Words reflect who we are, and standup comedian, actress, and writer Tara Cannistraci understands that better than anyone. As an Italian American from the Bronx, Tara is well known for discussing Italian New Yorkers’ unique ways of talking. She frequently performs standup routines at comedy clubs across North America and Canada, has been the scoreboard host for the Yankees, and was featured on SNY’s award-winning show, “Oh Yeah!”
A rising social media star, Tara has garnered over 200,000 followers by sharing the words she grew up with, doing on-the-street interviews throughout NYC in her YouTube series Bouroughbreds, and hosting her weekly podcast, Cawfee Tawk with Tara Cannistraci.
I chatted with Tara about the classic female comedians who influenced her, how she balances authenticity in her standup and social media work, and what’s next for her.
Growing up, in retrospect, do you look back and say, “Oh, this all makes sense now. Yep, I had this poignant moment when I was little where I knew I’d be in comedy”?
There was a moment when I knew I’d be in comedy. I found myself drawn to The Carol Burnett Show and I Love Lucy. I lived with my grandparents—many New York Italians did—and they would watch those shows. I also put on one-woman shows in my living room.
The New York Italian came into play more recently when I realized that just being who I was, my most authentic self, was relatable. It sounds so corny because you hear about it constantly, but that was the secret. People want to feel like they’re being represented. When I’m a New York Italian, I also represent people who moved out of New York and feel like their family in Chicago, Rhode Island, or Canada sounds like me. You don’t realize how universal you are when you’re so specific.
A rising social media star, Tara has garnered over 200,000 followers by sharing the words she grew up with, doing on-the-street interviews throughout NYC in her YouTube series Bouroughbreds, and hosting her weekly podcast, Cawfee Tawk with Tara Cannistraci.
I chatted with Tara about the classic female comedians who influenced her, how she balances authenticity in her standup and social media work, and what’s next for her.
Growing up, in retrospect, do you look back and say, “Oh, this all makes sense now. Yep, I had this poignant moment when I was little where I knew I’d be in comedy”?
There was a moment when I knew I’d be in comedy. I found myself drawn to The Carol Burnett Show and I Love Lucy. I lived with my grandparents—many New York Italians did—and they would watch those shows. I also put on one-woman shows in my living room.
The New York Italian came into play more recently when I realized that just being who I was, my most authentic self, was relatable. It sounds so corny because you hear about it constantly, but that was the secret. People want to feel like they’re being represented. When I’m a New York Italian, I also represent people who moved out of New York and feel like their family in Chicago, Rhode Island, or Canada sounds like me. You don’t realize how universal you are when you’re so specific.
I’m curious when you started to see that it’s okay to have this heavy accent?
A few years ago, I got nostalgic one day. Somebody said a word I hadn’t heard in a long time, and I felt like these words I grew up hearing had an expiration date on them. They were words that my family members would say. I took the phone, put it up to my face, said, “These are words and phrases I heard growing up in my New York Italian neighborhood,” and posted the video. I thought nothing of it.
Then my husband came home and I asked, “Did you see that video I posted? Was it stupid?” And he goes, “Yeah, take it down.” And I was like, “Oh my God, it was,” and I went to grab my phone to take it down and it had 100,000 views. At the time, I didn’t even have that big of a following like now. I was like, “Wait, something’s happening.” Then it had 300,000 views. I realized a lot of people felt the same way I did. They’re just like me, reminiscing about where we came from.
With your growing social media following, how do you stay authentic to who you are while still adapting to all these trends and algorithms?
It’s such a full-time job. I love connecting and engaging with people I normally wouldn’t have been able to, but I wasn’t so savvy with social media. You really need to curate your own audience. The clubs don’t care if you’re funny, they care if you can sell tickets. It’s the reality of the business I’m in right now. So, for me, I have committed to not being goal-focused. I’m not going to look at the number of followers, I’m going to focus on the systems. I will put out what I think my audience would like and try to follow certain trends, but I stick with what’s worked: being a New York Italian.
You’ve worked with a ton of amazing comedians. Have they given you advice that stands out and has helped you grow?
Joey Diaz called me a few weeks ago and said, “There’s plenty of funny comics that can’t sell tickets. What are you doing to connect with your audience? They need to know more about you.” That’s when I started Cawfee Tawk, my podcast, where for 10 minutes every Monday morning, with a cup of coffee in my hand, I share more personal things than I’ve ever shared before, which is a new thing for me.
Josh Wolf told me, too, “The more specific you are, the more you stay true to who you are, the bigger your audience is going to grow. Do you think you’re limiting yourself? You’re not. You’re really expanding your audience.” Getting that cosign from somebody so successful and talented like Josh made me think, “All right, I could do this.”
Let’s talk briefly about when you worked with the Yankees fans. Are there any takeaways that help set you up for your career now?
Living in front of 50,000 people, believe it or not, is easier than standup comedy—getting on stage by yourself to make strangers laugh simultaneously, is harder. You see them, you’re right there, and nobody else is talking to you. With interviewing fans, and standup, you must be able to improvise, and I can, so that helps me out. As far as comedy is concerned, you never know what you’ll get.
Mentally, how do you stay in the zone in those moments?
Staying in the zone when you’re not connecting with an audience is hard, especially if it’s standup. The thing that’s been able to help me the most is to face the fact that it’s never about me. I have an obligation to those people. People had to leave their house and spend money on tickets. Some of my audience had to get a babysitter. They could be going through really hard times. They deserve my best. I’ve got to cater to them and not make it about me. So that helps, shifting the responsibility from “Why don’t they think this is funny?” to “What do I need to do to make these people laugh?”
What do you have coming up that you’re excited about?
The residency in Canada is exciting. It’s in Niagara Falls, and it’s so centrally located—it’s like a destination trip. People go there for the casino, the Falls—there are things to do. I can branch out and get exposure from people from different cities.
For more information on Tara Cannistraci, visit taracannistraci.com