Interview: Dan Goodman and JoAnna Ross from Schtick a Pole in It

Dan Goodman and JoAnna Ross are the comedians behind New York City's Schtick a Pole in It, a hilarious and enticing comedy show-meets-pole-dancing extravaganza at DROM in the East Village. We sat down with the power duo to learn how this show first came about, the challenges they faced getting started (and during the pandemic), and why they love New York.

Can you tell us how you got started in comedy? What is your background? How did you two meet?

JoAnna Ross: I started dancing at the age of three. That turned into me having the honor to be in the Original Broadway Cast of Footloose. Somewhere in the two years of me dancing on Broadway, I started to really love comedy. I was surrounded by great comedic, musical theater divas who were schooling me on the business and were so funny. I wanted to be funny. I moved to LA and ended up in a writing class and prepared what would be my first five minutes of comedy. I had to do them in front of someone so I went to a coffee shop open mic, waited for probably two hours to go up, and then when I did there was probably only one person left at the coffee shop (plus my one friend from the writing class). That one person laughed and I have been hooked on stand-up ever since.

Dan and I met at a comedy show. I went to hang out. He was in the show. The producer introduced me to all the comics and Dan had on an MLB jacket so I was immediately interested. He then went on stage and was super funny so I fell in love. Don't tell Dan.

Dan Goodmana??a??a??a??a??a??: My background is I had no backup plan in college other than doing stand-up. I graduated with a BA in English but the whole time I knew I was going to do stand-up. I pretended I was going to do some other things, probably because I was a little afraid to tell anyone my only plan was to do stand-up. A bunch of shows and a couple of side jobs later, including a sandwich cart, I'm here. When I met JoAnna at a show I was like, "cool, haha, fun chat, she's never gonna date me." She seemed like she was popular in high school which normally means as an adult I don't want to deal with you. I ran into her later at a different show and then I finally started to believe she might actually like me.

Tell us how you got the idea to mix pole dancing and comedy together.

DG: It probably started with Skinja. I had this joke in my act for years. I was going to make a movie about a stripper by night, a ninja by later that night. A friend convinced me we could shoot a short, teaser trailer. So I needed a Skinja. JoAnna was working at a pole dancing studio and said I have the perfect girl. We ended up using a bunch of dancers from that studio as well. Working with them on set, I was shocked that they had so few places to perform outside of gyms and dance studios. So when it came time to throw a benefit for a friend JoAnna had this great idea...

JR: A friend of ours got diagnosed with breast cancer so I was like, "let's do a show with like 20 pole dancers and 20 comics." Dan was like, "I don't know, and not that many people should be on a show." We ended up with five dancers and five comics and it's been that way ever since. Also, our friend is doing GREAT!

We're glad to hear about your friend. Can you tell us the biggest challenge you faced getting started?

JR: We started with the audience standing through the whole show. That was rough because people couldn't see. Once we started adding seating the show got better.

DG: For me, the biggest challenge was getting used to doing other things before I go onstage. Like as a comic you normally just show up at the venue, look at your setlist, and go onstage. When we started doing the show, I was setting up cameras, moving furniture, and eventually putting up a pole. It really changed how I prepared for the show.

How did you go about finding the talent?

JR: Knowing a lot of dancers helped in the beginning. Some of the dancers did the show every month or every other month for the first year. Then by word of mouth dancers started reaching out to us. Instagram makes it all a little easier for dancers to reach out to us and us to them. We still know most of the dancers, try to go see anything that's happening with the pole in the area, and we love getting recommendations.

DG: For the comics, JoAnna and I have both been doing stand-up a long time so we have a pretty deep rolodex of friends and acquaintances. NYC is still one of the best places to do stand-up in the world so there's a pretty great talent pool to choose from.

What was the initial reaction from the audience at the very first show?

JR: We are really lucky. We always get a great reaction from the audience. Usually, I have never seen a show like this or they just tell us how much fun they had. I think I can safely say everyone leaves happy. They just saw two crazy things on stage. Pole dancing makes them scream and comedy makes them laugh. They leave exhausted.

DG: I'm still shocked that the first show we did there was a literal line out the door and we turned people away that night. It's kind of been like that for nine years.

What has been the biggest challenge during the pandemic? How has it been coming back?

JR: During the pandemic, we did a few zoom Schtick A Pole In It's from our home. It was more like a late-night talk show. The dancers all had poles in their homes, we could go to different states and countries which was cool. Dan and I did a lot of pre-taped segments which were really fun and A LOT of work. Eventually, we got burned out. Shows are hard when you don't have feedback from a live audience.

Since we have been back it's been incredible. We really didn't know what to expect but New Yorkers are ready to have some fun and they are not taking no for an answer. Our audiences are the best in town. They are in from the moment Dan or I set foot on the stage.

DG: You know coming back we weren't sure what it was going to be like. Everything felt harder than it used to be, but once the people started coming in, and it was showtime, we felt right back into the groove. Then Omicron happened and it got hard again for like a month, and then everyone went back to going out. Frankly, I think NYC is ready to explode in a good way this summer. I think it's the release we were all hoping for last summer.

Why is this show perfect for NYC?

DG: Only in NYC do you have this many talented performers all in one place. They're so many great people doing interesting things across all the arts in this city, a mixture like we have is really a celebration of the city. The show can go other places, but it could only be born in NYC.

Speaking of, will you expand to other cities in the future?

JR: Dan and I have always had that on our radar. We have done a few cities and it was amazing. The hardest thing is finding a venue. Once we find a venue I think we can make any city happen.

DG: We've gone to Chicago and Kansas City with the show in the past. It was great, but right now we just want to focus on doing more dates and more weekends in NYC. We want to see how far we can take it in New York before we go on the road again.

What is your absolute favorite thing about doing this show and why?

JR: Great question. I absolutely love seeing it all come together every time. To see the dancers in front of the audience and the audience laugh at the comics. I am like a proud mother in the back and all the performers are my children. I really want them to have a great set and a great dance routine and when that happens it is the best.

DG: Yeah there are nights when every element is working seamlessly and we feel like we pulled off a magic trick. It's very satisfying.

Upcoming shows for Schtick a Pole in It include the following: Fri 3/25 at 8pm & Sat 3/26 at 8pm - Theme: Guns N' Roses, Fri 4/8 at 8pm & Sat 4/9 at 8pm - Theme: Jesus Christ Superstar, and Fri 4/22 at 8pm & Sat 4/23 at 8pm - Theme: Janet Jackson. Additional dates will be announced in May. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.schtickapole.com.

(Photo courtesy of photographer Paul Park)