Ellen Braunstein
Growing up in Baltimore, Alex Braslavsky enjoyed the reaction to the jokes his father and uncle told at family gatherings.
“I was like, wow, that’s so cool,” said Braslavsky, 37, of Philadelphia’s Fairmount neighborhood. “That’s how you get people to love you.”
He admired Jim Carrey for his iconic facial expressions.
“I thought it was the funniest thing in the world,” he said.
Braslavsky became the class clown who always got kicked out of class.
Today, Braslavsky performs and writes improv comedy. He also teaches workshops for the craft since moving to Philadelphia two years ago. Being a guide for a Center City walking food tour helps pay the bills.
Braslavsky is a Tribe 12 fellow, a young Jewish entrepreneur receiving educational resources and coaching for a venture of his choice.
“It’s a great support system because you have other young Jewish people in the same boat, and we’re just giving each other feedback,” he said.
Braslavsky is working on a production for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, coming Sept. 26-29. “Love Lab” has a cast of 10.
Last year, he won the award for best comedy at the festival for “The McManus Family Variety Hour.”
About “Love Lab,” he said, “we are creating a full production and within that there will be some improv, a loose structure like ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ It’s half show and half speed-dating event.”
His comedic play involves audience interaction.
“You are immersed in a world and get to be part of the show,” he said.
He spent most of his life and early career in Baltimore. Braslavsky was a regular performer with Baltimore Improv Group and started a comedy show called Chucklestorm.
He moved to Philly because he was burned out on New York, where he lived for six years and performed at Magnet Theater.
“I had a couple of friends living here. It felt close enough in between New York and Baltimore. It was a cool city with a really nice theater scene.”
Braslavsky was born in Moldova and immigrated as a refugee with his family when he was 6. He understands Russian but doesn’t speak the language.
There was a lot of antisemitism there, he said. His uncle, aunt and grandparents sponsored the family of four, including his sister, who is now a Russian-language interpreter.
Growing up, he knew Judaism was part of his identity, but his family didn’t practice it.
Now, in Tribe 12, Braslavsky is discovering what his Jewish identity means to him.
“It’s kind of like stepping out of my shell and exploring that,” he said. “I’m slowly finding a community that I hadn’t really explored before.”
Look up Braslavsky online and you’ll see TikTok videos of him giving humorous critiques of public bathrooms in New York City.
“We chose random bathrooms and took close-up shots of toilets flushing or paper towels rolled up on the sink,” he said.
Though the videos went viral, Braslavsky is no longer a TikTok influencer
“It was just driving me crazy,” he said. “I was tired of comparing myself to other more successful comedians.”
Braslavsky received his bachelor’s degree in theater from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
When Second City came to Baltimore for a local production, he was invited to be a guest.
“The first time I did improv was in front of 500 people, and I was so nervous. Luckily, it went really well because those seasoned veterans know how to make beginners look good,” he said.
He loved his improv classes, which he began in 2011.
“I love the camaraderie,’ he said. “I love being spontaneous, being able to just be a goofball and go into different characters.”
The challenges of improvisational comedy lie in overthinking, he said.
“If you’re just stuck in your head and not being present, you are going to struggle,” he said. “The second thing is trying to be funny. It’s the quickest way to have a disaster of a scene. It’s just about listening and reacting.”
Of his passion, Braslavsky said, “I love making people laugh. It brings a smile to my face. And, just the insane paychecks, the stability, how you can easily make millions doing local comedy acts.”
Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer.
