The 50 Funniest People In Brooklyn
Adam Frucci @Frucci:
As the head of The Awl’s comedy vertical Splitsider and an entrenched UCB member (he’s a cast member in their Saturday night show Airwolf), Adam Frucci has found himself with both an unusually sharp vantage point of the local comedy world, and one of the few genuinely compelling reasons for us to brave the East Village on a weekend night. Neither of which is a small feat.
What neighborhood do you live in? How’d you wind up there? How do you like it?
I’m in Prospect Heights. I’ve lived here for six years, ended up here kind of randomly after an apartment in Williamsburg fell through and we were forced to find somewhere to move on super short notice. It turned out to be a happy accident, as I absolutely love this area and am very glad to be here and not up in Williamsburg.
Do you have any set pre- or post- show routines, to brace yourself or unwind, as the case may be?
I get two free beers after my show at UCB, so I guess that’s my routine. Pretty unique, right?
Do you remember the first show you performed in Brooklyn?
It was probably at the Brooklyn Lyceum on 4th ave as part of Gentrify Brooklyn, an amazing weekly variety show that has since been rechristened as simply Gentrify and moved to UCB East. But it’s an amazing, huge space and they would always have a dance party afterwards. It was the best.
How’d you end up at Splitsider? Has running the site changed your approach to comedy at all?
I started the site when I couldn’t handle writing about gadgets anymore for Gizmodo. I’ve always loved comedy, and have been doing improv for years, so it felt like a natural next step to combine what I did for work (blogging) with what I did for fun (comedy). I don’t think it’s had much of an effect on how I perform. If anything, it’s made me less inclined to watch comedy on TV when I’m off the clock; it feels more and more like work every day, unfortunately.
How do you resist the pull to just cave in and move to LA? Or do you not feel any pull at all to move to LA?
I have no desire to move to LA. I hate driving, and my job has me getting up at 8am here which would translate to 5am there. And I’m not really trying to be a professional actor, so I’m happy to do improv here for fun and live in what is obviously an objectively better city.
Why are you so funny?
Self-loathing and deep insecurities.
Favorite Brooklyn bar?
In my neighborhood I love Woodwork, out of it I love Spuyten Duyvil in Williamsburg.
Do you own a pet? We find that mots funny people do.
I do! I have a cat named Kits, which is a deeply unfunny and uncreative name.
Best survival tip for dealing with an audience that doesn’t laugh and/or when a joke doesn’t go over so well?
There’s not much you can do other than just try to power through. Getting desperate and trying even harder for a laugh usually blows up in your face, so I just try to stay the course and hope things turn around naturally and the audience gets on board.
What’s your writing-process equivalent of jotting down joke ideas on a napkin (if you don’t actually jot them down on napkins)?
I use Workflowy to jot down anything that pops into my head that I want to save, although I’m not much of a joke writer.
Favorite funny movie?
Is Caddyshack too obvious? [Ed note: nope]
How annoying is it that people expect you to be funny all the time?
I don’t think too many people expect me to be funny all the time. Or at least I hope not, as those people are probably disappointed.
