At the ZAKA comedy fest, our very own interviewer Zach had the opportunity to interview three of the performers: Dovi Neuberger, Ami Kozak, and Cholentface. Here are the results.
Dovi Neuberger (left) with Zach (right)
@dovineuberger
Are there any comedians who inspired you and have influenced your own comedy?
Dovi
Dovi: Oh, so many. I grew up pretty frum so I was only allowed to listen to clean comedians growing up. So, like, Brian Regan and Jim Gaffigan. Jerry Seinfeld’s I’m Telling You For the Last Time is definitely a favorite special. Stylistically, I like Nate Bargatze. He’s got a very monotone, stoner vibe…I’m not a stoner but that’s kind of my on-stage persona.
Dovi then continued listing his favorite comedic influences for a very long time.
Dovi: …Ari Shaffir showed me that you can talk about Jewish concepts to non-Jews. The list is very long, but I feel like that’s a good answer for now.
If you had to make a new Jewish holiday, what would it be? What would it celebrate?
Dovi
Dovi: I would just do, like, more Purim. I live for Purim. Purim and Tisha B’Av are my favorite holidays.
Zach: Ok, so Purim two. I like it.
Dovi: I mean, we have two Purims this year.
Zach: Purim three.
Ami
Ami: Bacon day. Treif day.
Zach: Treif day!
Ami: It’s Yom Treif.
What is your favorite Yiddish or Jewish word?
Dovi
Dovi: There’s so many Yiddish words that I don’t think translate to English at all. For example, one of my favorites is schlep. It doesn’t mean to carry. It’s like, in anger. There’s also a Yiddish word ‘shtoltz’ which means like swagger but kind of also, like, hubris? That’s definitely one of my favorite words.
Zach: I’m a big tchotchke guy.
Dovi: I like tchotchke.
Zach: Meshugana.
Ami Kozak (left) with Zach (right)
@amikozak_official
Ami
Ami: Shtick?
Chana Leah appears and takes a picture with our comedian.
Zach: I’ve always been a big schmuck guy.
Ami: Schmuck is good. I’m sure there are better ones. Shtick is good for everything…I think I’m good with shtick.
Zach: Alright. In a hypothetical-
Ami: Kibbitz, I like kibbitz.
Zach: Yeah kibbitz is good. Next question…
With all of these holidays, what is your favorite Jewish holiday?
Dovi: So I really believe that the Jewish calendar encapsulates a very healthy emotional balance. We have a certain amount of pride and happiness…but I think that they should be all one day. My favorite holiday? I said it already, but I could tell you it’s not Pesach. Hate it, hate it, want to burn it.
Zach: I love passover.
Dovi: Then you’ve clearly never done it with my mom. My parents are pretty intense about cleaning. We used to clean legos with toothbrushes-
Mr. Stern seeks to acquire a stand-up comedian son-in-law.
Dovi: I relate to Yom Yerushalayim a lot. It’s very recent, very real, very emotional…It’s not so long ago that my parents literally went through it to tell me about it: a real modern day miracle. That sounds cheesy, but I really love Yom Yerushalayim. I don’t daven every day - I try to put on tefillin every day, but I always make sure to hallel on Yom Yerushalayim because it’s very meaningful to me.
In a hypothetical Jewish themed reality show, what challenge would you excel at?
Dovi
Dovi: I think I could probably go on five or six dates in a day. Like shidduch dates. That would be a challenge.
Ami
Ami: Friday night shabbos dinner shtick.
Cholentface
Cholentface: I don’t watch enough reality shows to know it, but I think maybe being a chazan. Like I sing well. I also juggle, so I could do three-in-one breaks and have a one-man show. True story.
Cholentface (left) with Zach (right)
@cholentface
What is your favorite Jewish food?
Cholentface: Honestly, it’s cholent. But, you see, the problem with most people when they eat cholent is that they just throw in whatever they have. You gotta put in ingredients with forethought to make something that’s delicious, hearty, you know, that really warms you up.
Zach: Follow up question: best ingredients for a cholent?
Cholentface: Ok, so there’s a secret ingredient: cumin. It really adds a little bit of sephardic flavor. I mean, the rest are just the classics: potatoes, beans…
Zach: Egg?
Cholentface: No.
Zach: You don’t do egg?
Cholentface: Sometimes I do hotdogs.
Comments