Claudia Cogan
written by Ken Carlson
“The message is just me,” says comedian Claudia Cogan in describing what her material is all about. “I try to weave everything in to be how I really am. The message is that I’m kind of neurotic and a little hyper-conscious and maybe you are too.”
New York is a big city. It’s big in its reputation, big in opportunities, big in overall impression. But it’s made of many small parts. In the same way that Chinatown and the Lower East Side are different from Harlem and Midtown in terms of people and energy, that’s how you can look at the different parts of New York comedy. It’s in music rooms like Pete’s Candy Store or comedy programs like Homo Comicus and Heart of Darkness that you find Claudia Cogan. Laid back in some ways, abnormally obsessive in others, Cogan has found her niche, focussing on the work, not the work it takes to be famous, and getting a life as opposed to making a living through stand-up.
She was featured in a recent New York Magazine article, “Pleased to Meet You, Ten New Comedians That Funny People Find Funny.” You can argue the use of the word “New” in describing performers with seven or more years under their belt, but, like absinthe or episodes of the Bob Newhart Show, if you haven’t experienced them yet, they’re new to you. It appeared to be part ‘hip look at comedy from those in the know’, part reality show. The premise for the story was, “So, how did you enjoy performing at 5:30 in the afternoon for a room full of other comedians?”
“It’s kind of a mystery,” says Cogan on how she was selected. “It came from out of the blue. Somebody recommended me, some comedy expert. I have yet to find out who so I could send him a jar of jam. It was a really cool experience. They put us in the basement area at Gotham Comedy Club. They videotaped us. It felt like any other show on a Tuesday night. It was mostly comics and some friends.We thought it might be some kind of setup, ‘These people think they’re funny! We proved that they’re not!’”
“I’m originally from New York, the upper west side. Growing up here, you don’t have an excuse to be mediocre,” says Cogan. “You’re surrounded by all this energy; energy you’re supposed to use and do something with. There’s some pressure and I couldn’t escape to New York like some people.”
Cogan, in her seventh year of stand-up, got into it by way of improv. ASSSCAT at Upright Citizens Brigade’s old Solo Arts space, was the first improv show she ever saw. She immediately enrolled for classes with UCB, and after a few breaks, got onto two Harold teams, Pole Position and Beautiful Cop.
“If you’ve heard of those teams,” says Cogan, “I’m really impressed. From UCB, I learned what makes something funny. It really does translate from truthfulness, building an idea, supporting everything, even yourself, on stage. What came about was that I started going to stand-up shows. It was another instance where I thought, ‘Oh, I can do that.’ So I started getting up there, kept working at it. Monologues are very important to improv. So I kept doing those more and more. Suddenly I wasn’t sure I wanted to work with seven other people all the time, scheduling around them. It’s very cumbersome But, I do miss improv when I’m stuck and can’t write a new joke. It’s a lot easier.”
“I find myself in shows that are kind of queer, kind of female, kind of cabaret; in addition to regular boys rooms. I just want to get up as much as possible,” says Cogan. “I don’t turn anything down and I enjoy everything. When I do shows that are more of a specialty-kind, it is more freeing. If I do a gay show I don’t have to come out on stage. I don’t have to explain myself and preface it. At a gay show you don’t have crowd members saying, ‘Wait a second! What is going on here? We paid for all-straight comedy!’ Of course, I know it’s implied that I’m gay because I’m a comedian and a woman, because that’s what they assume half the time.
“Greg Barris’ show, Heart of Darkness, is a good example,” says Cogan on comparing small room showcases. “Greg books me specifically to be me. I’m not trying to fit into something else. He thinks whatever I’m doing is cool. Those are my favorite shows, where the person knows who they’re booking. Then I get to explore from there. There are some other shows that I do, where eight of us are sent up there like tap dancers so the tourists feel they got their money’s worth. I don’t mind that either, but it’s a different tone. It doesn’t daunt me, but I’m not sure they’ll like what I have to offer.”
“Claudia is one of my favorite comics,” says Barris, “and I hate when people say ‘one of my favorite female comics’. I have her on my show all the time. There’s that point in the show where it’s going and then BAM Claudia just pops it wide open and everyone is really laughing hard. Before that point, its nice polite laughter and people are getting comfortable in the show. That’s Claudia. Not everyone can be that comic and everyone wants to go after that comic and ride the wave.”
Cogan points out the constant struggle in New York to find stage time. “There’s so much detective work now,” says Cogan. “Any time a Rififi or SoundFix or Mo Pitkin’s closes, I am always happy to go to Brooklyn or Queens for a show. People live there. It’s not a secret! Somebody has to go out and do the legwork. Thank God for all these young comics who are looking for stage time so they get in there and set up camp. All these bars and coffee shops I’ve never heard of show up on FaceBook. The Loving Cup? Can’t wait to find out what that place is like!”
“I play gigs outside of the city once in a while,” she says. “I do a lot of dance clubs that turn into comedy clubs for one night. These are mostly gay bars. I’m kind of gay for pay since they seem to be the only ones to give me attention or money. I appreciate it. I’m doing a little tour, Under the Gaydar, which is devoted to gay comics who have paved the way. We (Claudia, along with Dave Rubin, Shawn Hollenbach, and Jackie Monahan) are not necessarily all that homo. It’s not really the focus. They also do straight shows and aren’t defined by it, not that it’s a bad thing to be defined by it. It can be a barrier if you don’t want to talk about your personal life. But you can write jokes and never come out. But I couldn’t do comedy that way, not discuss my personal life. I think that’s true of a lot of comics.”
“Jim David is probably the first comic I ever saw who came out on stage,” says Cogan, “I saw him at Caroline’s. He was midway through a forty minute set and started talking about it and said, ‘Oh come on! Don’t tell me you didn’t know!’
“I’m sort of at a point where people are finding me,” says Cogan on her self-promotion work. “I don’t have a manager. They won’t talk to me. I think I’m great. I don’t market myself. I just tell the best jokes I can and I think that’s paying off. I feel good about that and I’m going to pat myself on the back for it.”
“It’s so annoying; minor, but annoying,” she points out, “that I have to make so many decisions about who I am online. Am I a Facebook comic? Do I need a fan page? Will respond to everybody’s tweets? It’s invading me. I don’t want to be online and everybody else is! It’s like listening to a hundred raggy cocktail conversations at once. You get to the point where you think, ‘I haven’t done a thing! I’m not funny! No one cares about me!’ It’s like a shame spiral.”
“Where am I going?” she ponders. “I should be asking that more. There is a way to exist in New York that you can do comedy every night and still have a day job. It’s not how you earn money, but it is your social life and structure. It’s where I am now and I enjoy it! Comedians are the best people in the world. I almost do comedy just to hang out with them. But, a friend of mine and I are working on a pilot I would like to write for TV as well.”
“She is an expert joke writer and teller,” says comedian Jackie Monahan. “Cogan is hilarious both on and off stage. People should pay money just to hang out with her.”
“I’m very loose,” says Cogan on how she puts together her set, “I can come up with forty minutes just by standing there for forty minutes. I guess I’m lucky. I don’t know if I’m the most exciting comedian in the world and for that I apologize. The less I think about it, the better it goes. In the city I do ten minute sets. On the road, I ad lib like crazy. It’s bigger, a longer set. But, outside of New York, you’re special. ‘Who’s this woman here? Oh, she came all the way from New York!’”
“I’ve heard some club comedians,” says Cogan, “get really defensive about the smaller rooms. I want to say to them, ‘Hey, they’re not excluding you. Come on down.’ The best comedians can play both.”
“What always surprises me, is that what people laugh at the most, are the things that nobody else notices,” says Cogan, “Last night I did a bit about KING Magazine, a magazine for young African-American men. The cover always features a big bottom lady who is sticking her rear out and looking back at the guy. I did a bit about how that must hurt your neck. It was a youth hostel crowd (Swedish students mostly), so I don’t know if they’ve ever seen the magazine, except while waiting for the subway. The logistics of it, it’s not really fun.”
“I like things that excite my insecurities,” says Cogan. “I usually avoid pop culture because they don’t last. I want my jokes to last ten years. I’d like to do a CD to make some extra cash. The greatest thing you can achieve is getting an HBO special. Louis CK and Chris Rock are people I look up to. They’re fascinating for that amount of time and they inspire me.”
To see where Claudia is performing,
visit myspace.com/claudiacogan.
Ken Carlson is a regular contributor to The Hartford Courant and editor of the comedians magazine.