Love to Love to Love You: Talking with Isaac Fitzgerald and Saeed Jones about Tonight’s BuzzFeed Live Event at the Bell House

Tonight—and tonight ONLY—you can head over to the Bell House for the BuzzFeed Live show, Love to Love to Love You. Hosted by BuzzFeed editors Isaac Fitzgerald and Saeed Jones, it will feature appearances by writers and comedians, as well as new videos from BuzzFeed. Read on to find out more from Fitzgerald and Jones.

BuzzFeed is so many things! How did the idea for a live BuzzFeed show first come about?
Isaac: I used to run literary events when I lived in San Francisco, which gathered writers and comedians and musicians together for a big night of live entertainment. BuzzFeed Editor-in-chief Ben Smith heard about those events and asked me if I’d ever consider doing them here in New York. I absolutely love bringing people together in real life, especially when more and more of our days are spent looking at screens, so I of course said “yes.” The next thing I needed, though, was a collaborator.

Saeed: Isaac and I knew each other before either of us worked at BuzzFeed. And one thing I’ve learned is that Isaac is happiest when he’s cheering on people he admires and believes in. That’s why he’s a kick-ass Books Editor. And that’s why when he came to me with the idea of an event series where brilliant, crazy, earnest, hilariously talented people could come together and be themselves with each other and a rad audience, I knew he could pull it off. It was a no-brainer.

Do you feel like BuzzFeed Live is the spirit of Internet BuzzFeed manifest in live form?
Isaac: The idea is to bring all the incredible, talented people who are involved making the wide variety of things a reader finds on BuzzFeed to the stage, so yes, I really do see BuzzFeed Live as an extension of the site.

You both do awesome jobs working on the Internet, with written words. How comfortable are you with live programming? Does it scare or excite you? Have you done it before? If so, what is your favorite part of doing it?
Isaac: I have a deep love for live performance. The energy that comes from gathering so many people into one room, to focus on performers, to all be part of it together, is absolutely thrilling. Reading and writing are wonderful, but they can be lonely experiences. Every once in a while it’s nice to get out from behind the book, or the page, or the screen, and be surrounded by people.

Saeed: I have a deep love for making fun of Isaac in front of live audiences. I’m not good enough at it to quit my day job, but getting to goof around with my best bud and give some shine to a diverse group of writers, thinkers, and performers is just an absolute joy. I’m nervous about my outfit for the show because I haven’t had time to steal Isaac’s credit card and go shopping—yet.