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All Star Comedy, Bay Street Theater’s showcase of up-and-coming stand-up comedians, returns on Friday, January 19, and will welcome New York City comic Sam Rubinoff in his East End debut.
Mr. Rubinoff, a North Jersey native now living and working in Manhattan, has performed at both the New York Comedy Festival and the Hoboken Comedy Festival, and he placed third in the 2016 New York Comedy Club competition.
The first gig he ever had in comedy was writing for an AOL web series titled “Truth About Today.” The this-day-in-history series with a comedic twist was produced by Spin the Bottle, a multimedia content company led by “Pop-Up Video” creator Tad Low.
“I liked sitting in front of something and figuring out the truth of it and getting the laugh,” Mr. Rubinoff said during a recent phone interview. “That eureka moment was kind of exhilarating to me, even just doing it in front of a laptop.”
It was six years ago when he first tried performing stand-up, after his roommate told him of an open mic night at an Irish pub.
“We both went and we did it. I had this out of body experience, where: ‘This is important and I want to pursue it,’” he recalled.
His roommate, however, “bombed and he never did it again,” he shared with a laugh.
Mr. Rubinoff believes he’s in the perfect place for comics.
“New York City is the best city for stand-up because it’s just a great comedy town,” he said. “There are so many comedy shows going on everywhere … My own theory behind it is everyone has these really shitty apartments. No one wants to stay home. Even though Netflix is great, I think stand-up is still pretty special.”
Mr. Rubinoff is out late performing at clubs nearly every night, and by day, he’s a dog walker.
“It’s a good job for comedians because you get to sleep in and you just go out and do your thing during the day,” he said. “You don’t have to deal with people. I’ve worked in offices before—I was a customer service person. I found out that I’d much rather be dealing with dog shit than human shit.”
Based on his experience, he created a six-part web series titled “Dog Days,” which he also stars in. The series kicks off with his character, Max, being dressed down by his boss for the last time and quitting his job as a junior lawyer in a fashion that discontent employees only dream about. Jobless and looking for a new direction in life, he starts a dog walking business.
Mr. Rubinoff also wrote and produced “Sam’s Mourning News,” making 30 videos as a exasperated, fast-talking anchor relaying the week’s news, and last year, he and friend Dan Hirshon co-wrote and co-produced a tribute video to New Balance sneakers.
Mr. Rubinoff said he loves New Balance because the shoes are comfortable, made in America and presentable on stage—so he decided to make a spec ad. He stars as an aspiring actor racing through Manhattan in New Balances, and facing obstacles, on his way to an audition. The video was noticed by Adweek and posted on the magazine’s website.
When he is not performing, making videos or walking dogs, he’s working on his stand-up act. He said he records the audio of all his performances, and listens to his sets the next day between dog walks to hear what got laughs, and what jokes he can develop further.
Though Mr. Rubinoff is in the funny business, he takes his work seriously. “I still think that performing is a massive privilege and I don’t want to waste people’s time,” he said.
Also performing Friday are Greg Stone, who has performed on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” TruTV’s “Friends of the People,” and AXS TV’s “Gotham Comedy Live,” and Mark DeMayo, who has appeared on Optimum’s web series “The Unmovers” alongside Friday’s All Star Comedy host Taylor Vecsey.
“The lineup is great and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Mr. Rubinoff said.
All Star Comedy returns to Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor on Friday, January 19, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance or $40 at the door. Call 631-725-9500 or visit baystreet.org.
on Jan 16, 2018