Growing up in Southern New Jersey, I was just like any other kid. I was busy staying active and playing sports. My friends in my neighborhood, in the Lenola section of Moorestown, were a cast of characters, in fact I was probably the least funny of the group. Becoming a professional comedian never crossed my mind.
As a senior at Wagner College in Staten Island, NY, my friends nominated me for the “Mr. Wagner” competition. I had to come up with something for the talent show. The thing I enjoyed the most was story telling. So I went on stage that night telling various stories from my college years, many of which included stories about my friends and others in the audience, so the crowd could relate. The adrenaline rush that I experienced that night from being on stage and receiving lots of laughs was something I could not stop thinking about.
After graduation, I got a great job in sales and had the opportunity to continue my education. I returned to Wagner College to pursue my MBA in management at night where I recognized many old friends from undergrad. My classmates, who had been there that first night I got up on stage, often asked me why I hadn’t tried an open mic night for comedy. They enjoyed my story telling and sense of humor so much they thought I should try stand up comedy. Before I knew it, I was performing in my first open mic on May 22, 2006 at Martini Red in Staten Island.
After 2 years of performing I decided to make comedy my career and created Soul Joel Productions. My company has successfully produced weekly comedy shows throughout the Northeast featuring award winning headliners from Saturday Night Live, Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime, Sirius Satellite Radio, MTV, Cringe Humor, and Opie & Anthony. You can see me driving all over New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in my Soul Joel mobile.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned while being in the entertainment business is that funny is funny and it can be done without the need to curse. Sure, as most rookies have done, I had cursed early on in my career. But now I find it more rewarding to be more creative through not cursing. This makes for a perfect fit for my radio show The Comedy Point with Soul Joel, which is regulated by the FCC with a zero tolerance policy.
Every Tuesday night you can hear me and my comedy friends on The Comedy Point LIVE on 99.1FM at 1110AM in Orange County or online at wtbq.com from 6:00pm – 8:00pm. Tune in and let me know what you think of my show!
Get me to visit YOUR School!
I would be honored to come speak at your school. All you have to do is ask your teacher or principal to invite me.
I’m the perfect guest speaker for classes and school events for kids ages 13 and up. Tell your teachers about me and show them this site. If they agree, they will find all the information they need to reach me on the Parents and Teachers page.