Brooklyn’s 50 Funniest People: Eve Peyser
Eve Peyser
Eve Peyser’s voice is one that you’ll want to make part of your regular media diet. A regular contributor to New York Magazine, BuzzFeed, The New Inquiry, The Verge, The Daily Dot, she’s now a full-time writer for Cosmopolitan, which might not be a humor publication exactly, but benefits greatly from Peyser’s darkly humorous takes on technology and dating. She also hosts a comedy show called, perfectly, Just Pussy.
When was the first time you remember making someone laugh? What happened?
Oh gosh, I guess I always made people laugh? When I was a kid, I was really kid-funny—extremely silly without any of that adult self-consciousness—and adults were just so amused by me. I was a real energetic theatrical weirdo little girl. I loved to entertain people, especially my family.
I would play these make-pretend games with my godfather where I was a mean teacher named Teacher and he was my student, and teach him made-up U.S. history: Our founding fathers were Carson Daly and JC Chasez and our founding mothers Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. I’d crack my family up when I’d teach them about what happened during the great Ham and Turkey wars. Then I went through puberty, and got all self-conscious and snarky, and now I’m me, still here, making people laugh in one way or another, all the time, always, forever.
What is the toughest part about being on the comedy scene in Brooklyn today? What is the best?
Both the best and more difficult part is for sure all the eligible bachelors I meet. That’s why I got into comedy in the first place: to find a husband.
(JK)
Who do you find funny?
My sister and (soon to be) brother-in-law, who are both corporate attorneys, make me laugh harder than anyone else. We all have the same sense of humor, and plus, what’s more funny than a depressingly real joke about your crazy ass families. My favorite thing about being funny is the intimacy it fosters, which is why I laugh the most with my friends and (some members of) my family.
When it comes to people I’m not intimately acquainted with, I love Chris Gethard’s standup because of how raw and honest it is. It’s the only stand-up I’ve ever cried to. His storytelling has a real earnestness to it; so much of comedy feels inherently defensive, and Chris doesn’t fall into that. (Also, his improv show that he occasionally does at UCB with Tami Sagher is the most transcendently amazing improv you can see.)
Other people I’ve seen around town/on Twitter/performed in my show who crack me up all the time: Aparna Nancherla, Josh Gondelman, Mitra Jouhari, Ana Fabrega, Jonny Sun, Catherine Cohen, and literally everybody who works at Clickhole.
What was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?
Probably last night when I was stoned, watching Bob’s Burgers.
What are your goals for your comedy career?
My concrete goals are pretty in flux: Basically, I want to get paid to write (and eventually perform) funny things that I have fun writing, things I’m proud of.
What is your favorite knock-knock (or otherwise goofy) joke?
I’m not big on goofy jokes, but I love memes more than anything, so I’ll leave you with one of my favorite tweets by the brilliant Jonny Sun: “SO embarased…thought sombody cute was staring at me so i stared back. but then i realized we were both just the negative space around a vase.”
To see 49 more of Brooklyn’s funniest people, click here.
Photo by Nicolas Maloof.
