Corrao Goes From Classroom To Comedy

By Steven J. Ferrari

It started as something she considered a “really cool hobby” while she taught sixth graders in South Florida, but even then, Lisa Corrao knew she wanted to make people laugh.

Lisa Corrao Photo by Bob Lasky

“The first time I was on stage, I was like, ‘I never want to do anything else,’” she said.
On Feb. 28, Corrao will headline at the Laughing Devil Comedy Club in Long Island City, her third appearance at the club.

Proud of the fact that she has always been considered a funny person, Corrao would tell her students that she was going to be a comedian someday. Now, about eight years into her comedy career, some of those same students are starting to be familiar faces when Corrao is on stage.

“Now they’re old enough to come to shows,” she said. “They follow me. It’s kind of weird.”
When she started to take the career more seriously, Corrao started to appear at The Improv in Miami. The club took her under its wing and helped her develop her routine. Now, Corrao has travelled all over the country and was even featured on Nick Jr.’s “NickMom Night Out” comedy show.

A single mother, Corrao said her act is not centered around that fact, although it is a part of her routine. The comedian is hesitant to define her act, however.

“Don’t ask me what kind of comedy I do,” she warned. “Basically, I make fun of stuff. I’m a terrible person.”

While she was born on Long Island, her parents moved to Florida not long after. Regardless, Corrao said she still had a Long Island accent until she was 8 or 9 years old.

“My dad was always trying to get me and my brothers to lose our accents,” she said. “’You’ll never meet a doctor or a NASA scientist with that accent,’ he’d tell us. Really, dad, that’s what you thought we’d do with our lives?”

Set for her third appearance at the Laughing Devil next week, Corrao said she is grateful to have caught the eye of owner Steve Hoffstetter, who she called a tough guy to impress in terms of comedy. Corrao took part in the club’s She-Devil Festival last year, an event featuring female comedians from around the country. In January, she made her second appearance as a featured performer. Next week, she will headline her own show at the club.

Having been born in New York, Corrao said she was expecting to see some family next week.

“I’ll probably have a lot of cousins at this show,” she said. “Hopefully they won’t embarrass me. And hopefully I don’t embarrass them.”

Corrao’s show on Feb. 28 begins at 8 p.m. For tickets and information, visit the Laughing Devil’s website at www.laughingdevil.com.

Reach Managing Editor Steven J. Ferrari at (718) 357-7400 Ext. 122 or sferrari@queenstribune.com.