An Interview with Jennifer Brennan, Acting Director of Literature Programming
This week the popular comedy debate series Uptown Showdown comes back to the Thalia with a special holiday themed show Cake vs. Pie! I thought it might be a good time to discuss this series with Jennifer Brennan, our Acting Director of Literature Programming. Jennifer, who created Uptown Showdown four years ago, gives some background on how the show came about and where it’s headed in the future.
What is your background? How did you end up programming literature events?
I actually came to the literary world through my background in early childhood education. I always loved reading to kids in the classroom so when I made the move to NYC I got a job in a children’s bookstore while I looked for a teaching job. I ended up taking on the role of event director there and that lead to a love of doing events and working with authors. From there I moved on to doing events for adults as well. Here at Symphony Space I’m able to do both and now I’ve added comedy to the list.
What is Uptown Showdown? And how did you come up with this concept?
Uptown Showdown is a comedy debate series that I started at Symphony Space in 2011. Each show features two teams of comedians arguing about a really silly topic — breakfast vs. dinner, cats vs. dogs, day vs. night, etc. The show was inspired by a kids event, where authors debated Zombies vs. Unicorns. And we figured if a kids’ author could have so much fun with that, what would real comedians do? From the very start, it worked really well. Maureen Johnson hosted our first debate, “Cats vs. Dogs,” with Michael Showalter, Leo Allen, and Andrea Rosen facing off against a group of three writers and performers from Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: head writer A.D. Miles, Jeremy Bronso, and Eric Ledgin. I won’t tell you which side the audience chose as the winner — if you want to know, check out the videos on YouTube and see for yourself!
Why do you think Uptown Showdown fits at Symphony Space?
It’s exciting to bring in a crowd who wouldn’t normally come uptown and are getting to know Symphony Space either for the first time or in a whole new light. Hosting comedians is similar to bringing in actors for Selected Shorts, only the literature the comedians are reading is their own material that they’ve just made up. That’s how every good story starts though, right?
What programming challenges are unique to planning an event like Uptown Showdown?
Even though it sounds really simple, sometimes picking the topics is the hardest thing! We’ve done all sorts of topics from Books vs. Movies to The Internet vs. Real Life. We want the show to be about topics that seem trivial, but that people actually have really strong opinions about. If the topic is a real issue, it isn’t always so funny. We found sillier topics were the best because they’re all open to debate.
Do you have any favorite moments?
One of my favorite moments was when Wyatt Cenac debated “Day vs. Night” while dressed as Batman. And that’s not the only time that’s happened! This year, we started the season with Superheroes vs. Villains and Michael Hartney went on stage in a full Superman Costume. And Michael Ian Black wore pajamas during the “Going Out vs. Staying In” debate. It’s always a blast to see comedians get really into something that’s so silly.
Where do you see this program heading in the future?
In January, Uptown Showdown is going back to San Francisco Sketchfest for the fourth year in a row. We’re hoping to do more shows at comedy festivals around the country. It’s great to see a show that started at Symphony Space really took off and grew into something that can be a part of a bigger comedy scene. And who knows? Maybe one day Uptown Showdown can be adapted for television! Until then, we’ve got three more shows planned for this season.
