Book clean stand-up comedians for your corporate, industry, charity or religious event in Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Austin or anywhere else in Texas. We know it’s a big state- we can drive.
All the comedians from The Ivy League of Comedy are happy to visit TX. Our shows offer great variety in topics, background, energy and point of view. Questions? Ask us- advice is free!
You’ve seen us on TV! These are just some of the many great clean corporate comedians available to hire for Texas stand-up comedy shows. A more comprehensive list of comedians is here. Also great to book for Theatres and Performing Arts Centers, Team-building Exercises & Off-sites, Government & Military Groups, Fraternal & Service Organizations, Alumni Groups, Law Firms, Awards Dinners, Charity Fundraisers, Churches, Temples & Synagogues and other Houses of Worship and even Private Parties. Surprisingly affordable.
Everything’s bigger in Texas, even the comedy! Book us and we’ll show you. Houston, we know how to make you laugh. Dallas, you as well. Austin’s got a great comedy scene and we’re happy to come make it bigger with our clean stand-up comedians. Ft. Worth or San Antonio, you may be tough but we’re funny!
Joe Larson
Joe Larson, son of a working comedian, started comedy at an early age and has always had a knack for making light of any situation. At 20 he really began to seriously pursue stand-up, comedy acting and improv as a potential career when he was chosen “College Comedian of the Year” at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival. Then the Seattle born and raised Comedian decided he didn’t have enough traffic, smog, and pastrami in his life so he moved to New York City. “I realized that my dream of being the first person on the cover of ‘O Magazine’ other than Oprah wasn’t going to happen on its own.”
Working the comedy circuit on the east coast, Larson found early success. He was nominated “Best Up-And-Coming Comedian” at the NYC MAC Awards, and was a finalist in both the prestigious Johnny Carson Great American Comedy Festival and the well respected Boston Comedy Festival. And a perk of being in New York: He is in a serious relationship with his girlfriend… they’re married. “She proposed to me” he explains…. “At a romantic candlelight dinner she looked me in the eye, held my hands in hers and said, ‘Joe, I’m pregnant.’”
Parenting has given his comedy a whole new spin. His popular blog, “Man with A Baby” is read and enjoyed by many, and online sketch comedy pieces with “Grandma’s Favorite” are a Youtube favorite. If you haven’t see him killin’ it on stage, you might have heard Joe on the nationally syndicated “The Bob & Tom Show”. .. or seen him in television appearances on The Tonight Show’s Laugh Squad, “Laughs” on FOX, Gotham Comedy Live, and on the Speed Channel. He’s even had the time to fit in an appearance on the film, “Stand-Up 360”.
Joe Larson has an irreverent, intelligent style that gets to appeals to… well… everybody. He says it’s because he just doesn’t care. The only things he cares about are his wife, his child, his hometown, his new town, his mother, his father, his audience and most importantly making people laugh. From a colleges to comedy clubs, Joe has been funny everywhere. And he will do his damnedest to continue entertaining the masses.
Click to Book Joe Larson or call or text (914) It’s Funny (914 487-3866).
Shaun Eli
Stand-up comedian Shaun Eli has rightfully been called one of America’s smartest comics. Whether it’s a story about dining with a vegetarian or successfully fighting a parking ticket, master storyteller Shaun Eli shows you that there’s hilarity in the ordinary if you approach life with a comedic warp. Job interviews? Serving on a NYC criminal jury? How about the Ten Commandments? For just about anything he’s experienced Shaun has a hilarious story at the ready. He has positive jokes about Texas from doing shows in Kerrville (Hill Country) and looks forward to re-visiting Dallas, Ft. Worth and Houston, and also to visiting Austin.
Click to Book Shaun Eli or call or text (914) It’s Funny (914 487-3866).
Carmen Lynch
Comedian Carmen Lynch grew up in Virginia & Spain and performs in both English and Spanish.
Carmen Lynch is a NYC-based comedian who has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and twice on The Late Show with David Letterman. She’s been a semi-finalist on Last Comic Standing and has performed several times for the troops in Iraq and Kuwait.
Click to book Carmen Lynch or call or text (914) It’s Funny (914 487-3866).
Some FAQ
• How much do your shows or comedians cost?
It depends on location. Almost all of us from The Ivy League of Comedy are in the New York City or Los Angeles area. If we can drive there and not stay overnight, it’s less expensive. If we have to fly and stay overnight, we have to build that into the cost.
For a theatre show, it depends on how many seats.
For a corporate event, it also depends on when, where, how many attendees, and which comedian. We’re not all the same price. We are quite good at meeting a variety of budgets.
Our fee for non-profits is much, much lower than for-profit organizations and industry groups.
And most importantly, I’m not greedy. There are agencies that take most of the money for themselves and pay the comics very little. So the $5000 (as an example) that you’re paying? They’re offering the comic $750. I’m a comic and I’ve seen that happen frequently. I don’t ever want to be one of those selfish greedy awful guys. I’m not secretive- I’ll tell the comic what the gig pays. There’s nothing in my agreement that prohibits a comedian from discussing pay with the client.
Recently I had a comic tell me that for all the work I was doing on a particular gig I should take 15% instead of 10%. I appreciated the offer, but I refused. I got into this business by accident- basically to provide clean comedy shows and to get myself and my friends more work. Not to get rich. I make most of my money when I’m on stage.
So to not really answer your question, the best and easiest way to find out the cost is to call or write and ask. I’ll ask you where, when, for whom and how many and give you a quote.
• Are travel and lodging expenses included in your fees, or are they billed separately?
We at The Ivy League of Comedy generally like to quote a flat fee because that makes it easier for you, even though it adds risk for us as airfares and hotel costs change. But it also avoids any sort of figuring out what the costs actually are, if a comedian is coming from, or going to, somewhere other than home. And sometimes comics want to stay with a friend even though we tell them we’ll pay for a hotel.
Oh, here’s another example of my lack of greed. I booked a comic for a charity gig. I paid for the airline tickets. Then she booked a comedy club gig for the next night and said she’d split the airfare with me. I said no, you got another gig, that’s great, let me just change the return date. I did have her cover the slightly higher cost for changing the ticket, but it was way less than half. She did the work to get more work and both of us were happy with that. Though I did appreciate her offer to split the airfare.
• Do corporate comedians charge differently based on whether the event is in-person or virtual?
Oh, absolutely. The Ivy League of Comedy’s virtual comedy is way less expensive than even if we’re performing just across town.
• How can I guarantee the comedian’s material will be clean and safe for a corporate/religious/health care/seniors/family audience?
That’s often a main concern. And it’s why I got into this business- people were saying “You’re clean but the other comics at the club weren’t. Where are the all-clean shows?” There weren’t any, so I started putting them together and founded The Ivy League of Comedy.
We do shows in churches and synagogues, including for some very devout audiences. We’ve been doing this a long time. We’re all very experienced clean comedians.
• Can the comedian customize their jokes or roast company executives/specific people at the event?
The Ivy League of Comedy can. I (Shaun Eli, the owner) really don’t like making fun of anybody in the audience unless the person being made fun of specifically asks for it in a private conversation. Most people really don’t like being picked on, and you never know until you do it. Often you never have any idea, but they’re unhappy.
• Do clean comedians still perform well without relying on profanity or edgy topics?
Yeah, that’s kind of the point! There’s nothing inherently funnier about dirty or edgy comedy. Sometimes a curse word helps a joke, but if the joke can’t survive without it, it’s probably not a very good joke.
Sometimes the laughter comes from the shock value of a dirty word or phrase rather than from something funny or clever. That’s not what we at The Ivy League of Comedy do.
• Can a comedian also act as the event emcee, auctioneer, or award ceremony host?
Most of us in The Ivy League of Comedy can. Please ask this before we hire someone. I once showed up at a charity gig and most of the way through the show they asked me to auction off a couple of items. I’d never done it before and frankly I was a bit nervous. But I came up with some jokes that worked well for the items being auctioned.
They had me auctioning off the items that nobody bid on in the silent auction, and they were quite happy with how it worked out. I think we sold all but one, and remember that these were items that nobody had bid on.
• What kind of material do you perform?
The Ivy League of Comedy performs clean, smart comedy for corporate events, financial institutions, industry events, charity fundraisers, houses of worship, theatres and private parties. It’s just what you’re looking for!
• How far in advance should we book?
Typically we at The Ivy League of Comedy recommend three months in advance, but it depends on your event. If you have a last-minute need, call (don’t email or text) and we’ll see what we can do. In general we suggest that it’s not so much about us as about giving you enough time to market your event to your audience/subscribers/congregation/donors. And three months is good for that.
• If I’m booking a package show (like a multi-comic corporate showcase or theater event), do you handle all the booking coordination for every comedian, or do I negotiate separately?
Yes, The Ivy League of Comedy gives you a complete, turn-key event. We handle it all and make it as easy for you as possible.
• Can you avoid certain topics?
Sure, but tell us in advance! No comedian wants to be about to go on stage and be handed a list of topics to avoid, and have remember this when they’re performing. The comedians from The Ivy League of Comedy have decades of experience and a lot of material on a lot of different topics.
• What ages are your shows for?
They’re not for little kids, because they won’t understand the show and they’ll get bored. Our best estimate is 14 and up, with the proviso that a 14 year old probably won’t appreciate the show as much as the adults will. But in general we at The Ivy League of Comedy try to avoid cultural references that only certain groups or ages will understand.
• What if the comic gets sick?
So far in more than two decades running The Ivy League of Comedy it’s happened only a few times (we’re healthy people- we get a lot of sleep). We have a roster of good, responsive comedians so when it has happened we got someone else very quickly. If a comedian cancels, I never want to be accused of bait-and-switch so I will try to get someone at least a little more famous, even if I lose money on it.