Getting laughs is what every comedian lives for. There’s nothing better than hearing your audience laugh out loud at your jokes…it’s music to every comic’s ears.
Just ask Carlos Garcia, who’s one of six comics featured in Q.E.D.’s upcoming laugh fest “Jest Kidding!” Don’t miss the next hilarious comedy show on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at QEDAstoria.com. And you can catch more shows on the fourth Wednesday of every month.
“I love the rush I get from making people laugh. There really isn’t anything like it! Knowing that something you wrote can make a room full of people laugh is a powerful feeling. It definitely keeps me coming back for more,” said Garcia, who also produces the popular show.
“There is something about a Q.E.D. crowd that is unlike any other club. For example, the crowds at the Jest Kidding! show are ALWAYS fun. No exception. I’ve had some EPIC nights of comedy doing the show at Q.E.D., and it makes me look forward to going back every time. There is something in the water in Astoria that makes people in that area really good comedy fans!”
A few of the other comics were also eager to share with QNS readers.
What inspires your material and makes you tick, comedy-wise?
Chris Moore: Astoria, Queens
I love performing because it’s therapeutic for me and I can simultaneously provide a healthy alternative to escaping the stresses of everyday life, for my audience. I got my start by participating in theater arts in high school and being encouraged to try out for school plays by faculty.
Everyday life has always inspired my material, but as I get older, I find it more fulfilling if I can find humor in some of my deep insecurities. Therefore, deeply personal and taboo topics really make me tick!
Q.E.D. is a favorite venue of mine because it’s an intimate performance space featuring shows every day. It’s important to support an establishment like Q.E.D that supports the community, and the fresh cookies are a nice touch, too. Another favorite venue is Stand Up NY at Bond 45 (in Manhattan) because it attracts a lot of international tourists, and the dinner menu is stellar.
While focusing primarily on stand-up comedy in New York City, Moore also co-hosts “FratChat Podcast” with Carlos Garcia on YouTube. In his spare time, he writes multi-award-winning scripts under the mentorship of Emmy Award-winning comedy writer Jerry Perzigian.
Ron Prendimano: Jamaica, Queens
Love performing ‘cause it’s a way to release…I can’t afford therapy. My wife is a big inspiration to my jokes, and I also take things from politics, things that annoy me and my job as a flight attendant.
I love the intimacy of Q.E.D. It feels like the audience is truly with you, as you take them on your journey. I performed at Broadway Comedy Club for years and that was always a fun place, but my favorite venue that I’ve ever performed in was Dangerfield’s (before it closed). I always love a good bar show; you never know what the audience will do or say!
Prendimano’s comedy career took off when he started performing in 2009, after graduating from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Manhattan and taking a comedy workshop at The New School. In 2020, he got to direct and act in a play that his cousin wrote, which was entered into the 2020 Winterfest. Check out his YouTube podcast “Down with DP Podcast,” with Robert Dunne.
Carmen Lagala: Ridgewood, Queens
I don’t love performing, I get nervous almost every time. I love connecting — having something in common with a group of people and sharing a moment of feeling understood, and of understanding, with other people. I love the puzzle of turning pain and suffering into something to mock and making it lose its power by laughing in its face.
I got my start in Vermont, where I grew up. I was very shy around strangers, so it took me years of wanting to try comedy before I pulled the trigger.
Performing at Q.E.D. is special because I used to have a business just like it, so I recognize the struggle of keeping a brick-and-mortar community space alive. It’s also very homey and both the current and former owners are good people, which is frankly very rare in this industry. Other spaces I love to perform in NYC change a lot, but number one for me right now is Gotham Comedy Club (in Manhattan).
Personal, real experiences make me tick. Anytime I feel pain or shame, in the back of my mind, I know I’m about to write a great joke!
The kind of comic you’d like to have a wild, late-night conversation with, Lagala’s darkly frolicsome humor leaves no topic off-limits. She moved to NYC a decade ago to pursue stand-up comedy full-time. Her debut special “Sweet Batch” (2024) has over a quarter-million views on YouTube, and spins on SiriusXM radio and all other audio platforms. You may have seen her on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (2018), on her viral “Don’t Tell Comedy” set (2023), “Cracked Comedy” (2024) or headlining clubs and festivals across the country.
Carlos Garcia: Based in the NYC area
The Venezuelan-born comedian and actor has been featured on MTV, the “Beavis and Butthead Show,” the E! Network, “Taxi Cab Comedy” on FOX Nation, HuffPost and the Chive. Along with “Jest Kidding! he also produces “THE Greatest Comedy Show of ALL Time” in NYC. His “FratChat Podcast” was featured on Amazon Music Canada’s Hidden Gems list and named one of the top comedy podcasts to listen to by PodcastSuggestions.com.
My comedy is very self-deprecating, so I like to make fun of myself a lot! I also love the classic misdirection bits. I’ve always been about embracing my weird side, so, if I can get someone to go: ‘That’s so stupid, but so funny!’ — then I know I did my job.
