Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ryan Radusinovic. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Ryan, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

After 11 years as a stand up comedian, I have come to the conclusion that experience is the best teacher. I spent years in the classroom studying comedy in its various forms: starting with the Ancient Greek playwrights, to the historical greats like Shakespeare, Wilde, & Simon, to the more early television legends like Milton Berle, Lucy & Desi Arnez, Sid Ceasar and of course, the stand up comedy giants like Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, and Richard Pryor. All the time spent in the classroom, on stage in various plays, improv classes, and comedic jobs like Jungle Cruise Skipper gave me a solid foundation for comedy, but the one thing that helped me truly grow as an artist, has been the countless hours I’ve spent on stage in front of a live audience. I wish I had jumped both feet first into stand up comedy as an 18 year old, but I meandered through acting, improv, hosting, and public speaking. I started comedy at age 23, but didn’t really dive in completely, choosing to work behind the scenes in TV production. I took the leap of faith at age 33, committing myself entirely to stand up comedy and since then I have produced over 125 shows and toured the country, performing at every major comedy club on the West coast and beyond! All of the years studying, working in the entertainment industry, and even my 2 year stint in law school prepared me for my current career as a stand up comedy producer, but only the endless repetition of being on stage have steeled my resolve and made me the performer I am today.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My stand up comedy journey began at the age of 23 and at the time I had very few opportunities to perform. I would book my shows via Craigslist, and it wasn’t until I met my first mentor, Aaron Westley, that I was able to jump from comedy shows at coffee shops and bringer shows to the main stage at the Comedy Store. Although our relationship was short lived it gave me the motivation I needed to push myself to be a better comic. At age 27, I enrolled in Flappers University at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank and I began what comedians call “the grind” I took classes to punch up my jokes while going to open mics and testing my material. Flappers truly gave me the chance to shine, as they booking me regularly on shows at their club, and as I grew they began to book me on the main stage on their weekend shows. I was doing well in comedy until fate had other plans, and after a few unexpected deaths in my immediate family and friends, I decided to take time away from the stage. I took three years off and enrolled in law school, which was a bad decision because I did not finish the program, as my heart really wasn’t in it, and my soul longed for the stage. I resumed my comedy career in 2019 and hit the ground running, diving entirely into stand up, performing as often as I could and wherever I could find stage time. Shortly after the global pandemic shut the world down, I met my mentor, Jeff Garcia and he took me on the road with him performing all over the California and the Southwest. In that time I grew from an open micer with a hot 5 minutes to a host, to a feature, to the man I am today, a headliner. Now you can see me performing my act on the road, and hosting my shows here in LA at The Ice House, The Bourbon Room, The Kookaburra Lounge, The Norco Comedy Club and The Post Pub, along with my favorite show of them all, my creation that has surpassed all expectations, Balkan Comedy Night.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission now is to shine a spotlight on Balkan Comedy, giving opportunities to comedians like myself who grew up with immigrant parents from the Balkans to tell their story on stage and show the world that we have a unique sense of humor.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being the producer of Balkan Comedy Night is getting to see people from the former Yugoslavia come together and laugh. Yugoslavia was ravaged by war in the 90s and has since split into many different countries; watching Serbians, Bosnians, Croatians, Albanians, Montenegrins, and Macedonians come together for a comedy a comedy show and put their differences aside and laugh together is priceless.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@ryan.comedian
• Facebook: Balkan Comedy Night America