Made in New York: Comedy Makers

“Made in New York.” What could be better? As New York Women in Film & Television, it’s who we are and what we do.

NYWIFT is soproud to present this eclectic group of talented and dynamic comedy makers who “make it all happen” in NYC – from behind the scenes to the front lines.Join us for a fun and lively conversation as these creative women of comedy share insights about their experience in the business.

Made in New York: Comedy Makers is designated by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) as one of the “Top 50 Made in New York Events” this season in honor of MOME’s 50th anniversary. NYWIFT is thrilled to have this event acknowledged in celebration of this important milestone.
Co-Presented by NYWIFT and Carolines On Broadway as part of the 2016 New York Comedy Festival.


Panelists

Jeannie Gaffigan, actress, producer, writer, philanthropist, mother of five and comedic force, is best known for the comedy empire she created with her writing, producing partner and husband, Jim Gaffigan. Called “Comedy’s Quietest Power Couple,” by Vanity Fair, Jeannie and Jim have developed a critically-acclaimed TV show, written bestselling books, and produced multiple sold out tours and platinum status comedy albums. Gaffigan served as executive producer, writer and director on the TV Land comedy The Jim Gaffigan Show. She co-wrote and executive produced Jim Gaffigan’s comedy specials Obsessed (2014), Mr. Universe (2012), King Baby(2009) and Beyond the Pale: Jim Gaffigan (2006).

Carrie Keagan has been called bawdy, crass, sophomoric, offensive, and dirty … and that was just in one article. But there’s so much more to talk show host, author, comedienne, actress and entrepreneur Carrie Keagan. She went from being one of the first “YouTube sensations” and co-founder of one of the most successful YouTube networks ever, No Good TV, to one of television’s most sought-after personalities. She produced and hosted VH1’s Emmy Award-winning live daily morning talk show, Big Morning Buzz Live with Carrie Keaganand will next be seen on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice. Her book Everybody Curses. I Swear! will be released in January.

Phoebe Robinson is a stand-up comedian, writer, and actress. She has appeared on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers and Last Call with Carson Daly; TBS’s Conan; Comedy Central’s Broad City; and @midnight with Chris Hardwick. She has a recurring role on the new Jill Soloway‘s I Love Dick for Amazon. She was a staff writer on MTV’s Girl Code, and consultant on Broad City (Season 3). Robinson created and starred in Refinery29’s web series Woke Bae and is creator and costar of the hit WNYC podcast 2 Dope Queens with Jessica Williams. She is host of the critically-acclaimed WNYC podcast Sooo Many White Guys. Robinson is the author of The New York Times best selling book, You Can’t Touch My Hair and Other Things I Still Have to Explain.

Julie Rottenberg started out as a playwright and sketch comedy writer, and also worked as a comic book editor at DC Comics. Rottenberg then teamed up with lifelong friend Elisa Zuritsky (they met when they were 9 at a Saturday morning acting class), and joined HBO’s Sex and the City, where they earned three Emmy Award nominations and three Writers Guild Award nominations. After that, they wrote a zillion pilots for HBO, ABC, and CBS, and even put their childhood years at a performing arts camp to use when they wrote for NBC’s Smash. Most recently, they were Show Runners/Executive Producers on Bravo’s Odd Mom Out. Rottenberg lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their two children.

Liz Tuccillo was a writer on Sex and the City for its last two seasons. She also co-wrote the bestselling book He’s Just Not That Into You, as well as How To Be Single, both of which were turned into films. She wrote and directed the film Take Care and is currently developing a pilot for ABC with Shondaland as a producer.

Dion Flynn (MC) is best known for playing President Barack Obama on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and has made over 50 appearances as 14 different characters on both The Tonight Show and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Cited by O, The Oprah Magazine as “one of our favorite creative thinkers…” Flynn leads workshops in mental agility via improvisation with Fortune 500 clients all over the world. His voice-overs and on-camera national commercials include clients like Sprint, Virgin Mobile and Verizon. Flynn’s current solo show and soon-to-be book are entitled The Only Brown Kid in The Trailer Park. Flynn thanks his beautiful-genius wife, Amy, and their beloved son, Miles.

Cat Greenleaf (Moderator) (pictured above) is a mom, wife, exceptionally loyal friend, dog rescuer, dumpster diver, real estate dabbler, CEO and adoption advocate who splits her time between her Brooklyn home and her newly renovated Catskill farm and wedding venue, The Always All Ways In. In her spare time she reaches 12MM+ viewers every week as host of Talk Stoop with Cat Greenleaf on NBC and USA Networks and screens everywhere. She created Talk Stoop in an effort to establish the perfect work/life balance for a busy mother and TV personality: invite the interview subjects to her house. Four Emmys later, the show is filmed each week on the stoop of her Brooklyn home with her co-host East Coast Steve, the rescue bulldog.

Produced by Terry Greenberg and Meghan Scibona