Westchester Comedian Brings His Act to Irvington on 4/11

Fernbrook Productions will present Scott Horwitz (featuring Michael Sabath) in an evening of comedy and music for one night only on April 11th at Irvington Town Hall Theater at 8pm. Titled "Lost & Found", the show centers around Horwitz's observational humor. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.lostandfoundshow.com.

Who is Scott Horwitz and why have we never heard of him (you might be asking yourself). Well, to get to know a little about the man behind the comedy, BWW contributor Greg Allen asked him a few questions.

Greg Allen: I know that most comedians have to do something other than comedy as a 'stay alive' job. What is yours?

Scott Horwitz: I spent the better part of 28 years professionally engaged as a currency trader, the last 18 of those years managing a trading desk for a large French banking institution. And no, I didn't speak a word of French. Notwithstanding the attention that was placed upon financial product trading during the financial crisis of 2008, it was a rogue trader in our Paris head office (who lost $7.5 billion, yes with a "b") that ultimately led to the shutdown of proprietary trading in the winter of 2009.

There's no sob story in there. It was a great run in an industry that I had no intention of ever being engaged with, except for the fact that I left a resume with the wrong headhunter during my senior year of college. But that's another story for another time.

In the subsequent years I have filled my time in an advisory capacity, working with clients across a number of business sectors to shape and execute strategies for new product development. This role took me out of the comfort zone of the currency-trading world that I had known for so long. Hindsight tells me that getting out of one's comfort zone is very refreshing.

Allen: Wow. And here I thought you'd say a waiter. So why comedy?

Horwitz: I've been making people laugh for as long as I can remember, and that's a long time when you're 54: around the kitchen table, at Thanksgiving celebrations, at parties, and even at work during highly stressful trading periods. I've always used humor to help people keep things in perspective, which is why it came in really handy on the trading desk.

Doing a standup routine was a personal challenge for me, to see if I could morph my spur-of-the-moment humor into a more formally structured comedic format. What I've learned is that there's a great divide between the two. It's one thing when someone at the kitchen table doesn't laugh at your interjection. You can merely ask them to pass the ketchup when a joke falls flat. It's something else entirely when an entire audience remains mute after you delivered what was supposed to be a killer line. There's no place to hide. Emotionally naked best describes it.

Allen: Can you remember the first time you got in front of a crowd and someone told you that you were funny?

Horwitz: In 1985, I was with my wife-to-be down in Antigua. We were at one of those all-inclusive beach resorts and each night they had entertainment in the beachside pavilion. Well one night the two of us, along with another couple we met down there, arrived late to the pavilion for that evening's show. There was one vacant table that was front and center to the stage. It had a "reserved" sign on it. When we asked one of the hosts for the evening if we could have that table he said, "sure, as long as one of you joins us onstage tonight for Amateur night." Without hesitation, my fiancée and our two friends all pointed right at me and said, "He'll do some comedy, now take us to our table please."

I figured I had about 20 minutes before I'd be called up on stage, so I ran over to the outdoor bar, ordered some ginger ale to calm my stomach, and started scratching some topics down on a paper napkin. Turns out I was the second performer called up that night, and the first one bailed when he saw the 250 people seated around the stage. Truth is, I didn't have enough time to throw up, though I certainly felt like I could.

And it went smashingly well (who says smashingly?). I developed a great rapport with the evening's emcee and proceeded to do a routine that lasted a little more than 5 minutes, but which seemed like a half-hour. The rest of the week, people were reaching out to me to tell me how much they enjoyed the show and many asked if I was a hired performer. They obviously didn't get out too often!

Allen: What makes your humor different?

Horwitz: I'm not sure you can call my humor different. There are only so many varietal forms of humor. There's satirical, situational, anecdotal, and slapstick, just to name a few. I would categorize my humor as observational comedy, which is closely aligned with anecdotal. I take real examples from everyday life and share it in a way that makes everyone laugh (or hopefully makes them laugh). I would say that my audience demographic skews toward the 40-60 year old bracket. I tend to share funny stories about raising children and taking care of elderly parents. You'd be surprised at how funny our elderly parents can be, even when they're not trying.

Allen: How do your wife and family react to you doing this?

Horwitz: Mortified. Is that the right word? No, seriously, they're all very supportive. My wife and my two sisters are my biggest fans, because they've seen me use my humor in smaller intimate settings. They've encouraged me for a long time to give comedy a try. But now that I'm highlighting them in some of my anecdotal routines, I'm not so sure they're as supportive as they once were.

Allen: Have you ever considered one of the contests they run for comedians (on TV or other)?

Horwitz: I haven't given the whole TV contest thing a thought. Don't get me wrong, I've envisioned in my head playing to a giant audience like Russell Peters does when he performs at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, but that's mostly when my head is on the pillow in the middle of the night. I'm more realistic. Besides it's too cold in Toronto.

Allen: What do you gain from doing comedy?

Horwitz: You want cliché? You can't handle cliché! Truth is I get a lot of personal pleasure from seeing people laugh. I know that sounds hokey, but there's something about making people smile, for however long it is they'll smile, that brings me a lot of joy. Life can be hard; laughing is a great distraction and there are also studies that suggest that increased laughter can extend one's life. Think about how many more old people I can make fun of if that's true.

Allen: What can you tell us about your gig at the Irvington Town Hall Theater in Irvington NY on April 11th?

Horwitz: It's an historic theater. Eleanor Roosevelt once campaigned for her husband on that very same stage. That's why I'm won't be doing any political humor that night. I don't need the ghosts getting all worked up. The theater seats 432 people, give or take, and I'm hopeful that I'll have a full crowd there with me that night. I have a fairly steady following of middle-aged groupies who have already snapped up a bunch of seats, but there're plenty of good seats left.

Allen: Any advice for someone out there thinking of taking a leap into X (whatever their X may be)?

Horwitz: I would say that they should jump, but do it in the shallow end of the pool first. That way if there's no water in whatever metaphorical pool you're jumping into, you won't get banged up too badly: probably just a few scrapes and bruises. And you can quickly recover from scrapes and bruises. Then once you've got some comfort, start to work your way down into the deeper end. That's what I'm doing with my show at The Irvington Town Hall Theater. This is my deeper end. 432 seats and fully exposed. What's the worst that could happen?

See Scott Horwitz on April 11 at 8pm at The Irvington Town Hall Theater. www.irvingtontheater.com