Today we’d like to introduce you to Ann Stengel.
Hi Ann, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I performed my first open mic in a comedy club on Long Island, New York in 1985. For the next few years, I did a lot of open mics and shows at some New York City clubs like Stand-Up New York and Carolines.
In the mid 1990’s I produced two Off-Off Broadway Shows, the first one was in a little black box theater in Manhattan’s East Village. The show was called “Yabba-Dabba Doo Q, Still Having a Gay Ol’ Time”. I received a cease-and-desist letter from Hanna Barbera for using images of The Flintstones, depicting Fred & Barney as a couple and Wilma & Betty as a couple. This show also received a cease-and-desist from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s lawyers for a parody of Oklahoma, we sang Oklahomo”. The other show was at the Cherry Lane Theater in the West Village called “History of the World Part Q”. Our show was a gay perspective on history. Both shows received great reviews from the New York Times, The Daily News and the New York Post, as well as many other publications.
After the second show ended, comedy took a backseat, and I started working in corporate America. On September 11, 2001, I was working at a major financial company in Downtown New York City in the World Financial Center, and my building was attached to the first tower that was hit. I saw things no one should ever see, it changed me.
In 2004 I was selected as a juror for the former NBA star, Jayson Williams’ manslaughter trial, which lasted four months. There were many delays and at the end of the trial me and three other jurors were interviewed by NBC’s Lester Holt. Two days after the trial ended, I left for a long-planned vacation to Hawaii.
I moved from New York to North Carolina in 2007 and in 2008 I opened a Mathnasium, a Math Learning Center in Cary, NC. In 2023 I sold the business and retired. Since retirement I’ve been doing comedy shows around the State, with some out of town shows in Georgia and Florida. I regularly open for national comedy legend, Cathy Ladman.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road is never smooth; you must learn how to balance and take the bumps in stride. My biggest struggle has been self-confidence. When I come off the stage, I’m filled with self-doubt. I ask myself questions like “was I funny?” “Did that joke really work?”
Stand-up is not for the faint of heart, there isn’t a backup band, it’s just you and the audience. For every show, I strive to connect with the audience and give them my genuine self.
As they say, “in comedy, you either kill or die”.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am known as a ‘clean comic’ and I am proud to be known as one.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can support me and all the other comics out there by coming to ours shows.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @ann.stengel
- Facebook: Ann Stengel
