Today we’d like to introduce you to JC Coccoli.
Hi JC, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Interviews like these are tricky because when I write my response, one can’t see or feel my personal energy or excitement as I walk you or your readers through ‘my story’ per se, but I’ll give it an honest try. My story begins with my birth in a McKees Rocks hospital in Pennsylvania in the early 80s. The city of Pittsburgh has grit, and I grew up in a blue-collar community amongst a family of Italian Americans and Northern European immigrants that settled in this city in the 1930s and, over the years, have evolved into a family composed of moms, small business owners, teachers, musicians, artists, financiers, and service industry workers. My creative journey into the career path of writing comedy began with classes at Point Park University as a child, which resulted to the present: Me, a professional stand-up comedian and headliner that tours on the oceans aboard cruise lines. It’s a mouthful, and it’s exhilarating. I like to sector off the life-altering moments into three beats that transformed my career from the moment the pipe dream was conceived:
College.
LA
The death of my sister.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No human could ever fully admit to the path of their existence on this earth as smooth. There is just no way. Every person’s experience is just that, theirs, and the level of hardship cannot be measured by the pain so much as by the recovery. We were outdoor kids in my youth… growing our own food, cooking, swimming, and participating in many athletics, while another side of my family flourished in a career path in music. My mom and her sisters are passive-aggressive lol. They just are. So, I learned to adapt a communication skill that incorporated humor which I noticed very early on could defuse and disarm some truly difficult times without taking away the sincerity of the person ‘feeling.’ And that moment solidified my career life goal.
Stand-Up Comedy.
When I moved to Hollywood in 2005, I had already done the leg work of a young girl that had zero connections to the film industry. Like, zero. Zilch. No one before me in the slightest had gone after LA that I knew of, and that made me crave it more. I love films and the adventure of telling stories. I love the challenges coming into play that are your responsibility not to abandon but to work through. I was a sponge in my first 10 years in Hollywood. I started at the Warner Brother’s lot during the day and cocktail waitressed at a comedy club on sunset Blvd. at night. I hustled in a place before the Internet even really launched. We performed live, and I had so much to learn.
The death of a sibling wasn’t something I anticipated having to navigate through in the middle of a budding comedy career. I knew of death, but I saw it in our elders more than youth, so when my sister, Lindsey, passed in 2016 at the age of 34 from the opioid crisis/heroin/fentanyl incident, my creative brain was electrocuted with emotions that I wasn’t sure I would recover from ever. That was a true challenge. I had been studying the craft of comedy for over a decade by then, so I had the tools to write my way through the honest, deeply humorous world of living vs. dying, but it was whether I had the courage to. That was the burning real question.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have a company called SHE THRIVES LLC, and it’s the Mega dream concept that encompasses all things comedy, fashion, production, and live events. I am hired by companies to execute all things humor and art in front of live audiences. Currently I am a performer on a popular cruise line where I am tasked to write and produce weekly live shows for thousands of people from all over the world. And, when I return from working on the ocean, I am home in Pittsburgh working locally for private events or touring comedy clubs throughout the east coast. In between that, I host and mentor comedy seminars that teach stage work, joke structure, and professional longevity for Independent Contractors.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out.
Be one with your inner happy child all moments of the day. And get excited about finances and investments because that is the foundation to the brilliant entertainment career you are working towards.
Pricing:
- $1500 (Headlining Show 1 hour)
- $500 (20-minute live show)
- $150/hr Stage Work, Joke Writing, Public Speaking
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jccoccoli.com
- Instagram: @JCcoccoli
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JCCoccoli/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcapproved
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/JC
Image Credits
Sammi Mike
Punchliner Comedy Club
