUDSON VALLEY COMEDY
SCENE AND WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE COMICS WORKING IN THE AREA?
Comedians are some of my favorite people. This has been the most supportive group of
mostly guys I have ever been a part of and I have a lot of favorites. There are also lots of great comics in Albany
that are among some of my ever expanding list of favorites. Working together for years like most of us
have, it’s great that the WPDH competition show has brought together even more area
talent. Gun to my head, favorite local
comic? Bruce Christopher.
To know her is to love her... at your own risk, of course. With recent gigs all over the Hudson Valley area and even a guest DJ spot on WRRV this past Sunday, Stephanie Vanacore is without a doubt one of the rising stars in the area. Rush to any show she is a part of. You'll be glad you did!
REMINDER: Our next post will be a master list of all of the June shows in the Hudson Valley. If you know of any shows, make sure to send the dates and info to me so they can be included on the list.
Also, subscribe to the H.V. Funny Podcast on iTunes or FeedBurner to hear some of your favorite local talents. Until next time, you know the drill... + & X-D -Steve
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