Comedy show celebrates five years of laughs
By Aidan Graham Come and see the funny Side!
The Brooklyn stand-up
comedy show “Side Ponytail”
will celebrate its fifth anniversary
on April 17 with balloons, matching
outfits, and a surprise guest!
We chatted with each of the
show’s four producers — founder
Carolyn Busa, Ben Wasserman,
Emily Winter, and Julia Shiplett
— about the show’s longevity and
evolution over the years.
Five years is a long time in
the comedy world. How have you
lasted for so long?
Emily Winter: First, Carolyn
Busa is an amazing woman. She
started this show, and the rest of us
are lucky to have been added as her
co-producers.
Ben Wasserman: A lot of it
is just putting in the hard work,
with hustle and grit, of producing,
curating, and promoting a show.
How has the show changed over
the years?
Carolyn Busa: We moved bars,
to Friends and Lovers, in January
of 2017. We’ve gone from a monthly
show to a weekly show. We used to
be on Mondays until we switched to
Wednesdays in December of 2018.
BW: One thing that I’ve noticed
since we went weekly is a more
communal vibe. We’ve been able
to establish it as a fun hang with a
sense of community.
EW: We’re also better comedians
ourselves! As our friendship
has grown and deepened, so has
our comedy, and I think the result is
something really special.”
What is your favorite part of
the show?
BW: My favorite part is killing it
every night, and getting a laugh, and
getting applause, and showering in
adulation. It feels good.
Julia Shiplett: Having a home
base to call ours is really special.
Getting to regularly do comedy with
people you admire in a space you’re
comfortable is a real treat in this city.
EW: One of my favorite parts is
putting up someone who is so unique
and funny but may not have the TV
credits that our other performers
have. Watching them succeed and
surprise an audience is incredibly
rewarding and exciting.
COURIER L 52 IFE, APRIL 12-18, 2019 24-7
How does the show compare to
others in the city?
BW: Well, we’re the best.
CB: People tell us it’s a fun experience.
Other places can feel very tense
and nervous, where the comic is tense
because they don’t want to bomb, and
the audience is tense because they’ve
never heard of this person. We’ve
made something where people are
able to relax and have fun.
EW: We really do a good job of
keeping our show 90 minutes or less.
So many shows are way too long, and
it bums out the performers and audience.
We don’t do that at Side Pony.
Side Ponytail at Friends and
Lovers 641 Classon Ave. between
Pacific and Dean streets in Crown
Heights, (917) 979–3060, www.fnlbk.
com. April 17 at 8 pm. Free.
By Bill Roundy Winter has come!
The final season of
the gritty fantasy series
“Game of Thrones” will air on the
Home Box Office network on April
14, and Brooklynites are making
ready to celebrate the saga of swords
and dragons.
On Saturday, April 13 — the night
before the premiere, Williamsburg
nightclub Schimanski (54 N. 11th
St. between Wythe and Berry
streets, bit.ly/raveofthronesbk) will
host a “Rave of Thrones,” with
actor Kristian Nairn, who played
the simple-minded giant Hodor on
the sorcerous show, spinning music
all night. The party starts at 9 pm
and keeps going until the White
Walkers come for you (4:30 am).
Tickets are $30.
Meanwhile, famed nerd bar the
Way Station (683 Washington Ave.
between Prospect and St. Marks
places in Prospect Heights, www.
thewaystationbk.com) will host
“Mother of Drag(ons),” a night of
literally fantastic performances
from drag queens Tyler Ashley,
Patti Spliff, West Dakota, and more.
This show is going to be fire (and
ice)! The bar will tap a keg of the
official “Game of Thrones” beer to
serve during the show, which starts
at 9 pm. Admission is free, and
any donations will go to the Bard
Prison Initiative, which encourages
incarcerated rogues to multi-class.
Those want to watch the season
opener with company have
plenty of options at bars and house
parties, but check out this
Downtown option:
On April 14, gather your party
and journey into the underworld,
to the Dekalb Stage in the subterranean
Dekalb Market Hall (445
Albee Square West between Fulton
and Willoughby streets Downtown,
www.dekalbmarkethall.com). The
250-seat spot will show the season
premiere — and every following
episode — on its giant projection
screen, with two smaller televisions
for those on the edges. Attached
bar Understudy will serve two
“Thrones”–themed cocktails: “The
Red Wedding” and “The Dragon
Fire.” Each will cost $12, but you
can get one for free if you are an
OkCupid app user looking for a
dragon-loving date. The free screening
starts at 8:30 pm.
WBy Kevin Duggan elcome to the Big
Top, little ones!
Brooklyn kids
can join the circus without
running away from home! A
Bushwick circus troupe will
show off its tricks and then
welcome children into the ring
to try the acrobatics for themselves,
at the show “ABCirque
and Play,” next at the Muse on
May 12.
The afternoon event will
feature performers showing off
some of their most impressive
feats, including juggling, hula
hooping, and flying through
the air with greatest of ease.
After the performance, pintsized
audience members can
try some of the twisting and
tumbling for themselves,
according to the founder of the
Bushwick circus space.
“They can dive into our
giant ball pit, swing on our
aerial hammocks with the aerialists
who performed, or they
can meet the strongmen,” said
Angela Buccinni Butch. “It’s
much more special, real, and
tangible for the kids when they
get to watch it that close up
and then they actually get to
interact with those people and
experience it.”
The show debuted about
two months ago, and Buccinni
Butch hopes that the May
12 edition will turn it into a
monthly event.
Letting kids learn directly
from the artists who inspire
them exemplifies the welcoming
spirit of the circus, said the
Cypress Hills choreographer.
“Some kids will not let the
juggler alone after the show,
some are just need to fly with
the aerialists – everyone has
this draw to a different kind of
magic,” she said. “There is this
celebration of how different
we all are and there is something
for each person based on
their strengths.”
But the show might not
go on at the Muse’s current
space, a former warehouse in
Bushwick, where the group
has taught circus classes and
held performances for the last
four years. Transforming the
formerly run-down spot took
“blood, sweat, and tears,” said
Buccinni Butch, and ongoing
maintenance has been a substantial
financial burden on
her and her team of about
eight staffers, as they installed
emergency exits and sealed
the windows so guests would
not freeze.
“We’ve spent over
$400,000 in the past four years
of upgrades to the buildings,”
she said.
Because of the high costs
of the building and some ongoing
problems, Buccinni Butch
and her team are looking for
either enough money to resolve
their space’s issues once and
for all, or help with moving
somewhere more suitable.
Buccinni Butch is optimistic
that her cultural space can
stay alive somewhere in the
five boroughs.
“We’re here to stay, we’re
fighting to stay. The fear is if
we can’t find those resources,
but our focus is turning it into
a long-term sustaining solution
to allow this kind of work to be
in New York,” she said.
“ABCirque and Play” at
the Muse 350 Moffat St. at
Irving Avenue in Bushwick,
(929) 400–1678, www.themusebrooklyn.
com. May 12 at
4 p.m. $25–$55. Anyone who
would like to help or advise the
Muse can get in touch at themuseevents@
gmail.com.
Side hustle: Julia Shiplet, Ben Wasserman, Emily Winter, and Carolyn Busa will
celebrate the fifth anniversary of their comedy show Side Ponytail at Friends and
Lovers on April 17. Side Ponytail
Swing time: After “ABCirque and Play,” at the Muse, kids can try their
hands on the aerial silks, juggling, and hula hoops. Alexander Rivero
Throne zone: Brooklyn celebrates the
return of “Game of Thrones” with events
all over the borough. Helen Sloan
Stay a-Muse-d
SIDE PONY TALE!
It’s ‘Game’ on!
Circus performers teach
youngsters sweet moves
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