“I believed I used to be going to be a political satirist and activist, altering the world in a extremely loopy, cringe means,” comic Stephanie D’Agostini — who goes by Stef Dag — tells me on a Saturday morning in New York, “however just about instantly, I believed, ‘That’s not for me. I am simply going to be humorous.’” We’re chatting within the wake of an try at bleached eyebrows, which Dag chronicled on her social media platforms. Her presence in that enviornment, spearheaded by her TikTok present Scorching & Single, introduces Dag’s spirited, flirty, and sardonic voice. “My mother referred to as me. She was like, ‘Are you OK? That’s not one thing regular individuals do,’” she smirks, petting her pale eyebrows, “She’s Croatian, and she or he was freaking out. She was like, ‘You do not appear nicely.’ And I mentioned, ‘No, mother. That is what individuals do in New York.’”
It’s this type of sentiment that Dag attracts on typically, which she describes to me as “critique from the within.” As a former Conde Nast video director, NYU graduate, to not point out Bushwick resident — she definitely is aware of, and resides in, the absurdity of town, particularly the scene downtown — she breaks in the course of the interview just a few instances to throw informal shade at Dimes Sq. tradition, gripe in regards to the downfall of the shitpost left, and unpack what it means when ironic type goes too far. That being mentioned, Dag’s TikTok present is endearing, and whereas holding a mirror to town’s infamously troublesome — if not laughable — relationship scene, she’s snarky however effervescent, filled with wink-wink sarcasm however avoiding mockery of the individuals, one-time visitor Dua Lipa apart, that she pulls off a park bench or subway platform to interview.
Learn extra: How punk rock taught slapstick comedian Neil Rubenstein to pay it ahead
Dag’s stand-up is one other story. Shock worth, the rising comedian had realized, as she veered from the political enviornment, was the last word purpose. And thus, she entered the ether of darkish comedy. Nothing is off limits for Dag — although every part comes by means of an unexpectedly private lens. The extra individuals she upsets, the extra gas she appears to have. She texts me late Monday night time after the interview, to let me know, excitedly, about “candid girlfriend,” her controversial viral cameo on Kareem Rahma’s SubwayTakes: “I by some means managed to piss off alt-right incels and liberal gen z…which I feel is gorgeous and unifying <3” She additionally pissed off Emrata, and a slew of others. It’s a troublesome line to toe, however Dag appears to be doing the dance proper, swaying between sarcasm-doused and brutally direct. It’s definitely not for everybody’s palate. And Dag embraces that.
Oh! The Horror, Dag’s newest present, is coming to New York on July 19, on the Chelsea Music Corridor. Learn our dialog and enter the darkness with Dag under — and seize a seat for the stay act.
Earlier than we discuss your present, I simply need to know extra about you. The place did you come from, the place did you develop up, and the way did you find yourself doing comedy?
I am from Jersey. Tremendous trashy, rural city, opioid metropolis. My mother is Croatian. My dad’s like a Tony Soprano — if Tony Soprano was a simp. Rising up in New Jersey, I did all of the theater stuff — then for school, I went to NYU Gallatin Faculty [of Individualized Study], which is the college the place you make up your personal main. I made one up referred to as “Consciousness and Troublemaking” — that’s actually what it says on my diploma. For the immigrant mother, that was a nightmare. She was like, “Please research science” — and I used to be like, “No, I will do consciousness and troublemaking!” What does it even imply? That may be a nice query. Throughout my time at Gallatin, I modified my main 5 instances, and received dropped by three advisors who mentioned, “You do not know what you are doing” — which was true, but it surely’s additionally loopy to present an 18-year-old free vary to make up their very own main. On the finish of my junior 12 months, I studied overseas in Argentina. At our end-of-the-year celebration on research overseas, one other scholar dared me to go up and roast this system. That roast was the primary time I did stand-up. It was actually imply… And I used to be like, “I really like this.”
Whenever you received up and did the roast of this system and also you mentioned you liked it, what about it did you like? Was it extra inner or the viewers response?
I preferred the shock worth, and that is caught with me by means of my type now. I like saying issues that nobody expects me to say. I used to be the category clown in this system. I used to be all the time fucking round, however after I went up and I individually referred to as out everybody in this system, everybody’s jaws dropped. I positively went there, one hundred percent — after which I went 10% extra. And I preferred that response. I’ve all the time been an enormous fan of roast reveals, and I simply all the time suppose that if comedy does not ruffle just a few feathers, to me it is just a little bit boring, personally. Possibly not deliberately, however that is why now my comedy is so darkish — there’s one thing about everybody being like, “There is no means this horrible factor might be humorous…”
What got here subsequent, after that second?
After this system, I got here again my senior 12 months prepared to leap into comedy full time. That’s after I modified my main to Consciousness and Troublemaking, which was basically political satire. That was the gist of it. My thesis was Jon Stewart and the Trump election. I believed I used to be going to be a political satirist and activist, altering the world in a extremely loopy, cringe means. However just about instantly, I believed, “That’s not for me. I am simply going to be humorous.” That’s after I began doing my very own stand-up, and now I have been doing it for 9 years. The primary six years, nothing occurred and no person cared. It was a zero-sum recreation. It was solely in my seventh 12 months, two years in the past, that something began occurring.
I can think about with political satire, there is a ceiling. Throughout that election, even within the blue chip artwork world, issues reached a degree of like, “OK, let’s please cease making artwork about Trump. There’s sufficient now.”
The opposite factor about it’s the liberals can be making political satire about Republicans, and vice versa. If Republicans are making artwork, I do not know. However none of it’s truly that attention-grabbing, as a result of everybody in that circle already agrees. The attention-grabbing factor is to criticize your personal celebration and make enjoyable of the entire thing. That is what bothers me about tradition now. In case you’re a liberal making enjoyable of the appropriate, all of us are on board with that — somebody wants to come back up and roast themselves. In case you’re a girl, it’s best to roast feminism just a little bit, critique it from the within.
Did you watch stand-up comedy rising up?
Extra in highschool. I liked stand-up, and I used to transcribe specials in my journal to be taught jokes and stuff.
Who was your favourite?
My favourite comedians rising up have been Amy Schumer and Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry Seinfeld is No. 1 — I fucking watch Seinfeld on daily basis. Now I feel my favourite comedians are extra like… Doug Stanhope is absolutely good, and Maria Bamford is enjoyable as nicely. Anthony Jeselnik is nice. These are all darkish individuals.
You mentioned that you simply love roasts, in your opinion which is the very best roast?
The Roast of Bob Saget. Fucking imply and so humorous. Holy shit. I simply suppose roasts are a good looking, excellent artwork kind. At its core, it’s excellent joke writing. It’s imply, however it’s simply an train in what number of jokes you’ll be able to write about this one factor with no boundaries on what you’ll be able to say, which is uncommon now — to method issues that means.
Oh yeah. Has anybody roasted you earlier than in a proper means?
I all the time inform my mates that my dream is to do a roast of myself, and so they’re like, “You do not truly need that. You’d cry.” However I nonetheless do throw these roast reveals which can be the roast of New York, the roast of LA, the roast of Austin. It’ll be 20 comedians that come up and do three minutes of roast jokes in regards to the metropolis, which has been a enjoyable train. It is utterly totally different than roasting an individual, clearly. It is just a little bit extra of a buttoned-up model of a roast. However I’d like to do a roast. It is not that huge in New York, or perhaps I am probably not tapped into the roast comedy group. Nevertheless it’s huge in Austin, which is sensible. Joe Rogan world.
Whenever you mentioned that in seven years issues modified for you, to start with, what was occurring throughout these seven years? Had been you working whereas doing stand-up?
Proper out of faculty, I labored at Conde Nast as a video director for GQ and Vogue. That was a real 9-to-5 corporate-held job, after which I’d do comedy at night time. In my view, in your first six years, you need to be dangerous at comedy. I do not suppose anybody ought to be good once they first begin. It is best to simply be throwing shit on the wall. I used to be doing two open mics an evening or a number of reveals every week or no matter, after which I began throwing my very own present. However after I say nothing was occurring, I imply the business did not care if I lived or died. No one cared. My social media wasn’t going viral in any kind of means, which was much less of a factor then, however nonetheless some individuals have been actually popping on the web, and I wasn’t. Then COVID occurred, and I just about did not do comedy for a year-and-a-half. I’ve actually dangerous stage fright, so after I do not do it for some time, I get anxious pondering of doing stand-up. So after that year-and-a-half, I believed I’d misplaced my confidence. However I slowly began getting again into it and getting just a little bit seen. I keep in mind Nikki Glaser DMed as soon as, and I used to be like, “Oh, my God, I will be well-known now.” However no, nothing occurred. Shit like that. However in that final 12 months, I made Scorching & Single, my TikTok present, and that exploded fairly rapidly. Every little thing snowballed. My clips began going viral. I began having the ability to promote tickets. So, it is actually solely been within the final year-and-a-half that I’ve had illustration and anybody gave a shit about me.
In your stand-up now, if you’re speaking about “darkish” issues — Epstein Island, 9/11 — what do you suppose makes your take totally different from one other comic who’s additionally working with extra taboo topics?
That is an excellent query. I feel something anybody says about one thing goes to be totally different than anyone else’s perspective as a result of any opinion you’ve goes to be absolutely painted, whether or not you notice it or not, by your personal experiences. Additionally, it’s not like I’m going and attempt to discover darkish topics and write jokes about them. I truly attempt to write about regular issues, and the darkness simply comes out, even after I do not even need it to. The opposite day I gave myself a writing train. I used to be like, “Let me write about one thing so observational and mundane, one thing Jerry Seinfeld would write about.” I began writing about veterans boarding planes first. So fundamental, and I ended up writing quarter-hour on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of many guys who organized 9/11, who dyed his beard cowboy copper in jail, which is the shade I simply dyed my hair, and realized this connection between us. I simply cannot assist it. It is intentional in any means.
That one units you aside for certain. What’s in your TikTok algorithm proper now?
It is all Taylor Swift and Matty Healy.
There’s your shock worth.
Sure, the most important shock about me is that I like Taylor Swift lore.
All of us do, someplace deep down. Is your present lots of new materials?
Sure and no, as a result of my hour is absolutely every part I received. So there are jokes in there that I began seven years in the past. There are some jokes in there that I am nonetheless engaged on proper now. I feel with this hour, I do need to check out some new stuff. I am planning to launch a particular within the subsequent six months, hopefully. So I am actually attempting to lock down thematically what that hour is and what I ought to take out and what I ought to exchange. It will be just a little bit unfastened. Particularly in the midst of attempting a joke, I’ll ask the viewers what they suppose, perhaps pivot to a different joke if they do not prefer it. I have been having enjoyable doing that just a little bit. It makes the viewers really feel part of it. However it’s my first time doing my hour in New York. I’ve solely carried out it on the highway.
Do you are feeling like New York is a special viewers? Are there extra discerning or one thing?
Each viewers is totally different. I’ve discovered that doing comedy to your family and friends is the toughest. Anytime I’ve carried out a present the place my family and friends are there, I’m like, “Why aren’t you guys laughing extra?” My brother will sit within the entrance row and be lifeless critical, simply not chuckle. However I’ve my greatest viewers in New York, so lots of people may have seen me earlier than, and a few of my mates within the metropolis have been watching me do stand-up for seven years — in order that they’ll have to listen to my abortion joke yet another time.
What else is developing?
Planning on doing a particular. I am going to maintain touring within the fall across the nation. I will the Competition Fringe in Scotland in August with my buddy. Additionally, I’ve an unscripted present that I have been engaged on and growing that is being pitched to totally different networks, which is what I am probably the most enthusiastic about. I do not know the way a lot I can say about it, however it’s a Nathan for You-type present. I have been engaged on it for years, and I feel it’s extra indicative of my voice and my perspective than any of the opposite stuff that I’ve been doing on-line.
Are you as assured in doing issues which can be much less deliberate out?
Yeah, I feel the factor I am greatest at is interacting with actual individuals. That is what I like about Scorching & Single — I am simply speaking to individuals, and I could make them really feel snug in a means that they’re going to say one thing that I do know goes to be taken unsuitable or straightforward to poke enjoyable at, but it surely does not really feel mean-spirited. I do not know tips on how to describe this, and I do not need to make it like a boy vs. lady factor, however I do suppose there is a particular sort of comedy that’s gotcha comedy, like a bait-and-switch comedy. Whenever you have a look at who has carried out it professionally, it is like Nathan Fielder and Sacha Baron Cohen. With Nathan for You, it is my favourite present of all time, however generally you are like, “Oh, my God, these individuals look so silly, and it is imply, for higher or for worse.” It’s imply, and he is nice at that, and it is as a result of he is barely autistic, and he can get away with that. I am unable to get away with that. I am not an autistic middle-aged man, and I’d simply be an enormous bitch if I have been doing it to individuals.
There is a totally different notion.
It is extra like, “Properly, how can I be candy and get individuals to be snug?” Then they’re going to say one thing, and it feels just a little bit extra foolish however nonetheless will get that very same cringe, awkward second state of affairs. There’s something about that that feels just a little extra inherently female to me as a result of I feel we care extra about placing individuals in an uncomfortable scenario. So the one different girl I do know that has carried out that actually nicely is that this comic Jena Friedman, who’s unbelievable, however she’ll do random interviews with individuals and make them look actually silly in an excellent means, but it surely has been dominated by males principally.
