Funny Seven

Український стендап комік, резидент клубу «Бродячий StandUP».

Natalie Skoryk

City – Zhytomyr (Ukraine)

Language – Ukrainian

Genre – stand-up, improvisation

Creative path

Natali Skoryk is a Ukrainian stand-up comedian, improviser, star and winner of the popular project “Make a Comedian Laugh”, leader of the “Natalie” team in the “Laughter League” and participant in a large number of humorous shows. Natali came to the humor industry quite consciously. The girl says that in the 7th grade she wanted to take part in “Make a Comedian Laugh”, and from the 10th she felt a strong desire to get on the stage of the “Laughter League”. To do this, the girl watched all the programs where comedians participated. When Natali is asked how she started doing comedy, the modern stand-up star explains: jokes and improvisation became an effective way for her to overcome stress and overcome the surrounding negativity. The artist’s humor became a kind of protective mechanism for her and for her numerous fans of her work.

The style and development of the artist

Natalie Skoryk's debut on the screen immediately attracted the attention of a large number of fans. The Ukrainian audience warmly received the talented, energetic comedian with an extraordinary sense of humor and approach to writing jokes. Natalie's expressive delivery, natural charisma, her bold and skillful improvisation conquered thousands of viewers. After the comedian's performances on the stage of the "League of Laughter", many people learned about the bright girl from Zhytomyr. Many began to follow the announcements of the comedian's stand-up concerts with pleasure and attend live meetings with Natalie. The girl won the audience with stories that touched on topics close and interesting to everyone. These are relationships with her ex, fashionable "hills" dances, trashy stories about intimacy, advice on what not to say when dating, and much more.

Natalie Skoryk is incredibly active in her work and participates in many events from popular stand-up clubs, to various TV and Internet projects:

• "Open Microphone" (host);
• "Standup Talks" (an improvisational talk show in which comedians discuss topics suggested by the audience);
• "What came first?" (an intellectual and entertainment show, the guests of which have the task of determining which of the facts or events named by the host happened first);
• "Criticism Results of the Week" from the YouTube channel "Minus Pershyi";
• The FLATTERING show is a format in which two participants exchange teasing compliments to each other;
• charity format "Help League";
• "Underground Stand-Up" projects;
• show "Battles" and others.

A fan of an interesting life, who turns all his observations into jokes

Pavlo Pinchuk is a comedian originally from Dnipro, who today has already reached the level of soloists in the capital. Among the projects in which Pavlo took part are "Razgony" from "Vagabond Standup", Closed Mic, where experienced comedians present new and better material. Together with other comedians, Pavlo takes to the stage of comedy shows of an improvisational format, where bright artists joke without preparation on topics that are received from the audience simply during the concert.

Pavel's subtle humor is interesting because it fully reflects the comedian's attitude to non-trivial situations from seemingly everyday life. The comedian jokes about the absurdity of the modern world, about relationships, addictions and psychotherapists, about the impression he makes on girls and much more.

Yevhen Leshchenko

City – Kharkiv (Ukraine)

Language – Ukrainian

Genre – stand-up, improvisation

Creative path

Yevgeny Leshchenko is a Ukrainian stand-up comedian, founder of the Comedy Club and Split Comedy Kharkiv, a resident of the Wandering Stand-up club. He felt the desire to work and develop in humor back in his school years. When the guy was asked what he wanted to become, the answer was: “A clown!” After entering university, the young man began to play in the KVN. However, he did not see any prospects in this: he wanted something else. Yevgeny began to watch translated classics of the humorous genre - videos of performances by American humor stars, comedians Eddie Murphy and George Carlin. It was then that he firmly decided to become a stand-up comedian.

Leshchenko's debut on stage in front of a live audience took place in 2017. The aspiring artist took part in "Open Microphone". It was scary, Yevhen lacked confidence. He created jokes for the performance literally in one day. However, the comedian's bright charisma worked, and the comedian gained invaluable experience. At that time, Yevhen worked as a bartender. Constant communication with people was liberating and gave him the understanding that future activities should be related to public activity. Over time, Yevhen's patience broke through. He quit and opened Split Comedy with other colleagues.

Artist's style and development

In a short time, Yevgeny became a real stand-up star and won wide popularity and recognition among fans of the comedy genre. Although at first, after moving to Kyiv, he did not dare to go on stage for a long time and simply watched the performances of other comedians. Gradually, offers to participate in concerts of the Kyiv "Underground Stand-Up", "Free Stand-Up" in Chernivtsi appear. The talented stand-up artist develops cooperation with other representatives of the humor industry and simultaneously gives solo concerts. The artist has visited many major cities of Ukraine, where he now has devoted fans of his work. A large tour with a solo program took place in 2021.

The audience of the comedian's fans is constantly expanding, attracting more and more Ukrainians of all ages to the ranks of connoisseurs of the author's humor. The audience is captivated by the subtle humor and emotional presentation of the material. Yevhen calls himself a "product of stand-up comedy" - a person who tries to be in stand-up in all its manifestations (working on stage and off it). The comedian entered the genre gradually. He started by getting acquainted with the Kharkiv hangout. And at first, the team did not perceive Yevhen very kindly. But the artist understood that stand-up is something he would prefer to do with full dedication. Therefore, he continued to actively develop in the genre. Among the topics that Yevhen Leshchenko jokes about:

• everyday life and everyday situations;
• relationships between women and men;
• personal adventures;
• the absurdity of the world around us and much more.

In general, the author is sure: there are no forbidden topics. There are unfunny jokes. The main thing is not to cross the boundaries of a person's personal space, then there will be no conflicts with oneself and with the audience. Yevhen also notes the great prospects of Ukrainian stand-up as such. In the early 2010s, the situation was quite uncertain, comedians were testing the audience, many were eliminated. The main center and platform for performances was YouTube. And this limited the opportunities for popularizing artists. However, today both the audience and the comedians themselves are more open to each other. Completely different humor comes in. This is how a kind of connection occurs: the audience chooses "their" among the comedians and carefully follows their activity on the network, comes to live concerts.

Social activity

Yevhen Leshchenko is one of those who at one time switched to Ukrainian and by his example pushed many others to do so. A native of Kharkiv, Yevhen recently moved to Kyiv, where he continued to work in his chosen field. During the full-scale invasion, comedians, like Ukrainian opinion leaders, are making every effort to strengthen our army. As part of their concerts, they hold charity auctions and collections for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Yevhen Leshchenko and other colleagues in the workshop do not allow Ukrainians to forget about the realities and call on them to actively donate and make any possible contribution to the Victory. At the same time, humor also plays an important role: it adds strength and replenishes the reserves of positivity, supporting every Ukrainian in a difficult time for everyone.