Stand-up comedian Shaun Eli has rightfully been called one of America’s smartest comics. Whether it’s a story about dining with a vegetarian or successfully fighting a parking ticket in criminal court, master storyteller Shaun Eli shows you that there’s hilarity in the ordinary if you approach life with a comedic warp. Job interviews? How about the Ten Commandments? For just about anything he’s experienced he has hilarious stories at the ready. With a sense of humor that’s both cheerful and universal Shaun has headlined shows on five continents. He starred in “The Ivy League of Comedy Live from the Emelin Theatre” on Amazon and in seasons 1 & 2 of QuickLaffs on Netflix.

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“Dear Shaun,
Thank you so much for appearing at our fundraising dinner. Everyone loved you and really appreciated your being there. From the minute you hit the stage you had us all roaring with laughter! The feedback we’re getting from everyone is terrific. You were original and clever as well as quick-witted in dealing with the audience, and you were an absolute pleasure to work with.”
   Mitch Baum, Chairman,  Burgers for Autism,  Garden Academy     (school for children with autism)

“Shaun writes the kind of smart comedy I like to use in my opening monologue.”
   Jay Leno, former host of The Tonight Show
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Solar-powered comedy^sm: Shaun’s office is 100% powered (electricity & air conditioning) by renewable energy.

To hire Shaun Eli anywhere in the world for your corporate or charity event, theatre or performing arts center, golf club, country club or yacht club event, industry conference, private party, community or alumni group or service organization start by asking! Advice is free. Call or text (914) it’s-funny (914) 487-3866 or email Shaun (at) BrainChampagne dot com.

Studies have shown that people value experiences more than we value possessions. The pleasure we get from buying something new wears off very quickly but a pleasurable experience lives on in our memory. A comedy show is a great, fun experience!

Read about the Health and Business Benefits of Humor

Virtual Comedy Shows Using Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, GotoMeeting, et. al.

(It would be odd to write this in anything but the first person) I have developed an expertise in delivering stand-up comedy virtually over the web. In my almost two decades as a comedian I’ve learned that every new medium requires different skills for performing stand-up comedy. Using the internet demands the ability to make people laugh while sitting still and not getting the same level of feedback as with a live, in-person audience. At the same time it’s a more intimate setting since the audience’s faces are only a foot from my eyes. That intimacy is a benefit as the audience feels more connected to the comedian.I frequently do post-show Q&A from the stage in live shows and the audiences love it- it’s like a backstage pass to a comedy show. With virtual shows it’s even more exciting. They feel so connected to the comedian that they’re more curious, more open and more thrilled to get their questions answered. And I like the Q&A, live or virtually, for a number of reasons. I learn what audiences are curious about. It gives me the opportunity to demonstrate being spontaneously funny. I have some stories that are fun and funny but not quite stand-up comedy which work great for Q&A. And it endears me to the audience- they feel like they’ve gotten to know me better and want me to come back- which of course is great for business. Whether using Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, GotoMeeting or other applications, doing shows virtually took some getting used to. It’s not just the comedian who needs to hear laughter. The audience also needs to hear other people laughing. That’s why TV sitcoms have laugh tracks. Research has shown that people are more comfortable laughing when they hear other people laughing. Comedy clubs benefit from low ceilings as the laughter echoes. With virtual shows you don’t get the same level of laughter. More importantly the time delay makes it more complicated. I learned to pause. Pause. Really pause. To wait for the laughter I know will come. Actually it’s already there, but it doesn’t come through the web for maybe a half-second to a second. And then when one or two people laugh, others hear them laughing and they start to laugh too. The laughter spreads. The same thing happens in a live, in-person show, just with a much, much shorter delay.A great benefit of a virtual show is cost-saving. When you hire a comedian you’re not just paying for a half-hour or so of comedy. You’re paying for all the travel time- Even if you’re only thirty miles away I have to allow time to get there, to check the set-up, to meet people… With a virtual show you’re just paying for me to sit down and talk. I can do several virtual shows a day, which saves your corporation or charity a lot of money.

“Shaun, Many thanks again! The team really enjoyed your performance and deeply appreciated the additional time you spent sharing your personal story and perspective. Wishing you only success” Jeremy Sohn VP, Global Head of Digital BD&L, Partnerships, & Innovation Novartis“Shaun: I want to thank you again for the wonderful set and for the post-performance Q&A session that you did for the FJMC virtual International Convention. We had a huge challenge when we decided to go with a virtual convention in how we were going to deliver entertainment to our 600 attendees. You made that process extremely easy. Your virtual stand-up comedy was hilarious and our members really loved hearing about your process and how the world of comedy works. All of your work made the event a huge success. The feedback we received from our members was all so positive and made the entertainment portion of the convention a huge hit. I look forward to getting a chance to work with you again in the future – whether it be virtual or in-person.” Douglas Segerman Programming Chair 2021 FJMC International Convention “Thank you so much Shaun Eli and The Ivy League of Comedy for the hilarious show you put together for our congregation. We honestly did not know what to expect from a Zoom comedy show, and our entire congregation was thrilled beyond all expectations. Although we are in Montana, virtually all of our members are originally from the large cities on the East and West coast, and so are far from being “country bumkins” and understand quality entertainment. When our religious leader first suggested that we have a remote comedy show for our most fun of religious holidays, to be totally honest, some of us had reservations. We couldn’t have imagined that a virtual comedy show could be this much fun. The diverse mix of comedians you arranged for us made us realize that stand-up comedy can be universal when it’s done by experts, which you all clearly are. All four of you had us laughing non-stop right from the start. There was so much feedback after the show, all amazingly super-positive (excessive adjectives), that we want you back next year, hopefully in person – we look forward to welcome you to Big Sky country!! Sincerely,” William “Bill” Kantor Treasurer (2015-2021) Glacier Jewish Community Flathead County, Montana “Thank you, Shaun, for a great evening performing on Zoom for our Hadassah chapter. There are a lot of comedians near me and I know I chose the right one! As promised you were clean and hilarious. Your jokes about your family, staying home during the pandemic, your former career in banking and your father’s job with the IRS were clever and hilarious, as was the post-show conversation with our members. We were all impressed with how funny and witty you were just in a casual conversation over Zoom. We hope to have you perform in-person soon!” Marcy Eager Wolfson Program VP Hadassah of Oceanside, NY

Some specific web pages for various cities or regions:

Clean Comedian Utah

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Jewish Comedy, a Comedian for Jewish organizations and events

Stand-up comedian for senior citizens, seniors groups and 55+ communities

I’m frequently asked how I got started in stand-up comedy.
Why does a man do anything? Because of a woman.
I was on a date and I guess I was entertaining because she asked why I wasn’t a comedian.
I said I had friends who were actors- and that while I like writing comedy I didn’t think I was made to be a performer.
She told me she’d just taken a stand-up comedy class and recommended I do the same. I went to a show put on by graduates of the class and they were funnier than I expected them to be.
So I took the class. Started performing stand-up comedy at night. Six years later I left my day job. And here I am.
Come see me; I’m sure you’ll agree I made the right decision.

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