
September Town Hall: Comedy
6:30 – 8:15PM
For our September Town Hall, A4 shines a light on AAPI comedy and all its stylings - from stand-up to improv to narrative. Writer and performer Negin Farsad will share her multifaceted journey into the field as a social justice comedian. We’ll also hear from comedian and Emmy-nominated writer Karen Chee on everything from stand-up to writing on Late Night with Seth Meyers to staffing on Season 2 of Pachinko. Additionally, the evening will feature a line-up of two-minute pitches from the community.
After the presentations, we’ll host a potluck meal, so please bring something to share; homemade or store bought items are welcome. A4 will provide drinks.
This event is FREE and open to the public. RSVP is required to pitch and/or attend, but please note you do not have to pitch to attend.
About Karen Chee
Karen Chee is a comedian and Emmy-nominated writer for shows like Late Night w Seth Meyers, Pachinko on Apple TV, and the upcoming Netflix comedy A Man on the Inside starring Ted Danson. She lives in Brooklyn.
karenchee.com
About Negin Farsad
Negin Farsad is a TEDFellow and gave a TEDTalk on social justice comedy seen by millions. She is a regular on NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s StarTalk. She is author of the Thurber Prize-nominated How to Make White People Laugh and host of the podcast Fake the Nation. You can see her on HBO’s High Maintenance, Hulu’s Not Okay, and starring on HBOMax’s Birdgirl. She’s also a gutsy woman on Hillary Clinton’s Gutsy series for Apple TV+. Farsad has written for The Guardian, Oprah Magazine, and The New York Times. She has directed 3 feature films including The Muslims Are Coming! featuring Jon Stewart and Rachel Maddow and 3rd Street Blackout featuring Janeane Garofalo and John Hodgman. She once sued the MTA for the right to put up funny posters about Muslims, and won.
neginfarsad.com
About A4’s Town Hall
Town Hall is A4’s bi-monthly community gathering event that features presentations, pitches, and power networking! We welcome artists of all disciplines, as well as arts organizations, to pitch upcoming projects, find collaborators, or discover new opportunities in a lively space.
Interested in pitching? Please carefully read about the pitch process below.
About the Pitch Process
A4 Town Halls are a forum to share an upcoming project or exhibition, promote an event or opportunity, find collaborators and venues, or simply introduce yourself to the creative community.
Please note: The pitches are not for any specific opportunity with A4 or otherwise. It is not a pitch to potential funders or programmers. It’s low-stakes and presented among a group of AAPI creatives, artists, and arts workers. To give you a sense of the format, here is a recording of a past Town Hall.
There are two ways to pitch at an A4 Town Hall: a two-minute pitch which requires pre-registering, and a thirty-second pitch which you can sign up for at the event.
Two-minute pitches
You must complete the below steps in order to reserve your two-minute pitch slot.
1. Register for the event and
2. Complete this pitch form at least three days before the event
Thirty-second pitches
After the two-minute pitches, we invite anyone from the audience to provide a thirty-second pitch. This requires signing up at the event.
Accessibility: BRIC is ADA compliant with a ramp, elevator access, and all- gender public restrooms. They also have high-resolution visual assets available.
If you need CART Transcription, ASL interpretation, large print, or any other accommodations for this event, please email programs@aaartsalliance.org at least one week before this event.
To keep everyone safe and healthy, if you are not feeling well or have been exposed to COVID-19, please stay home. We will provide masks.