Ian Koranek (that’s me!) is a New York City based actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He received a BFA in acting from VCU in Richmond, VA where he also frequently did stand-up with the 955 Club. While getting trained in Shakespeare, Moliere, Chekhov, Sophocles, and Tennessee Williams, he wrote and staged three original plays and performed in productions of Our Town, Zoo Story, and Mamet’s children’s play (!) Revenge of the Space Pandas. He moved to New York City a few months after graduating. I’m gonna switch to first person now, if that’s okay with everyone. I grew up in Fairfax County, VA where I attended 13 years of Catholic school. I got diagnosed with ADHD at age 9. Between the constant bullying (ass kickings) and barely passing all my classes, my childhood gave me the perfect amount of trauma to make me funny. Reading X-Men and Spider-Man comics, watching The Simpsons, SNL, Conan, and various other TV shows and movies that were too old for me, gave me enough relief to survive the constant social and academic struggles. I’m pretty sure I didn’t actually deserve to graduate high school. But they can’t take my diploma from me now! (Or at least, please don’t. I can’t do it again.) Let’s get back to my career, shall we? I’ve guest starred on the television series Grins, Celebrity Ghost Stories, Evil I, Stalked, Mysteries at the Monument, Mysteries at the Museum, Warakora, The Perfect Murder, A Crime to Remember, Deadline Crime, Up Early Tonight (Hulu), and Step Back! Nothing Escapes the Eagle. I played roles ranging from a 1970s serial killer to an 1880s baseball manager. I’ve starred in commercials for the Connecticut Shoreline Train, Snickers, Hershey’s, Stash Invest, Lion’s Den Adult Toys, Plymouth Auto Insurance, American Girl Dolls, and the MUBI safe driving app. (A few month later I survived getting hit by a car. I love irony.) I’ve performed stand-up comedy all over NYC at QED, The Producer’s Club, New York Comedy Club, Rodney’s, The Whisky Cellar, The Grisly Pear, Secret Pour, and The Rose Hotel. I’ve also gone on the road with the Pub and Grub Comedy Tour. Please pay me to be funny. I was featured in a dual production of Richard II and Richard III at The Times Square Arts Center, in a staged reading of a screenplay at the University of Arts in Philadelphia, was in the rotating company of Sunday Night Improv for 10 years, in the Drunk History Live PR event for Comedy Central as Al Capone, and the Improvisation News Sketch Comedy Show, The New Normal. The ghost of Laurence Olivier haunts me to express jealousy of my theatre career. I’ve appeared in several projects for Scary Mommy, including The Manmaid’s Tale and Scary Stories. I’ve been seen on the Funny or Die series Five Second Talent Show, The Joke of the Day Show, in the Man Oh Man proof of concept video, in Be Da Man on PN & Friends, and the video game Rigsby’s Funtown Burger. But I think this “the internet” is a dying fad. I invested all my money in radio soap operas. I starred in the films, A Dawg’s Tale, Troublesome Man, Frankie, and Anchored in Truth. I’ve appeared on the podcasts Breaking Badicheck, Comics who Love Comic Books, The Big Fib, Not Off the Press, Koppen with Comic, and Coffee with the Dog. I have several original comedy sketches on my YouTube channel. Like and subscribe! (Please, for the love of God.) While doing all this, I’ve supported myself as a comedy club barker, waiter, bartender, barback, busboy, delivery man, reading tutor, substitute teacher, and mob informant. I’ve been mugged three times, been in a few toxic relationships, and worked my share 16 hour days. But I’m still here, alive, and okay. I mean sure, the hope and light in my eyes are gone, but I still have my Lord and Savior in my heart: Conan O’Brien.
