Israeli-American comedian Avi Liberman brings his jokes about Jewish life to Vancouver
The L.A.-based artist known for his offbeat style appears at the 2021 Chutzpah! Festival
Avi Liberman.
The Chutzpah! Festival presents Avi Liberman on November 20 at 7 pm at the Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre; digital stream available.
ISRAELI- AMERICAN COMEDIAN Avi Liberman remembers how, when he was a kid, his friends loved going out to movies while he preferred to spend his time and money renting comedy specials. The Nahariya-born Los Angeles-based artist has gone on to perform everywhere from the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Friday Night! to Comedy Central's Premium Blend and Make me Laugh; he has appeared at the prestigious Montreal Just for Laughs Festival.
Liberman, who will bring his offbeat stand-up loaded with Jewish anecdotes to the 2021 Chutzpah! Festival, admits that comedy wasn’t necessarily his first choice for a career.
“As a Jewish person, I flunked out law school and med school. Comedy was the only thing left that I was supposed to do,” Liberman quips in a phone interview with Stir.
Liberman discovered his love for stand-up during his days at New York’s Binghamton University, where he studied theatre. He came to better understand comedy on an analytical level there.
After moving to L.A. in 1994, Liberman worked as teaching assistant while pursuing comedy on the side. Eventually, he realized he had the potential to make a name for himself as a comic and keep a roof over his head.
“There is a time where you have to take the plunge because as long as you have another job, you are not taken seriously as a comedian,” Liberman says. “People think of your comedy passion as a hobby or something you are doing on the side.”
Liberman recalls a moment when a random person once asked him about his profession. After replying, "I am a comedian," Liberman was questioned if that is all he does. He stopped for a second and said, "Yes. That is it, that is all I do." It was a critical moment in Liberman's career, he says, hitting that realization where he could feel proud of himself for pursuing his passion and make a living doing what he loved to do.
“I felt like if I have made it at that moment, anything after that would be gravy,” he says.
Having grown up in a traditional Jewish environment, he found his niche, becoming the go-to comedian for events in the Jewish community.
Recently, Liberman was the first Israeli-born comedian to perform in United Arab Emirates, a place he describes as a tourist hot spot that’s largely populated by immigrants. "UAE is an amazing place to be. It felt like Arabs got together to make a brand-new Arab country but decided to not have too many Arabs," he says with a laugh.
Liberman’s work as a tour organizer for Comedy for Koby is well known. The event takes place twice a year in Israel to support The Koby Mandell Foundation, an organization helping family members of terror victims. For more than a decade, Liberman has brought some of the best North American comedians to Israel and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for bereaved children and families.
"Canada has some of the most phenomenal comedians,” he says, “and I have taken some of them even on the tour I do in Israel." (Harland Williams was among them.)
The tour has gained an immense amount of popularity over the years. There is even a documentary called The Land of Milk and Funny about the tour’s decade-long journey that includes performances by the likes of Dennis Regan and Roy Wood Jr.
Although his upcoming appearance will be Liberman's first time performing at the Chutzpah! Festival, he is not new to Canada's comedy scene.
"It was great performing in Vancouver last time,” he says. “I have heard nothing but great things about The Chutzpah! Festival and any time we can perform live now-a-days, we get thrilled.”
When asked what he has planned for the event and what the audience may expect, he cuts to the chase: he has jokes planned and expects the crowd to laugh. “I am also looking forward to meeting and working with guest comedians Kyle Berger and Jacob Samuel,” he says.
More information is at the Chutzpah! Festival: https://www.chutzpahfestival.com/2021/avi-liberman.
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