Brooklyn Comedy Collective Pays Producers To Live Stream Their Shows On TVCO
In light of the need to social distance and quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic, the Brooklyn Comedy Collective is taking its comedy online nightly at 9 PM EST on the live streaming app TVCO - and paying its producers a stipend to live stream their shows.
Since its debut in March, 2018, the BCC's core mission has been to pay comedians for their work. In a comedy scene where improvisers and performers are rarely paid by comedy theaters, The BCC has always paid its performers a significant portion of the box office, distinguishing it as a playground where experimentation and ingenuity is valued. Now, with all live events shut down for the foreseeable future in NYC, the BCC has entered into a contract with TVCO to produce a slate of 16 shows, one every night through April 8, 2020, with the possibility to extend and produce more shows. Producers of these livestreams are paid a stipend per hour-long show. The live streams are free to watch for viewers on the TVCO app where they can interact in real-time with comedians performing via the @ComedyBrooklyn account.
"When live event venues were closing due to the pandemic, a lot of great comedians and performers were left without a venue in which to perform. TVCO gives comedians a new virtual platform. We're excited to give talent a way to keep working and to create fun, interactive experiences for their audiences," says Tyler Korff, Co-Founder, TVCO.
The first slate of livestream shows feature a diverse line-up of mainstay BCC talent producing irreverent comedy: such as on Thursday, March 26 with Drag Me To Hell w/ Jay Jurden (The Tonight Show) and Zach Zimmerman (Time Out Comic To Watch), where queer comedians drag the quarantine and pop culture to hell, with special guest numbers by New York's best drag queens. On Friday, March 27, the Ladies Who Ranch (described as "very funny lunatics" and "demented" by Time Out New York), bring their raucous comedy gauntlet to the world of livestreaming. And on Monday, March 30, The Melange features a variety of fresh diverse comedic voices (specifically POC, LGBTQ, non-binary, and women performers) from our kitchen to yours: hosted by Arti Gollapuddi with guests Karolena Theresa, Tessa Skara, and Jes Tom. The upcoming schedule of live streamed shows can be viewed online here: www.brooklyncc.com/whats-playing.
The BCC is also hosting its weekly improv jam to give improvisers a space to perform with one another every Tues night at 7 PM via it's Zoom account.
The BCC has also become a thriving training center for aspiring comedians, with over 1500 enrollments in workshops and classes since its inception. Now, the BCC is piloting three classes online that its teachers felt could work in an online medium: Creating Musical Comedy w/ Tessa Skara, Stand-up w/ Arti Gollapuddi, and Voice-Over w/ Emma Rogers. These classes are priced lower - at $195 per 6-week class - than in-person classes and can be viewed online along with instructor bios at www.brooklyncc.com/classes. Testimonials from BCC students can be read at www.brooklyncc.com/testimonials.
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