Hop For Pop
Press Kit
Stand-up · Filmmaking · New York & Los Angeles
Maija DiGiorgio
She taped five national TV appearances in her first year of stand-up, blew up on stage in front of Hollywood executives at Aspen, and turned what followed into Bitter Jester, one of the most candid films ever made about the comedy business.
From
New York · now between New York and Los Angeles
Works in
Stand-up · Documentary filmmaking
Known for
Bitter Jester (2003) — writer, director, star
Early career
Five national TV appearances and HBO’s Aspen Comedy Festival in her first year
Interview
Instagram interview · @thecomicsunseen
“I don’t ever say really what I feel unless I’m on that microphone. It is really the best feeling when you can just be honest and the room laughs — they co-sign it.”
Maija DiGiorgio — Hop For Pop
Ready-to-use copy
Biography
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Maija DiGiorgio is a New York stand-up comedian and filmmaker. Her start was unusually fast: in her first year of stand-up she had already taped five national television appearances and performed at HBO’s Aspen Comedy Festival. It was at Aspen, in front of a room full of Hollywood executives, that her set came apart and she told the room, in her own words, exactly where to go.
Her therapist suggested a video diary. That diary became Bitter Jester (2003), which she wrote, directed and stars in, and which is now streaming on Prime Video and Apple TV. It follows the chaos of trying to make it in comedy and gathers an extraordinary list of comedians who speak with unusual honesty, among them Whoopi Goldberg, George Carlin, Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor. It drew rave reviews from Variety and The New York Times. When the film ran into trouble getting released, she says, George Carlin followed her for two blocks out of a bookstore to tell her not to back down.
She talks about the business as bluntly as she talks on stage. For her the stage itself has never been the problem; the business around it has been rough, and what gets her through is the love of connecting with a room. She counts Richard Pryor as the greatest of all time, for his ability to open up his soul and make an audience feel his fears.
The part other press kits leave out
What you should know before you book her
Maija DiGiorgio has seen the comedy business from the stage and from behind the camera, and she describes both with candour. On stage she prizes honesty, reading the room and giving a paying audience a real show.
Honest on the mic
She says she rarely says what she really feels anywhere except on stage, and that the best feeling is being honest and having the room co-sign it with a laugh.
Reads the room first
Reading the room is, in her view, probably more important than anything, even when the plan is to break it.
A believer in showmanship
She thinks showmanship has been pushed out of stand-up, and that an audience paying a hundred dollars a head deserves to be given a show.
Works it until it’s real
She follows Pryor’s idea of woodshedding a bit, working it over and over until the reality of the moment makes an audience stop and pay attention.
Trusts audiences over comics
Her regret is letting other comedians talk her out of her best material when audiences loved it every time. The audience, not the green room, is her test.
A filmmaker’s credential
Bitter Jester gives her something few stand-ups have: a critically praised feature documentary about the craft, featuring many of its biggest names.
For press · cleared for use with attribution
Quotable
01
“Once you try it (standup comedy), the worst thing that can happen is you’re funny and then you get the laugh — and then you can’t stop.”02
“They make you think you’re crazy. That’s how they control you in this business. My uncle, Henry LeTang — a Tony Award winner — told me that directly.”03
“George Carlin left the bookstore and followed me for two blocks. He said: ‘You can’t let them get away with what they did. Stick it to them. Don’t back down.’”04
“In New York, if I had a joke, someone would say, ‘You should write that down.’ In Los Angeles, they’ll go, ‘Oh that’s so good — I’m going to make that my own joke.’”05
“Comedy is an opening up of your soul. That’s why Pryor was the greatest of all time — he could make you connect to his fears as just a man, almost like a little kid in a grown-up body.”06
“It’s not a talent-driven business. This business is driven by social media numbers and agents protecting their own.”07
“The people who are truly talented — because they rely on their talent — they won’t bend on things they don’t agree with. And in this business, that costs them.”08
“The showmanship has been driven out of the business. The audience paid $100 a person minimum. Why can’t I give them a show?”09
“It took me a long time to realize: I wasn’t making trouble. I was just refusing to disappear.”10
“Pryor talked about woodshedding a bit — finding something, working and working it — until the reality of that moment makes the audience stop and say, ‘What’s going on over there?’ It’s magical.”11
“Reading the room is probably more important than anything. Even if you’re planning on breaking the room — you still have to read it first.”12
“They convinced me to give up my best material by running it in front of other comedians who said it wouldn’t work — even though audiences loved it every single time.”13
“The stage isn’t bad. It’s the business that’s been rough. But that love of connecting on that stage — that’ll get you through it. Stay there. Don’t leave it.”
Attribution: Maija DiGiorgio, in conversation with Hop For Pop. Read the interview.
Career
Selected credits
Film
- Bitter Jester (2003) — writer, director and star; rave reviews from Variety and The New York Times; streaming on Prime Video and Apple TV
- Featuring Whoopi Goldberg, George Carlin, Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor, among many others
Stand-up
- Five national television appearances taped in her first year of stand-up
- HBO’s Aspen Comedy Festival
Influences
Richard Pryor, whom she calls the greatest of all time.
This kit was produced by Hop For Pop. The interview and quotes are drawn from Maija DiGiorgio and Bitter Jester, published on Instagram by The Comics Unseen. Maija DiGiorgio and their representatives are free to use any part of this document — the biography, the quotes — for booking, press and promotion, with credit to Hop For Pop for the interview material.
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Read the full Instagram interview. Follow Hop For Pop on Instagram at @hopforpop and @thecomicsunseen.