These up-and-coming NYC comedians say the most important room to work is online

Brooklyn-based comedian Matt Koff is an Emmy Award-winning writer for “The Daily Show.” Despite his comedic success, he misses the days when the only goal was to get laughs in the room.

Now, he said, he feels pressure to get laughs and go viral on social media. He posts sporadically on Instagram, but said he can’t keep up with “posting like a million TikToks a week.”

“As somebody who’s been doing it for a while, I’m just kind of annoyed by it, but I know that’s probably not the right attitude,” Koff said.

He’s among 10 comedians from across the United States and abroad who are vying for the title of “New York’s Funniest Stand Up” on Saturday, Nov. 11, at the New York Comedy Festival.

Many of the comedians are relatively established but not household names. Each will perform a 10-minute set in front of industry insiders, including agents, club owners and managers. The winner will get bragging rights, plus a cash prize of undisclosed value.

At the competition, the comedians will be judged by their act in the room. But the New York-based comics interviewed for this article say they feel pressure to perform on social media, too.

It’s a change that’s been happening in the industry since the creation of YouTube in 2005 and has been exacerbated by sites like Instagram and TikTok, said Caroline Hirsch, who founded the New York Comedy Festival and owned the legendary standup comedy club Caroline’s, which closed in December after 40 years of business.

Hirsch said that social media has become a vital part of many comedians’ acts.

She said that decades ago, standups like Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld and Garry Shandling – who all appeared at Caroline’s – only had to work a room in real life.

A big break back then, she…