The Comedy Cellar: Live from the Table - Tina Friml

Episode Date: December 29, 2023

Stand up comedian Tina Friml uses animated optimism and fearless honesty about the social assumptions that come with living with cerebral palsy. She has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, and The Drew Barrymore Show

And a tour in 24, I guess. I am, yeah. Okay, we'll talk about that. I mean, you know, that'll be the intro, and then we can get to the New Year's thing if you want. Yeah, whatever you want. Okay, all right. And Tina can weigh in on it as well.

I'm recording, so whenever you're ready. This is Live from the Table, the official podcast of the world-famous comedy show coming at you on SiriusXM 99, Raw Comedy, formerly Raw Dog. I actually like the new name, Raw Comedy. I don't think we did the... I never liked Raw Dog.

Yeah, it's vulgar. Vulgar, it's vulgar. Anyway, this is Dan Natterman, along with Noam Dwarman, the owner of the world-famous Comedy Cellar. Our guest today, we have Tina Freemey is with us. Hello. Hello.

Tina Freemey is a relatively newly passed Comedy Cellar comedian. Yeah, got passed back in July. And July. We'll move the mic a little bit closer. However many months that is. Not too long. We've got five months, I think.

The 7th to the 12th month will be five months. He's going out on tour in 24. Do you have a name for your tour? Well, kind of. We've been calling it the Something Very Particular Tour. The Something Very Particular Tour. Exactly. Okay. For lack of a better.

People name their tours. I just have sort of a rolling. I don't have a tour per se. I just perform, and it's sort of a rolling tour. But I don't do a lot of clubs, as you know, because anxiety has gotten the better of me, and I prefer to do one night and get the hell out of there yeah actually i will um so far i've been doing a whole lot of like one nighter shows and that's it but i've only i've been like gradually easing into like a weekend. But I don't know. Something romantic about the one

and then one night only. Well, that's all I can handle, emotionally. Although I am, I may be going back on cruise ships, because there's this new deal where you only have to do two nights and then you can get off the ship. And the pay is pretty good.

How do they get you off? A helicopter? No, on a port. You go in at one port and you get off? A helicopter? No, on a port. Like, you go in at one port, and you get off at the other. I was on a tour. I was on a cruise ship one time, like 15 years ago, with my father,

and Pat Sajak was there, you know, from Wheel of Fortune. He was there with his girlfriend. Just as... He was a guest on that. As a guest, okay. And him and his girlfriend had a terrible fight,

and a helicopter came and lifted them out. Is that really true? Somewhere in the... Because I've heard helicopter stories on cruise ships, but they're all apocryphal. It's like this comic, he bombed so bad that... But the expense would be so outrageous

that the cruise ship would never do that. Now, if Pat paid for the helicopter, I guess... Am I remembering, or did they lift him from the port? But anyway, a helicopter came and took them. I don't know if it took them off the boat or took them from where we were, but a helicopter took them out. It's possible Pat decided to pay for a helicopter to get the fuck out of there. Yeah, they had a big fight.

Anyway, before we get more in depth. At the roulette wheel, ironically. Okay. Well, she blew on the dice and didn't do it right. Before we get into more on Tina Freemy, I have a New Year's conundrum. You remember Mark Yosef? He's the owner of the, they're calling it now Rodney's.

The new comedy. They're reopening Dangerfields. I heard that. So he offered me a spot there, 1110 on New Year's Eve. It's open already? Yeah, it's going to be open New Year's Eve. That's their opening night? Actually, their opening night is Christmas Eve. They're doing New Year's Eve. It's open already? Yeah, it's going to be open on New Year's Eve. That's their opening night? Actually, their opening night is

Christmas Eve. They're doing a show Christmas Eve. I would like to go see. Size up the competition? Yeah, maybe curse. Some curse from the Kabbalah or something. In disguise. You never know.

I have a spot here so I'm doing the 1120 at at Rodney's which is about 60th and 1st but Esty gave me I thought Esty

wasn't giving me like I didn't hear from her so I figured Esty is not giving me anything on New Year's but then Esty Esty offered me a deal that she contacted

my people and for negotiations everything fell behind this year on New Year's Eve. Go ahead. Okay, so I didn't know that she was going to give me anything on New Year's, so I ended up getting a couple spots, including the first spot on the 10.30 show,

which will, of course, start late, because they always start late. So the 10.30 show... No, New Year's is pretty proper. Assuming it starts on time, Matt Richards does 10. Is everybody doing 10? I'm off at 10.20. It's going to be—sorry, wait a minute. I'm off at—I get on at 10.40.

I get off at 10.55. And what time is this spot there? 11.10. But they're going to be late, too, probably, right? Probably, but it's stressful. Yeah, I don't think you can do it, Dan. So either I—regretfully, because I'm not going to cancel on Mark, because it's a new club, and he booked me before Esty booked me,

and I feel like he needs me more than you guys do. That's your loyalty? And I'm curious. Well, I'm also curious. Are you out of your mind? You can replace me very easily. Well, that's true. And furthermore, I'm curious to go to this new club.

But ideally, I'd like to. You're dealing with Esty here. Well, that's why I'm talking to you, because I'm very anxious already. Now, Tina, I don't know if you've ever had to switch a spot here. Never yet switched. I've had to like. Cancel? Cancel. Well, cancel's easy. It's had to, like... Cancel? Cancel.

Well, cancel's easy. It's just, I'm cancel and that's it. Switching is a whole thing. Yeah, but she's new and Esty loves her. Well, that doesn't make it more nightmarish. Well, this is even worse because I have the first, like, I cannot switch with somebody on that show. So I have to do a switch from another show.

Now, there's all kinds of factors that come into play. Esty puts me on first for a reason. Whatever reason that is. We're going to cancel on Esty on New Year's Eve. Good luck with that, Dan. Well, I'm hoping not to cancel. So I'm hoping to switch with somebody on another show, but it's complicated.

She's not going to let you switch with somebody on another show. It doesn't work like that. Well, you're saying categorically that cannot be done. No, you'd have to cancel, and she's going to put someone else in that spot. She's not going to switch because if you speak to someone about switching before she's getting it three times as mad because she may not think whoever you want to switch with is appropriate for that spot. Well, can we perhaps discuss a couple of possibilities?

No. So what would you suggest? Does Chris Rock want to do your spot? I don't think so. Who do you want to discuss? Well, I'll be on the eight show anyway, so I will be here New Year's, but one way or the other. Maybe.

Maybe she'll say, I need to get both spots away, Dan. Jay McBride already, well, I guess she doesn't want to do it because she's on early and she doesn't want to go late. So the first spot, like it's got to be somebody with the first spot. Now, Matt Ridgers has the first spot on the 830 show at the lounge, but he's hosting my show. So it can't be him. This is going to be a good one. McDougal Street, Ryan Reese is going first. Now, that could be a nice switch, but it's McDougal Street.

I'm willing to pay. I'm willing to pay somebody to switch this spot. It's not about switching the spot, Dan. It's about the notion of canceling on SD on New Year's Eve to go work at some club that just opened yesterday. It hasn't even opened yet. Yeah, but I can't in good conscience cancel. I understand.

You can tell SD, I can't in good conscience cancel on this club that hasn't even opened yet. Yeah, but I can in good conscience cancel. I understand. You can tell us. I can in good conscience cancel on this club that hasn't even opened yet. I can only in good conscience cancel on USD, the place that I've been working at for years and years and years and make. Yes, because you can switch me easily. Mark, it's a new club. First of all, it's a new club. And for that club, I'm a big deal. I think. I don't know. You'd have to talk to Mark about that.

But, you know, and I said I'd love to work at Globbies. He's counting on me. You guys don't need me. He doesn't have the, as of yet, and we wish him all the luck in the world going forward, but as of yet, he doesn't have the... We wish him no luck then. The Rolodex of comedians

that you have that are willing to work there. So that's why. So that's why I'm coming to you, but you're just as scared as I am. I'm scared for you. Okay. I'm scared for your future.

Do you think that they'll run like Rodney? Probably, yes. I'd have to rely on... No, but New Year's Eve, you don't know what you're getting to on New Year's Eve. That's true. Listen, New Year's Eve is a day

where you have to decide who you care about and who you don't. Is the traffic on New Year's bad? I don't think it's that bad. Actually, not at that hour. It's usually not because people usually

where they're going to be for the countdown. Now, I could have, like, somebody waiting for me with a car so that I could get out of my spot because usually you waste time getting a cab. Yeah, that's a good idea. I would have somebody waiting for me with a car so that I could get out of my spot. Because usually you waste time getting a cab. Yeah, that's a good idea. I would have somebody waiting for you.

Yeah. Okay. Maybe I'll do that. Who could just hire a car? I guess you can do an Uber. Hire a pedicab. A pedicab. This is bad, Dan.

First of all, you knew the New Year's lineups weren't out yet. I didn't know that. Usually they're out by now. Well, you could have taken two seconds to determine that. And I also, I guess I was playing a little bit of roulette thinking that I would, you know, And you know you always get spots on New Year's.

So if what you're saying, and I don't know if this passes the smell test. I told Mark Yosef that I'm happy to work opening night at his club. I think you're fibbing a little bit. I told Mark I was happy to work at his club. Yeah, I think you're fibbing a little bit and trying to pretend that you thought you got no spots on New Year's Eve. I don't think that's true.

I think you had good reasons to know the spots. I think the lineup wasn't announced yet. It wasn't on the webpage. I mean, my 10-year-old son, Manny, probably could have tracked this down for you if you had asked him. He would tell you, well, Dan, check the website. See if they've announced the lineups yet.

Ask some of your friends. Ask if they've gotten their spots yet. There's a couple things you could have done. Be that as it may, here we are. The past is prologue. So you're suggesting what? I'm suggesting you follow your... I feel like this is...

I want a Disney... Cue the Disney music. When... What is the song when Jiminy Cricket's telling about his conscience? Always let your conscience be your guide. I think you're being... I don't know if you're doing it just to...

No, I'm actually... You know you guys don't. I'm actually astounded. You guys know you don't need me. Come on now. Yes, we know that. We didn't know you knew that. But now that you know that...

We're not insulting you anymore. Sorry, go ahead. You sang yourself a very typical 90s holiday movie crescendo scene where they're playing the New Year's song and you're rushing through Midtown. It's like Harry met Sally, I'm instead I'm not getting Yeah, yeah. Except I'm not getting laid

at the end like Harry did with Sally. The best part would be is like they don't actually get their shit together and they're not really open in time or nobody shows up

under your seat. You pull on the door and it's locked and they're not even open. You never know. Well, so I guess you have no I was thinking

we could actually figure this all out Between us but I guess Listen there's no answer to this What about switching with Ryan Reese Is that a possibility You should not have taken a spot At Rodney's Until you

Found out Or I could have told Esty You know Here are my limits In terms of New Year's Eve. But when I put in for New Year's Eve, I didn't have any limits. Esty is going to, I mean,

she's going to really lay into you. Anyway, so. All right. So I have every reason to be anxious. Okay. Oh, you should be anxious. You don't think Ryan Reese switching would be like, why is that so crazy?

I think that- I mean, if I asked her respectfully and Ryan can do it. Nope. What do you mean, no? She's not going to go for it. What's the difference? I love the way Dan can't help himself. I told him, don't mention any names.

He has to say, Ryan Reese. He's not going to let you switch to Ryan Reese. Yeah, I figured that they look very carefully curated. Very carefully. Very, very carefully. Well,

what, what? All right. Anyhow. Listen. Yeah. You can't cancel your prom date and think that she, you know,

and give her a reason. Like, like Esty's going to know. Well, I'm taking her to the other prom, the earlier prom. It, Esty's going to know. Well, I'm taking her to the other prom, the earlier prom. It's New Year's Eve. You prioritized another club that hasn't even opened yet.

They'll be open. What about Ryan Reeves taking over for you at Rodney's? Well, not taking over. Oh, yeah, send Ryan Reeves to Rodney's, yeah. Send Ryan to Rodney's. He doesn't want to insult them. No, I like the guy, Mark. He was here. No offense to Ryan. Ryan. He doesn't want to insult them. No, I like the guy, Mark. He was here.

No offense to Ryan. Any name could have put it in there. I liked him too. And like I said, you know, like for that club, I'm a relatively, I guess, big name. Comparatively, sort of, maybe. Can we talk about Tina? Tina Freemey is with us. Hello, Tina.

Hi. How old are you? I'm almost 30. I turned 30 in just two weeks. 30 in two weeks. Now, this is an amazing story, and you probably can't even believe it yourself in a way. No.

And ask your parents. So Tina has cerebral palsy, which, God bless America, it's part of this story, but God bless America. It's part of the story, but it's amazing. It really doesn't really matter all that much in terms of

what that would have meant to somebody in your position 50 years ago or 20 years ago. Even 20. Just socially. It's much more years ago, or 20 years ago. Even 20, just socially, you know? It's much more except, I mean, we're not even talking about comedy, but like socially in life. I want you to say all this stuff.

I just want to say something to the audience. Yeah. You know, we live in a time when there's all this pressure for various diversity for giving people jobs because they fit this but i want to say unequivocally that you're working at the cellar because you're funny and that has nothing to do in any way and anyone who's seen you knows this that has nothing to do with like trying to give somebody with a i don't know what the proper word is but whatever it is that yeah disability a condition a shot or anything like that yeah um i could i consider myself a nice person but i've never um i've never gone for that sort of thing because i always felt it it doesn't actually work it You can get away with it one time.

Everybody gets swept up in the sentiment of it. But very quickly, it gets like, oh, God, she's not going over. What are you doing? There's other ways to show in life that you are a nice person. I don't believe in that stuff. So just in case anybody in the audience suspects or wonders about that,

I say with 100% swear on my life sincerity, that's not what's going on here. She's actually funny. She kills. But it is, I think, a testament to how far we've come in the country that someone who's dealing with what you're dealing with I think a testament to how far we've come in the country that someone who's

dealing with what you're dealing with can now dream dreams that were not dreamable. You know, your parents are parents of Tina 30 years old.

Oh, shut up, Tina. You're not going to be show business. What's the matter with you? Well, I mean, my parents, they're, I mean, make no mistake, they're ridiculous supporters. They couldn't be happier. But there was this every now and then kind of carefully, lovingly reminder, like, you could be a writer, you could, like, be an author, be behind the words, and you don't have to, I always wanted to perform, be an actor, or on stage somehow, in front of people, and there always was this kind of like every now and then push like

or or you could be a writer you could um be uh behind the scenes you could be a producer or a manager or or I and not they weren't trying to downplay me, but I think maybe it could have come from the expectations of... Well, they want you to be heartbroken. Well, yeah, exactly. And the whole ironic thing is that I wanted to be an actress for the first 20 years of my life. And I gave up on acting because at 17, I thought, no way.

I can't be in front of people and have them relax. You're saying being an actor was your initial dream? Yeah. Well, I relax. You're saying being an actor was your initial dream? Yeah. Well, I would discourage anybody from being an actor. No. I mean, even if you're like

the greatest actor in the world, I mean, I'm half joking, but it's hard no matter what. Yeah. Somebody's got to write a role for you. I think acting would be an imposition on the, in other words, to ask the audience to pretend

that the actor is, that they're not seeing somebody with cerebral palsy. Right. Well, you would have to write a role for that. Yeah, right. And then you don't want to be the person who plays the part of the person. I mean, you might not be against that,

but that would be kind of like a typecast that, you know. Yeah. But comedy is perfect, right? I know. Well, exactly exactly that was the thing when i was uh like uh 14 15 i was uh creatively optimistic i thought maybe i could play all these non-disabled roles but just add another layer to the character. I could be Fantine. I could

play Annie. I could, you know, these are all singing roles. Can you sing? You can't play Annie if you can't sing. Yeah, exactly. Well, you could play the innkeeper instead of Fantine. Of course you can.

And people will enjoy it. And maybe you bring something to the role. I mean, yeah. I can sing hard knock life. I can't really do, you know, like I dreamed a dream. But it seems like with comedy, you can leave it behind. You can leave it behind. You know, it's not...

I don't know. I think comedy is... I don't mean to say you couldn't be an actress. But you'd have to have the role would have to be there for it. The role or... Like I said, I mean, you know, I'm a very blunt person.

I hope I don't offend you. But just that you know would always kind of be in the audience's mind in some way. And that would just like might overwhelm you. I don't know. offend you. But just that you know it would always kind of be in the audience's mind in some way. And that would just like might overwhelm you. I don't know. It could be like it would weigh you and weigh the casting. But comedy, it's you're on the merits of your intellect.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'll say what you might be trying to say, that in acting, it might distract them from the bigger character. But the nice thing about comedy was I not only being myself and the fact I'm addressing the elephant in the room, but not only that, I'm actually challenging the audience um

i'm kind of i have their number i know what they're thinking while they're thinking it and and i i kind of hold like hold up a big a big mirror to them like Look at what I see. And they love it. And, you know, I kind of honed that skill, that kind of comedy from just being me my whole life. And I always say that everyone thinks that I'm the most vulnerable one in the room, when in reality, it's everyone else. I can see, like, the micro-expressions, and I know what they're already thinking,

and I can kind of, you know, I've lived long enough where I think that I can curate, I can kind of take control of the situation. And for better or worse, it's always my responsibility to put everyone at ease. I actually haven't seen you perform, but I do want to, and especially because I like different points of view. You're not going to see her on New Year's Eve. Are you performing at the club?

Yeah. I'm sorry, man. I've seen so much comedy that I like to see different points of view. I like to watch Keith Robinson and hear him talk about something that literally nobody else talks about, i.e. having two strokes. I'd like to hear Jim Norton talking about, you know, his trans wife. I mean, things that nobody else is talking about. So obviously I want to hear, you know, your point of view, but how quickly do you address it on stage?

Right away? Well, I'm playing with it. For a while it was instant. Instantly. I would get up there right away, be like, I'm disabled. Don't worry, you're going to be okay. Lock the doors. And just immediately dog on it. But I've gotten, I guess, brave Enough where I do

a joke or two and I let it kind of like percolate and then I address like by the way I can see your face and then after a while, you know, there is never, never not that shift

when I finally address it. And that is when kind of, like, the on-ramp turns into the highway, I guess. And then I go off, and then I've got all the narrative about my disability and what it means, and living in New York with it, with what I call kind of the bisexuality of ability, and that I'm disabled, and yet I can walk, I'm not inaccessible in any way. And I'm kind of what they call able-passing in that a lot of people just think I'm drunk or high

or very, very, very tired. And so once the audience is at ease, is every joke to do with this condition, or you just will talk about whatever anybody else might talk about? Yeah, I mean, the goal, my goal is to just not have to, one day I will put out a whole hour not about that. I mean, Keith, you know Keith Robinson.

Oh, yeah. And he does jokes where he, of course, addresses his jokes. You do not have to compare her to Keith. Please. Well, I know. Because they both have... Well, I mean... No, I think they're both inspiring.

Is this insult? I don't think it's insulting to say that Keith has his own disability to deal with, and he has jokes that don't even talk about it. Well, I know that the first time I was on a lineup here at the club with Keith, I went on after him, and at the end, I was riffing. See, Keith gets it. He caught on to the secret that this is how you become a very good comic, is get disabled.

That's it. Endless. You have a physical thing, but Dan has some sort of and well I may but I don't think it's crazy to bring up somebody else that is dealing with something I know

I somehow want to protect you from anything that's harsh I've heard it all but you did allude to something that you are going to have to, like now you come on and people don't know, many people don't know who you are,

and there's an elephant in the room, as you put it, but then at some point there's going to be chapter two in your career where everybody knows everything about you. Exactly. And in a sense, you won't even be able to get any mileage out of it. You can always still make jokes about it, but you'll have to start taking on broader topics. Right.

And I'm actually beginning to get into that realm, not necessarily at the cell, but whenever I go on the road, I have a headline show on the road, and we fill the room full of my fans from online, from TikTok and social media. And I'm very lucky. A lot of them are very enthusiastic,

and they watch just every clip that I have out. And online, I put a lot of my disabled content. And it really kind of challenges me. Like, oh, okay, we're beyond that. Like, there absolutely is a threshold of, if I keep talking about it, it's awkward. It's like, okay, we're beyond that. Well, people need to know that your life is like anybody else's life. Yeah.

Well, and within my hour, a thread that I have a part of my hour-long set where I actively try to get away from talking about being disabled. And I'm saying to the audience, I do have other jokes. Like, don't worry, it's not my only problem. And then I go into another thing and it, like, rounds back to being disabled. And I'm like, oh, fuck, you know? And that gets a laugh.

And the bigger message being that, like, yeah, I do other things other while i think people are often surprised at like how crazy i am how adventurous i am and how much i travel and do all the wild stuff and because they they only focus on me being a disabled girl. And that's it. So when you were a child, were you funny? Were you always making jokes as a child? Yeah, you know, like I used humor to just kind of like diffuse. Like even as a kid, I could tell that I was there making people kind of on edge. Is this a condition that begins at birth?

Yeah, well, with traumatic birth. So I had a very dramatic birth where basically I accidentally kind of like punched my way out my mom's old C-section scar. And I kind of got cut off from oxygen for 20 minutes. Yeah. And somebody somehow came back. And you have a relatively mild, I was reading a little bit about it before you came.

And from what I understand from my 10 minutes of reading, that your case is a mild case. It is. It's actually incredibly mild. That's the weird thing about what I have, cerebral palsy, is a lot of people are affected very differently. That's the weird thing about what I have cerebral palsy with. A lot of people are affected very differently. It's like a grab bag.

And I know tons of people who talk just fine and yet they have a very, very distinct walk or they can't walk at all. Or they're not sharp. Or they're not sharp. Or they're cognitively affected. with me, it's

basically only a voice and one of my hands. And that is it. Your hands are not much. Not really. If you were Jewish, don't think twice about it exactly and I'm already like very animated

and I like gesticulate all the time so people don't even know about that until there are two people who really know my nail technician i mean she hates me uh she actually i've been going to her for three years only yesterday

did i tell her i do comedy she never asks and i'm like yeah I'm at the cellar like every night And she's like Oh Okay Is she Korean or I didn't mean to She's I believe Chinese

But yeah she's Just believe Chinese Chinese but but yeah she's just kind of like oh nice are you gonna be famous

and I'm like maybe on the on the on the Fallon show oh you were on you were on Fallon yeah

I'm gonna give Fallon one more crack wait I have one more crack. I have a few more cracks. So now you were like this at birth, and did you have to go to a special school, or were other kids cruel to you? Was it a happy childhood? I had a very happy childhood, ultimately.

There was one year I went to one public high school that is notorious for bullying. And a lot of farm kids that... Where was this? In Vermont. In Vermont. In rural Vermont. And the school itself was great,

but the kids just um just had to have a shared mindset of you're different and therefore you are other you know you are children are cruel it's this way yeah and um and i that that was the year i realized I could bite back. Like, in face with that kind of, like, horrible, semi-self-loathing threat, I could actually get back at them, and I began to bully back, which was not good. With a sharp tongue yeah but it did teach me i could i could come up with like stuff you know um but then uh i got transferred to a better school that just really, I don't know what the difference was. It was just the next district

over, but it had just a bigger theater scene, a more kind of liberal liberal arts kind of... And how old were you at this point? Oh, like 16. Yeah. You don't meet a lot of Vermonters now that I think about it. It's kind of... And how old are you at this point? Oh, like 16. 16?

Yeah, yeah. You know, I don't think... You don't meet a lot of Vermonters, now that I think of it. Well, Nick, the guy in my band, is from Vermont. Oh, is he? Okay, yeah. I just typically don't meet too many. It's a small state.

Yeah, Vermont's only got like 60,000. And Bernie Sanders, but he's not even from there. He is. No, he's from Brooklyn. No, he's not from Brooklyn. 60,000 people, that's it? Yeah. Oh, my God. It's really even from there. He is. No, he's from Brooklyn. He's not from Brooklyn. 60,000 people, that's it? Yeah. Oh, my God.

It's really tiny. Yeah. I mean, I know people that go there to ski. They have houses. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. You hear about that a lot. Like, oh, Killington.

Stowe. JP. Like, yeah, you hear. We have a lot of, like, really, really great, like, resorts. And I know a lot of people, really great resorts. And I know a lot of people. A lot of guns in Vermont, too. Well, in what we call the Northeast Kingdom. They're kind of like what we call the South of the North.

So Bernie Sanders is always a good NRA rating. And Ben and Jerry's are from Vermont, right? They're not from there either. No, they're from Brooklyn too, I think. A lot of Jews. They moved up there

to make ice cream. Where are you on the Palestinian- I'm kidding. Well, thank God you asked. I've been dying. So you're 16 and then you go to college after that?

Yeah, I went to college again. I was still in Vermont. UVM? Green Mountain? I went to, in the Burlington area, to a liberal arts Catholic college. St. Michael's College. And it was great.

It was small and I partied a lot. Do you have trouble writing? Are you talking about your hair? No, no, no. Well, it takes me longer so I get extended. Ah, you're milking it, huh? Oh, yeah. But you can write.

I can write, yeah. But, yeah. It was just kind of like, I never liked typing. Like, I was the kid that, like, don't belittle me by saying I can type when every other kid has to write. Like, just give me longer. Like, I was always the kid that, like, I kind of, like, dark way to think about it. But I feel like, well, I'm not being punished, but I just have to deal with the cards that I was dealt. And don't make it easier for me. Don't, like, give me too much of an advantage or too many, you know, books to stand on.

Like, I'll be okay. We'll get back to that, but I just thought of something. A helicopter, Noam. A helicopter up to the Rodney's Comedy Club. He can't help himself. I told you. Well, because I was saying that people with helicopters

just go from Manhattan all the time. You know? So you have to play the hands that you're dealt in life, which is way easier to say than done. I know people who have a lot of privilege and luck and can't bear to deal the...

Well, part of dealing with the hands of your Delta is some people are just better at dealing. So that's one of the... I mean, like, you know, she's been dealt a hand. Part of the hand you've been dealt is perhaps the ability to handle the hands that you're dealt. Well, yeah. Kind of a meta way of looking at it. I think that part of me knew that I would get out into the real world and not be able to. I would have to be a person.

I would need to pay my bills, write my checks either way. And I didn't want to be soft. Now, you would be eligible probably for money from the government, right, if you couldn't, but you didn't want to do that. Not really. Like, A, I don't need it. But I have had people say, yeah, but still. I mean, if anybody.

So when did you do, when did you decide you wanted to do comedy and what was your first spotlight and do you have it on video somewhere? Yes, I do. So basically, like, I went to college for journalism, and I realized graduating that I had no interest in being a journalist at all. And I kind of free fell for like half a year. It was dark. I really just had no idea what to do. I couldn't get a job anywhere.

I got fired. Well, that's liberal arts for you. Yeah, but like, even like, and talk about disability in the real world, I got fired from a job at a thrift shop because I could not count

money fast enough at the end of the day. And they let me go. What did they say to you? They just said, like, we're sorry, and we cannot pay you overtime. It's not legal, by the way, I don't think. Yeah, no, like, I learned quickly after, like, the second person I told that to, they're like, um, um what they have to make some

accommodation for you yeah yeah and um uh and it was only like a week after they hired me and um i was just but i was 22 and didn't know anything about all that and um I I just took it as a massive loss like oh god and um I know that right around that time I got really really into British comedy um and panel shows and and um that's how I got into stand-up. Also being in Vermont, being so close to Montreal where they have JFL. Just for laughs, the Comedy Festival, yeah. And I remember going there one year with a friend

and realizing just the massive scope, the landscape of kinds of stand-up comics. And on a whim, out of desperation, I signed up for a $150 stand-up comedy class at the local comedy club in Burlington. Is that the comedy zone? No, what's the club? I worked there once. It club in Burlington. Is that the comedy zone? The Vermont Comedy Club. No, what's the club? I worked there once.

It was in a hotel, but I don't know if it's... It's literally called the Vermont Comedy Club. Maybe they can use you New Year's Eve. Go ahead. Yeah, they can. Oh, it's just called the Vermont Comedy Club? Oh, yeah. Easy.

Boom. Yeah. It's a great, fabulous new club. It's not the one I was at. And, yeah, they offered, like, kind of what I call, like, a bucket list, a class. Well, like, every other person in that was not an aspiring comic.

They just wanted to, like, try it. And then at the end of it, they have kind of, like, a recital for all your friends and all the family to gather in. Like, no matter if you are funny or not, like, you're doing something brave. And they're there to, like, ah. And I remember that my parents came to that one. This is your first performance? Ever. And your parents came to it?

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, because they didn't even have like a driver's license at that point. They had to so um and i remember we got pizza around the corner after and like my dad was just sitting at the bar like staring in front of him into nothing saying oh my god that was actually good oh that's sweet. I was like, like, thanks, Dad. Thank you. But no, I mean, he was,

like, I was, he said that he was sitting there just hoping I would do okay. Hoping I would get, like, Well, a lot of people, like, when they see their friends doing comedy, they're more nervous than the comic. Yeah. Because it's like like it's going to be awkward

if it sucks. But a parent... Well, I don't know anything about that. A parent wants to protect their child at all costs. Yeah. And a child with I don't have one, but I can imagine a child who has a disability,

you don't want to see her crushed. She's been crushed enough times in her life. She doesn't need to be crushed now, right? Yeah. So I can see it. But you you don't want to see her crushed. She's been crushed enough times in her life. She doesn't need to be crushed now, right? Yeah, yeah. So I can see it. But you also don't want to tell her she can't do it. Exactly. And then she did it and she succeeded.

Yeah. That's an emotional thing. When I was 22, I was just kind of like, well, they can't tell me not to do it. But I remember when I began to take that class, I was so embarrassed that I was trying comedy because I knew they would be skeptical.

I was so embarrassed that I actually said that I'm taking a stand-up comedy history class where yeah I go to the club every Tuesday night and I learn about I learn about comedy I learn about the greats you didn't have the nerve to tell him you actually thought you could do this. Yeah. And then like a week or two before the rehearsal, or the recital, the show, I said, yeah, by the way, so there's another element to this.

But you were the only one in the class, you said, that actually wanted to be a stand-up comic. The others were there to meet people or activities. To try something they never tried before. I think that's 90% of people that take comedy classes in general. Even back then, I was kind of like,

let's see how this goes. My big goal was to be a regular comic in Burlington, Vermont. Like, do all the bar shows. And I actually began to get books before I even graduated that class. Like, the assistant teacher to that class was a great comic, Kendall Farrell, who is out here in New York now. And he ran a bar show and he said, hey, come do five. There's something here that I want to bring to my show.

Do you think that, I mean, you know, a lot of, we've discussed this on this show. A lot of people are skeptical about comedy classes. I've always felt, I don't know that you can teach it, but it creates a warm environment in which to try it. I think that. Is that how you feel about it? Yeah, I don't remember a single thing that I learned from that class. No offense. Because I could also say the same thing about the University of Pennsylvania.

Yeah, but it gave me what i needed it gave me a completely safe space right to just try to to really just go for it and um without the the anxiety and the drive of it I could actually figure out what I want to say in my voice it was there that I began to talk about being disabled and realizing that oh that's something people want you

like if I got up there and said nothing about being disabled people would be very frustrated. They would be like, okay, we don't need to hear about coffee. But it really was that, like, the minute that I began to address it, it was just this icebreaker, like shattering. What about in the real world?

You meet somebody. Do you feel the same way that you need to address it? You know, you can't really, though. Like, you can't just be like, say to a barista. Well, maybe not a barista, i i don't know you know if you're if you're i don't know if you're on tinder or bumble or any of those sites or yeah i mean i oh well i i used but i i have a boyfriend now but like when i was that was a big thing yeah that was like what do you say and I actually got burned by that uh where for a while I had I think bumble and I didn't say anywhere on my profile I well I experimented with like not

saying it on the profile but saying it in like uh the chat conversations one time i experimented with not saying it at all and then meeting them and yeah that's great yeah and that that came with um i mean just i think like some guys were like okay but a lot a lot were like oh no was anybody not nice um not not rude but but like i mean i did have people that like the minute that i said it to them over text they just they ghosted you ghosted me like no um what are you gonna do right this is this is uh i suppose that's yeah are you are you used to that i mean it's that's that's that's the way it is right i don't like i no longer hold it against people i remember like when i was young and it all came from insecurity and all that stuff, but I did really hold it against men for like, oh, they won't even give me a chance.

But, I mean... And this is really the way men are. Women are much better at... Yeah, maybe a little bit more flexible, open-minded, because they might be looking for a deeper criteria. Well, I mean... But by that, I mean, like, they might be kind of

needing to look more inward for the things that they need. But... But again, like... But you have a boyfriend. to look more inward for the things that they need but again like but you have a boyfriend and that's all you need is one well like my dad said about jobs you only need one

but like that's the thing I always say that like I it's not that I, like people that are bothered by my disability, fuck them. I want to say something.

I don't want to defend the guys, but because we had this very conversation, I guess a week before last with John Haidt. The thing is that dating apps are even worse than what you're describing because in real life, people meet each other and they get to know each other and then they fall in love, whatever it is. So it's, it's, you, you can take to someone in a much less superficial way. Yeah. Yeah. But a dating app is such a superficial way to meet people to begin with. It's based on a picture and this and that.

It's going to be triply harsh for what you're describing. And I know that my mom, whenever I brought my various dating app story adventures, she would say that, and she'd say, why are you on there? Like, that might just not be your thing. That's not, it may not be the best way for you to,

and by the way, just to probably make you feel better, this guy we had on two weeks who was talking about dating apps, and he said like, the top 5% like best looking men attract like 85%

of the and most men don't get any men don't get any answers from women on dating apps. I'll tell you I had so that's how superficial it is. The whole thing I had

I reeled in a real nice catch on Tinder some years back. Well out of my league physically and age-wise. But it took some doing. I mean, I was swiping. Her friends dared her. Well, that's fine if that's the case. I don't think it was. But it was years in the making.

A lot of swiping and a lot of chatting, you know, before I got, before I got. So on Twitter, you like something by accident. Does that happen? Anyway. Yeah, I sort of like give them like a super like or something. I have one more question. So comedians all seem to have this urge. They're like, it's not narcissism. I don't know what the word is. It's exhibitionism. It's this compulsion to be on stage.

Oh, yeah. And this is obviously, I mean, you have this same trait that they all have, right? Yeah. You're just dying to be on stage. Oh, yeah. Completely. So what does that, talk about that.

What does it make you think of? You know, I think it's almost like kinks. It is like how you get your kinks a lot from like your trauma or your life struggles or your outlook. Not all of them, but sometimes. And I think that, like, I always knew that I was different. And I leaned, I didn't want to be different, but I always did want to be like the noticed one I wanted to make an impression

on people in one way or another and uh I don't know I like the funny thing is now like every now and then I'll get a comment or a message online, say, of someone that does not love what I do and calls it kind of exhibitionism or kind of exploitation of myself somehow. And, I mean, I get what they mean. Who criticizes you for that? All people on the internet. Are these other people who might have cerebral palsy? I don't know.

I wonder about that. I wonder if there were other people that just kind of had disabilities and they were personally offended or not, like, if I bet anything, I bet not, but people that just kind of almost, like, when I hear the word exploitation, I think of, like, a sideshow, like a freak show, like a freak show back in the day that you take your

difference and you make money you show off and and what kind of asshole would even

why would they they just find you online then they just share that with you like they think it's a nice thing to do and I think that it's like like it goes hand in hand with they don't find my

my jokes funny like they can't they can't laugh I do get more more frequently than that. I will now and then read a comment. I cannot laugh at this. What about comments of people that are saying, you inspire me, I have this disability

or something about this that is different and you've inspired me? I assume you get those as well. All the time. Why is Noam Giggis? Because Joe Mackey has a whole routine you know Joe Mackey he gets them because people think he's got autism. But I don't have autism. Yeah, yeah. Well I used to get the word MS. Now, a lot of people will think I had MS. You know, I do relate to them in some context, but I wanted to make sure I was becoming a spokesperson

for something they didn't have um but I yeah well well of course I'm doing the very human thing where I get so many beautiful comments like that like people that love what I do and I get them all the negative comments it's one out of every 200 you know but of course the eye goes right to it what do they mean by that

yeah well at least you're not Jewish they don't right now they would really be mean to you. I'm getting so many horrible anti-Semitic comments online sometimes. Well, but because you addressed the conflict. If you didn't address the conflict, you wouldn't get gratuitous.

I understand, but my God, people are really just unloading. Anyway. Really? Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. No, it doesn't. I actually, I don't know. It doesn't bother me. That's for sure. I find it doesn't bother me that's for sure

I find it interesting alright well I guess that's it we're out of time anything else you want to say? well I mean you mentioned that you address the elephant in the room as it were and then you move on to other things

what other topics? I mean, I guess I'll see you soon, hopefully. Yeah, well, you know, I talk a lot about dating and a lot about New York. I, well, and I kind of briefly grazed over this earlier, but I'm a very adventurous, try-everything-once person. And I tend to have a whole lot of stories about that, about now coming to New York. What's the craziest thing you've tried once or maybe more than once? Well, I just went to a

sex party. Okay. You went to a sex party? Yeah. With your boyfriend, I would assume. Yeah. Was it a swinger thing where you would change? No, well, they call it a play party. It's more like it's not like

one big room where you have to. It's, well, there is. There is that. Did you go to a Catholic university? Yeah. Go ahead. It's the rebound effect.

Well, yeah. They call it a play party. And there's this incredible villa in Brooklyn called Hacienda. And they host these very great parties. There's a jacuzzi and there's a, you know. I'm not sure I'd want to go in that jacuzzi. You have to go in like right at the beginning of it. I thought about that.

But they also hire a professional chef to come in and make this delicious meal in the middle of it. And you just kind of hop around and do the thing. So you can either just be with your boyfriend or you can be with somebody else if you choose. Yeah, yeah. And people come over to you and say, I don't know, what's the wording that one might use if I were to come to you or one were to come to you at a sex party and want to... I mean, naturally, it's a very, very consent-oriented thing.

So it's not like a free-for-all. It's not like a big orgy. It's kind of like there are groups. There are, you know, like swinger kind of things. But it's kind of like you've got areas where you can meet people and then you sit down, have a conversation about boundaries, about consent, about what your goals are, basically. And then there's rooms that you would go to? Yeah.

Or you could do it publicly. That's interesting. And can anybody go to this? Or do you have to get vetted? Vetted. Yeah. They're actually very, very great about that. They're very hyper, hyper aware of who's in their house and who's not. So it's the most safe I've ever felt, like ever, in New York.

Would you recommend this to a couple that's been married a number of years, living in the suburbs, that might want something new and interesting. I'm looking at Noam. The demographic was like late 20s, early 30s. Although there were people in their 50s. Okay. All right. I wasn't asking for me.

I was wondering, you know, maybe no. My wife would never sign off on that. Yeah. No. I don't know. It took me a long time to do it. Well, I never, I never, like, I just went there to, I didn't even know if I would do it. This was at your urging or your boyfriend brought it up?

Well, you know, I wanted to do it. This was at your urging or your boyfriend brought it up? Well, you know, I wanted to do it. Okay. But, like, it took me months of, like, I knew about it and I heard great things. And they also host a naked comedy show every month,

which is great. You did that too? No, I didn't. But you're trying did that too no I have my limits do that because I'd be nervous about cameras and what about going to a sex party and seeing someone you know oh that happened you know i got recognized like there and uh yeah is it todd barry huh all right we have to wrap it up on that note um well that was an instructive discussion and i think uh yeah very enlightening discussion yeah uh too bad you're not going to be here on new year's eve well like i said i do have a 8.30, but you're saying that might get revoked. Maybe the move is to have a car waiting for me. And then...

Did they keep the insides the same as it was? I don't know. I'll let you know. All right. I'll let you know. So podcast at ComedyCellar.com. Tina Freemy is on tour. So Google her.

Noam doesn't like it when we give out Twitter handles. He's like, just Google it anyway. So who gives a shit? And I guess he's got a point. So it's T-I-N-A-F-R-I-M-I. Oh, almost. F-R-I-M-L, if you can believe it. What?

Yeah. That makes no sense whatsoever. You know, it's Czech. Okay. It's Czech. Okay. I mean, usually when people come over, They change it to make it a little bit easier No I mean

I've had people look at my F-R-I-M-L name And look at me and say Don't you have a heart enough Like But no yeah Is that one of your jokes or somebody actually said that Or both

Someone said that and it could be one of your jokes Or did somebody actually Say that Or both Someone said that And it could be One of your jokes Yeah it could be But yeah Somebody said that A host said that Alright we'll see Tina At the Comedy Cellar

This New Year's Eve Yeah We'll probably be sold out By the time you hear this But you can still come Alright goodnight everybody Thank you Thank you Tina