Stand-Up and Stand-Out: Two Comic Powerhouses in Southampton

Hamptons.com interviewed Iris Bahr (July 6th) and Jamie Denbo (July 13th) about their careers and upcoming Sticks and Stones shows in Southampton. Both of these dynamite talents will perform their one-woman shows at 6 p.m. on consecutive Sundays in July. Sticks and Stones Comedy Club is located inside the Southampton Cultural Center in Southampton.

Many may know Iris Bahr from her scene-stealing performances on Hacks, opposite Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, opposite Larry David. The multi-talented actress, comedian, and writer is also the recipient of the Lucille Lortel Storytelling Award and two Drama Desk nominations. “I started doing comedy and one-woman shows back in L.A. after college and discovered my love and affinity for playing characters,” Bahr explained. “My first six shows I played around nine to ten different characters per show, but the last two years I’ve focused on autobiographical storytelling and have connected with the audience on a whole different level.” As for inspirations and who she admires, Bahr was very forthcoming, saying, “There are many comics and actors who have inspired me. Having gone to see Lily Tomlin and Whoopi Goldberg live in their one-person shows when I was younger was highly inspiring. I love Carlin, Pryor, and Spalding Gray, too.”

Bahr is bringing her most recent one-woman show — entitled Stories From the Brink! My Festive Near-Death Adventures — to the MainStage at Sticks and Stones Comedy Club on Sunday, July 6th at 6pm. She will do an Audience Q&A Talkback right after the performance. While she started writing the show after being in Israel with her young son on October 7th, she explains that “the show is funny and touching storytelling about my near-death experiences around the globe, and not standard stand-up.” Ms. Bahr said she is excited about bringing the show to Southampton. She said, “I’ve been on tour across the US and Canada and am excited to be back playing for a NY audience. Having done a run in the East Village for a few months, I’m excited to venture to the Hamptons for a different experience. And honestly, who doesn’t want to go to Southampton?”

Jamie Denbo is both a world-class writer and television producer of Grey’s Anatomy as well as an award-winning improv performer. “I don’t really do stand-up as much as sort of improv and character-based comedy,” said Ms. Denbo. “My influences are always the Jewish pioneers… You know, the Joan Rivers, Gilda Radner, and Goldie Hawn.” She explained it was these character actresses who made her believe, “… that a little Jewish girl from the suburbs could do this.”

After winning accolades at the Edinburgh Fringe Fest and performing this show to sold-out audiences, Jamie Denbo is bringing her one-woman show to Sticks and Stones on Sunday, July 13th at 6pm. BEVERLY SAVES YOUR WORLD! is based on her much-beloved character Beverly Ginsberg. “Beverly is a boomer trying to do her best in a very rapidly changing world,” said Denbo. “She wants to understand kids… She has two very dysfunctional twin daughters in their late 30s. But if she had grandchildren, she would want to be able to relate to them. So, she’s doing her best and falling short at every turn. But that’s what makes her lovable, is her constant efforts. So, we laugh at her and with her, because I hope that we’re finding familiarity in the best of people, trying and falling short, which is, generally speaking, the best of human experience.”

“For me, it’s about pushing boundaries and finding the line,” said Denbo. “At this point, I’ve been able to pretty much understand where the line is, and so when I can bring an audience to the point of laughing at something that is unexpected for them and a release of tension, that’s what we’re all there for. I know that I’ve gotten them good.”

Ms. Denbo said her desire to entertain at first never felt like a realistic career goal, saying, “When you grow up in sort of a sleepy New England town in a serious Jewish community, you think, good, if I’m a professional anything, it’ll be either a PhD in academia or a paralegal.” She confessed that path never felt particularly interesting. In college, she found improv comedy. She added, “And all bets were off because that’s what I felt the most a part of.” She explained that “there’s not a tremendous amount of memorization that has to happen. And frankly, the spontaneity and the laughter was something that I wanted. It became an addiction. I was addicted to more and more laughter for myself and for those around me.”

This will be Jamie Denbo’s first time in the Hamptons. She has performed “in New York City a bunch.” For example, she will have two shows on the evening of July 22nd at the Caveat Theater in Manhattan. You can always find her on Instagram, promoting and advocating as best as she can for the causes she believes in. She is married with two children.

See the one-woman shows of Iris Bahr (July 6th) and Jamie Denbo (July 13th) at 6pm at the Sticks and Stones Comedy Club.