Daily Inspiration: Meet Jennie Stencel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennie Stencel.

Hi Jennie, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today. 
We opened The Idiot Box Comedy Club when I was pregnant with my third child. We moved to Greensboro because we wanted a big enough city that supported the arts but not so big, we didn’t wanna raise the kids there. Over the last 21 years, we’ve added stand-up and sketch comedy to our original improv. We run one of the largest comedy fests in the country, The North Carolina Comedy Festival. 

The club is intended to place a place for locals to create though we have added comedians from all over the country to our shows and have increased the nights open. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest challenge is knowing how to market this product effectively. In actuality, word of mouth has brought us almost all our customers. The pandemic was incredibly brutal, but we eventually were able to have patio shows and keep the comics somewhat active. We do private shows, holiday parties, corporate training, and team building and represent talent as well as have workshops. We teach improv, sketch, and standup workshops and just love bringing new people to the stage. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I own and run The Idiot Box Comedy Club and produce The North Carolina Comedy Festival in Greensboro. We are specialty comedy club that’s main focus is growing local talent. My husband and I run the club and all the programs associated, and we love partnering with comics that grew their talents here to headline and run their own shows. 

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
The club is a team effort for sure. We always love to shout out the local talent that helps make it a great place! 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.idiotboxers.com/