The Ivy League of Comedy’s roster has plenty of clean Jewish (and non-Jewish) comedians and we’re very experienced at arranging shows for synagogues, JCCs and other Jewish organizations.

The Ivy League of Comedy are experts at clean shows for temples and other Jewish organizations, and take care of everything you need to have a great, successful, profitable, fun event. We will give you guidance and provide you information you hadn’t even thought to ask for. We do this for a living.

What’s more fun than laughing? The Ivy League of Comedy provides everything you need to have a fun, successful evening (or afternoon) professional stand-up comedy fundraising event. We don’t just provide the talent. We also provide guidance and advice.

Shaun Eli’s The Ivy League of Comedy has more than two decades’ experience in arranging clean stand-up comedy shows for Jewish organizations and other non-profits. They provide not just the talent but also advice and guidance. The Ivy League of Comedy’s shows are affordable and they’re a ton of fun.

Shaun Eli’s The Ivy League of Comedy has more than two decades’ experience in arranging clean stand-up comedy shows for Jewish organizations and other non-profits. They provide not just the talent but also advice and guidance.

Gosh yes. That’s the reason I started The Ivy League of Comedy. I was a clean comedian starting out, and at the time I had a day job in finance. Colleagues would come see me at a comedy club and often their comment was “You were the only clean comic in the show. Where can I find a show that’s all clean comics?”

There really weren’t any. I saw a demand for a product, but no supply. So I created The Ivy League of Comedy and started producing clean shows. We perform at theatres and performing arts centers, at houses of worship, at corporate events and at charity fundraisers.

Yes and no. Or maybe I should say yes, yes, yes and no. About a third of us at The Ivy League of Comedy are Jewish. Most of us live or grew up in the NYC area, so even if they’re not Jewish they would have an understanding of Jewish culture. I’m Jewish, I’m in most of the shows, and I have a significant amount of Jewish material.

To be clear, to me “Jewish material” absolutely excludes jokes that perpetuate negative stereotypes. Even if the person telling the joke is Jewish. Maybe especially so. It irks me when comedians perpetuate a bad stereotype about their own group, because it justifies bigotry (“He said it, so it must be true.”).

That said, you’re probably better off if the show is not all Jewish comedians. If you have three or four acts in the show, you want variety in style, background, life experiences, energy and topics. You don’t want three single, male, heterosexual Jewish comedians all in their forties talking about the same things. You want a balanced show.

We did a show a few years ago— two Jewish comedians and an Italian-American Catholic comedian. During the post-performance Q&A (this link is an example of our Q&A but it’s not from that show) one of the audience members commented something like “It’s great to know that Italian families have the same issues as Jewish families.” Joe DeVito’s response? “Our food’s better.” (That said, Joe’s one of the few comics I work with who hasn’t come to one of my barbecues, so he can’t say for sure)

And remember that probably half your audience will be women. They’ll notice if the show is four guys. Depending on scheduling and other factors it’s not always possible to have women in the show (they’re less than a third of pro comedians, and probably even a smaller percentage of clean comedians) but I try very hard to balance a line-up.

It depends on your budget and whether the show is the main focus of the evening or part of something larger and longer, like an awards dinner. A typical show from The Ivy League of Comedy is three or four of us, for 90 minutes. We also often do a post-show Q&A with the audience, and that can lengthen what we’re giving you.

A typical show from The Ivy League of Comedy is three or four of us, for 90 minutes. We also often do a post-show Q&A with the audience, and that can lengthen what we’re giving you. But if the show is part of a larger event, like an awards dinner, we can provide a shorter show.

You probably have everything The Ivy League of Comedy needs. The only requirement is a decent sound system and a hand-held microphone (with a back-up mic). A stage and stage lighting are nice to have but they’re not mandatory. We’re not divas. As long as you can see and hear us, we’re good. Oh, the audience also needs to be seated. We can provide details on how to set up the room once you book us.

Oh, and if you don’t have a sound system, we may be able to provide one (at an extra cost for having to lug it all there, set it up and take it back down afterwards). We can also provide advice for buying and renting. But if you have musicians in your congregation they may have what we need.

The Ivy League of Comedy has a lot of marketing strategies specifically geared towards comedy shows. Our founder Shaun Eli majored in marketing at Wharton and he’s been producing stand-up comedy shows at theatres and houses of worship for two decades. Marketing comedy is different from marketing music, and there are some things that make a big difference. He also has some techniques he’s developed (plus, if you’re selling drinks, a way to sell more drinks at a comedy show).

The Ivy League of Comedy synagogue shows are often Saturday nights (after sundown) but Sunday afternoons and evenings work too (and they’re less expensive). You might also consider a Thursday evening if your budget is low (or if you are scheduling the show over the summer, when a lot of people go away for weekends).

The cost for hiring The Ivy League of Comedy depends on the night of the week, the line-up (some of us are little more expensive), how many of us (typically three, sometimes four, or just one or two if your budget is smaller than usual), where you are (we’re almost all in the NYC area but some of us are in Los Angeles), and to a small extent the size of the congregation. There are no hidden fees (we do charge extra if you need us to provide the sound system, or if you want to pay by credit card).

Feel free to ask— it’s often the first question we’re asked. I’ll probably ask you some of the above and then I can quote a price. And I’m quite responsive.

Yes, we do it all. The Ivy League of Comedy puts together a full line-up. Frankly you should not be booking the comedians separately because, based on your own preferences, you’d probably get similar comedians and you want variety and balance. Other people in your congregation would have different tastes. You’ll all find all of us funny, but you want different varieties of funny. We’re very experienced at putting together great, hilarious, balanced shows.

And also, to a very small extent, there are a couple of comics who just don’t like each other, and you don’t want any animosity or unhappiness in the room. It’s rare, but it could happen (but it’s never happened to me). Believe me, if comics don’t like each other, they let me know.

In more than two decades as a comedian running The Ivy League of Comedy I’ve never been late to a show. I’m usually way early because I build in time for traffic and even changing a flat tire.

Once a comedian got the venue wrong and went to the wrong place (one of three comedians in the show) but he still made it on time. Of course I had sent the exact address but he just saw the name of the theatre and the state and went to a theatre with the same name in a different town. (I don’t think you get this level of honesty and openness from other people in this business)

On rare occasions of course there can be an emergency. People do get sick, although we’re a pretty healthy bunch (we get a lot of sleep). One advantage of working with us is that if something does happen, I have the phone numbers of lots of comedians and I can find someone else. My practice is to do everything I can to find someone a bit more famous, because I never want to be accused of bait-and-switch. And yes, that often costs me money, but in business sometimes you lose money on a deal. That’s life. My reputation is more important than a few hundred dollars.

And as far as material, we’re all very experienced at clean shows for all sorts of organizations.

The Ivy League of Comedy’s Testimonials Page speaks for itself. I’ve pretty much stopped updating that page because I have more than enough testimonials. (Also I suggest you be skeptical of testimonials that don’t have a person’s full name and organization. If “Joey F., Teaneck, NY” was so enamored of the show, why aren’t they giving you his last name and affiliation?)

The Ivy League of Comedy handles everything for you, from booking the comedians to providing promotional guidance, marketing materials (high-resolution photos, professional biographies and some other items that help sell tickets), and even help with the media if you have contacts at newspapers (including Jewish publications) and local radio stations, plus how best to set up the room for a comedy show, and other things you won’t even think of.

I have a lot of comedians’ phone numbers and I’ve always been able to replace a comic if there’s an emergency. That said, all of us at The Ivy League of Comedy are headliners and you would still get a full show if someone doesn’t show up. What my contract actually says, and I think I’m the only one who does this, is that if the show has fewer comics than agreed-upon, we’ll endeavor to give you the same quality and length of show, but would pro rate the fee (yes, this is much to your advantage, but please don’t hope for someone to get sick just to save you money). We’re all headliners and we can all perform A quality material for much longer than our usual 30-45 minutes. I’ve been a comedian for over two decades and I have more than 90 minutes of solid material.

With The Ivy League of Comedy there are ZERO hidden fees. I prefer to quote a fixed price so you don’t have to worry about any travel or other costs. The only caveat (and this is not a hidden fee— I tell you all about it) is that if you need me to provide a sound system, I do charge extra for that. It means getting there quite early, setting up the system, having to change my clothes, then take apart a heavy sound system at the end of the show. This is especially annoying if it’s raining. And it also complicates transportation, because the system takes up room in my car, and some comedians don’t want to get there hours early just because I have to do something extra. Also, if you want to pay by credit card we have to add in our bank’s 3.3% fee.

The Ivy League of Comedy does a lot of work with non-profits. Of course if you need our W-9 we send it. We can send you formal invoices if you need them. As is the industry standard we ask for a 50% deposit but we’re reasonable if you need to cancel or reschedule, as long as it isn’t close to the show date (weather emergencies, of course, are a different story). We also take credit cards, but we do have to add on our bank’s 3.3% fee.

Of course of course of course. The Ivy League of Comedy is very experienced in performing at synagogues, JCCs and other Jewish organizations.

Of course. There really isn’t anything inherently funnier about dirty comedy (Jerry Seinfeld hasn’t had a problem making a living, has he?). The Ivy League of Comedy’s clean comedians are very experienced at performing for synagogues and at corporate events.

The Ivy League of Comedy’s roster has plenty of clean Jewish (and non-Jewish) comedians for synagogue events including fundraisers, and we’re very experienced at arranging shows for synagogues, JCCs and other Jewish organizations.

The Ivy League of Comedy’s roster has plenty of clean Jewish comedians perfect for JCC events.

The Ivy League of Comedy’s comedians have a lot of experience performing for Jewish organizations including Chabad.

The Ivy League of Comedy is very experienced at arranging shows for JCCs. They take care of booking the comedians, help you market the event and even provide guidance in setting up the room. It’s the best and funniest one-stop shopping.

The Ivy League of Comedy has a great roster of comedians for temple fundraising events.

What’s more fun than laughing? What’s more Jewish Than Comedy?^SM The Ivy League of Comedy’s clean stand-up comedy shows are perfect for most Jewish holidays.