Tickets
General Ticket: $15
Members: $10
What is humor? Who gets to determine what is funny? Where do women comics find themselves in the comedy world? Is it harder to be a comedian these days? Join us as three brilliant women, writers, and comedians come together in conversation to talk about these questions and more.
We will hear from Kestrin Pantera, an award-winning film writer/director, Nancy Parker, comedy legend, and Caroline Waxler, acclaimed writer and producer. These ladies will be joined by Moderator Abby Russell, of our local Sticks and Stones Comedy Club here in Southampton.
After the discussion, the panel will open to the audience for a Q&A. Join us for what is sure to be an afternoon of query and insight, and most of all, laughter!
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
KESTRIN PANTERA
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KESTRIN PANTERA is a writer/director the New York Times called “a force.” Her film PRETTY PROBLEMS won the SXSW Audience Award, Sonoma International Grand Jury Prize, Maui Film Festival Audience Award and was awarded Bay Area Filmmaker of the Year. She plays cello and sings in David Wain and Ken Marino’s band, alongside guests like Paul Rudd, Weird Al Yankovic, Will Forte, James Marsden, Uzo Aduba and Tiffany Haddish.
NANCY PARKER
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NANCY PARKER started out as one of the first female stand up comedians in the early seventies in New York City, and she helped pave the way for other female comedians to follow. She managed to succeed while attending the all-boys club and has appeared on major talk shows such as Arsenio Hall, Merv Griffin, and Don Kirschner’s Rock Concert, as well as a recurring role on ABC’s show, SLEDGEHAMMER. She toured with Peter Allen, and has performed her comedy at Carnegie Hall. In the early nineties, her well known impressions of celebrities made the circuit of Morning Zoos on the radio. For over five years, she was one of the main writers and performers at the American Comedy Network, which provided comedy routines for hundreds of radio stations around the country. She has also written for both Jay Leno and Rosie O’Donnell. Nancy was the first comedian ever to play Caroline’s Comedy Club in New York City, and along with Billy Crystal performed opening night at the famous Comic Strip, also in New York City. As a playwright Nancy has had readings of her play, STINKER at the famed Abingdon Theater in NYC. She’s also had a number of her 10 minute plays produced and this summer her one minute play SENTENCED will be performed at the annual Gi60 International Festival in Houston, Texas. She has held quite a few fundraisers for non-profits near and dear to her heart; with the support of her friends, Joy Behar, Susie Essman, Mario Cantone, Colin Quinn, JudyGold, Jeff Ross, and Elayne Boosler, to name a few.
CAROLINE WAXLER
Photo by Sophie Elgort
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CAROLINE WAXLER has performed standup comedy and has written for many comedians, including Joan Rivers. Besides comedy, Caroline has written for a variety of television series and specials, including “Good Morning America,” ABC’s "Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live From The Red Carpet,” Disney+ game show “The Big Fib,” and way too many cables clip shows in the aughts, including “Best Week Ever,” where she was also an on-air commentator. She hosted two seasons of the Writers Guild of America East podcast, “OnWriting,” and has written and produced for the Writers Guild Awards for the past seven years. Her writing has appeared in dozens of publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, Glamour, Fast Company, and the Financial Times. She and her family live in New York City and Sag Harbor.
ABBY RUSSELL
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ABBY RUSSELL is an Emmy-nominated television producer, filmmaker, and media strategist. She started as a one-woman-band video journalist at NY1 News and as a producer of a TV series with The New York Times. Abby is a self-described ‘big laugher’ and after founding HBO’s Hamptons Comedy Festival, she most recently re-launched the Hamptons Comedy Film Festival and established a performing arts theatre in Southampton called Sticks and Stones Comedy Club. Her feature documentary film, Eat Drink Laugh, world-premiered at the Just For Laughs International Comedy Festival in Montreal. Executive produced by Chris Rock and available on Amazon and Apple TV, it’s about the rise of some of the greatest comedians of our time. Abby also directed comedy programming for VH1’s Best Week Ever (Nick Kroll, Paul Scheer, Melissa Rauch, Rob Huebel), Nickelodeon (Andrea Rosen) and Funny or Die (Josh Meyers, Gale Harold, Tara Copeland, David Giuntoli), including the viral hit Café Attitude, featured in the LA Times and called “the parody we’ve been waiting for” by Huffington Post. Abby is currently on the adjunct faculty at NYU, where she teaches writing and storytelling, producing and filmmaking. She has a Masters degree in journalism from Columbia University.
Instagram/Web: @sticksandstonescomedyclub @mothersofinvention.co https://www.mothersofinvention.co
STICKS AND STONES COMEDY CLUB
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STICKS AND STONES COMEDY CLUB is the Hamptons' year-round comedy club! It is located at 25 Pond Lane in Southampton, NY, and is home to the HAMPTONS COMEDY FESTIVAL and HAMPTONS COMEDY FILM FESTIVAL. Sticks and Stones Comedy Club brings the best live comedy and other performance art to our elegant theatre in the heart of one of the most beautiful and talked-about places in the world. There used to be a booming comedy club here in the 1980s called East End Comedy Club. Judd Apatow saw many great comedians perform when he was just a teenager because his mom worked there. Famed comedy manager Rick Messina (Drew Carey and Tim Allen) used to be the club’s manager. So many comedy stars performed in this beautiful beach town, and now, our stage in Southampton has come alive again! Started by the team that created the HBO-sponsored Hamptons Comedy Festival, established in 2000, Sticks and Stones Comedy producers have a long track record of presenting comedy stars, national headliners, and cutting-edge new talent. At Sticks and Stones Comedy Club, creative expression is paramount and sacrosanct -- and inspired by the spirit of George Carlin -- we aim to push boundaries and expose truths while entertaining, growing, and expanding ever forward.