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New Years Eve - Stand-Up Comedy Showcase in Marin

Q&A with Bob Ayres: Why Smart Comedy Appeals to Marin Audiences

MarinArts is pleased to be a benefiting non-profit for the 12th annual New Year’s Eve Comedy Showcase, a one-night-only comedy event produced by Bob Ayres and featuring some of the top comedians in the country. Fairfax-based…

MarinArts is pleased to be a benefiting non-profit for the 12th annual New Year’s Eve Comedy Showcase, a one-night-only comedy event produced by Bob Ayres and featuring some of the top comedians in the country.

Fairfax-based Bob Ayres is an event producer best known as the founder of the renowned SF comedy club, The Other Cafe, which helped launch the careers of comedians Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Dana Carvey, Ellen DeGeneres, Paula Poundstone, Bob Goldthwait, Rob Schneider, and many others.

Marinites may also know Ayres for his work with TEDxMarin. He is also the creator of the tech industry’s Last Saturday salons, the Next 20 Years traveling lecture series and showcase, and the Two Degrees invitation-only gatherings. Ayres also served on the board of advisors of the TED Conference and was the executive director of the TED Prize.

Today, Ayres is the CEO and founder of Comedic Ventures, an artist management and event production company, and is a TED speaker coach and the current licensee and curator of TEDxMarin.

We were happy to sit down with Ayres to learn more about why laughter matters and what he looks for in comedians.

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I would love to hear your perspective on the show you’re working on for New Year’s Eve and what you kept in mind while developing a show for a Marin audience.

I’ve been producing comedy shows and picking comedians to put on a stage since I was 20, and I’m an old fart now. I have a good sense of what I like and appreciate, and what I’ve come to see works best. It also aligns with Marin’s culture. I mainly book comedians who are wordsmiths and who play to people’s hearts and minds rather than their aggression or anger. If you go to a club these days, many club comedians, to get attention, are divisive. It’s harder to find comedians who don’t rely on that approach, but those are the kind who tend to have long and wonderful careers.

I’ve done the New Year’s Eve Comedy Showcase in Marin for 12 years now. I am always looking for comedians who are more cerebral and kinder on stage. They rely more on making points about modern society or observations about life that we never put together before, things that make us laugh and think.


We’re coming out of this crazy time. I’d love to hear your perspective on laughter: why it’s important and why we need it.

We all inherently understand that it’s a good thing when we laugh. Scientists have proven that endorphins and other incredible chemical reactions occur when we laugh. They’re among the best medicines we have, and that happens without us thinking about it. It just happens, and it’s a good thing. People get addicted to laughing. Some go to comedy shows all the time or seek out comedy on television or streaming platforms because once you start exercising, it’s in your system. You want to keep doing it. It’s tremendous healing. I also think comedians are the final and maybe the last truth-tellers we have in society. They can say things that need to be said out loud, but also make us smile.


Let’s talk about politically incorrect comedy.

Politically incorrect comedy is a tough thing now for comedians. Comedians are under a lot of pressure to be politically correct. There’s pushback from the comedy world to say: Hey, that’s what we do. We make fun. We shine a light on things we need to discuss as a society. But there’s a right way to do that. The right way to do it is not to be divisive or to shame anybody for their opinions but rather to point out the hypocrisy on all sides. I think it’s essential to allow comedians to have more free rein, not free to say anything, but to give them a longer rope to hang themselves.


That’s a fascinating point because we all sense the tension going on right now.
If you listen to the world-famous comedians, they’re all pushing back and saying: Hey, wait a minute. This is our art form. It’s like asking a jazz player not to hit specific notes. You don’t do that. You let them play.


Tell us more about the comedians you selected for this year’s New Year’s Eve Show in Marin.

The New Year’s Eve show is for people interested in laughing at jokes that won’t offend or make them uncomfortable. It’s a really strong show. Our audience will be in front of comedians who make them think by sharing funny takes on modern life.


Pamela Coddington is a writer and editor. Full disclosure: She is a big supporter of the arts in Marin County and has done work with Youth in Arts, Image Flow Photography Center, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Smith Andersen North, and Headlands Center for the Arts. Pamela is a graduate of New York University with a B.A. in Art History, and holds a post-baccalaureate degree in writing from U.C. Berkeley. Pamela lives and works in San Rafael with her family.