At Neon Entertainment we pride ourselves on having a truly unique and diverse roster of stand-up comedians available for your next big corporate or campus event. In this installation of our Neon spotlight series we want to introduce you to Katie Hannigan. We recently had the pleasure to sit down with Katie to talk about her life as a stand-up comedian in New York City. Read on and learn about her early comic career, her unique podcast, and what she might be up to in the future!
Who is Katie Hannigan?
Although originally from Indiana, Katie moved to New York City immediately after college to pursue her career as a stand-up comedian. While she worked to hone her comedy material, she found a job as a preschool teacher where she worked for 8 years. Although teaching wasn’t the first thing she had in mind when she moved to NY, Katie reflects on how her experience as a teacher helped her open up as a comedian.
Katie remarked on how she was a little introverted at college but her time in the classroom gave her the opportunity to express herself and get her creative juices flowing as she tried to make the kids laugh and have a good time. When asked if she would try out her comedy material on her kids, she laughingly responded No. She commented on how the kids simply wouldn’t find her material funny saying “Their whole perception of humor is different than ours.”
Apocalypse Podcast
Katie also has a real passion for history. This mixed with her love for comedy has helped her develop her own unique podcast titled “Apocalypse.” Here she talks about different scenarios from history and theoretical disasters, such as a nuclear holocaust, and how you would survive/ cope with it. Her knowledge of history blends relevant historical events with her comedy to give her podcast an informative and relaxed tone despite dealing with some heavy material that might make people a little jittery.
More than just a Stand-Up Comic
Over the years, Katie has also tried her hand as and actress and as a writer for tv shows. She’s appeared several times on College Humor and also co-wrote and produced a show in 2015 titled The Comedienne Project. In our interview, Katie reflected on how her success on shows like these along with her stand-up work at comedy clubs has earned her some attention and ultimately led to bigger opportunities. In fact, last month she had the opportunity to do a spot on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Here’s a short clip of her showcase in case you missed it!
Future Endeavors
The biggest thing that stood out to us in our interview was Katie’s tireless work ethic. She talked a little bit about her schedule when she moved to New York. It involved an endless cycle of teaching in the morning, writing her comedy in the afternoon, and then performing at various comedy clubs in the evening. It was this work ethic that allowed her to succeed on the big stage as a stand-up comic in New York. It’s clear that she loves her work and wants to continue building on her already strong comic career. When asked about her future plans, Katie responded enthusiastically about her desire to develop her own tv show or even write a book at some point down the line.
If you want to learn more about Katie Hannigan and her life as a comic in New York, you can listen to the full interview in the link below. Katie is also available for booking for your next campus event through Neon Entertainment as she is part of our talented college comedy roster!
