Times Square (TS): You said in your book that the 80's comedy scene was a "boy's club"? How has it changed since then?

Susie Essman (SE): I'm not really part of that scene anymore so I can't say for sure, but I think with the success of so many female comics (Sarah Silverman, Ellen DeGeneres, etc.) young male comics have changed their attitudes. When I was coming up men just didn't think women would be funny.

TS: Have you ever felt as though you had to compromise your feminist ideals because of the "boy's club"?

SE: Never, I was lucky, I always had a platform. In those days, the way club owners treated young comics; you just never thought about it, it was just the way it was. I was lucky to have the platform I did.

TS: What is the most common mistake that young comedians make?

SE: The number one thing I see is that they're not connecting to their audience. They're talking at them. It becomes not about making the audience laugh, but about getting to talk on stage. You need to talk to your audience, read them.

TS: What job did you learn the most from?

SE: Stand-up is by far the hardest, everything else is a breeze. It's definitely where I learned the most about myself. That's where I'm creating and writing, coming from my gut. Stand-up is the most powerful, there is nothing more powerful than standing up there by yourself.

TS: As a young adult you experienced severe depression, how did this affect your career?

SE: I was in the depression because I wasn't acting out my creativity at all. All of that happened prior to my success. Stand-up became my lifeline. Once I found my creative outlet the depression lifted.

TS: You've said you still have stage-fright before you get on stage. Do you have any rituals that help you ease the anxiety?

SE: Never, in all my years of doing stand-up have I found a way to ease my stage fright. I scream at my husband and tell him everything that's wrong with him and he's come to accept that as my pre-show hysteria. He knows I'll be back to my loving self once it's over.

TS: What is one thing you wish audiences knew about comedy?

SE: It's always the comic's job to connect to the audience, to make them laugh. I don't like when comics put blame on the audience. That being said maybe 5% of the time you just get a bad audience. What annoys me however, is when they start heckling. Not in a mean way, but you see them after and they say "I thought I was helping". You're not helping. Sit down and watch the show.

TS: You talk about being in the moment that your comedy comes from a place of flow. How difficult was that to attain?

SE: It was just the organic way I developed as comedian. It wasn't a choice, it just happened that way. Stage time is everything, getting up on stage over and over again. There was a time I was doing 400 shows a year. I would do 5-7 sets on a friday night, running around to clubs all over town. It's about experimentation. The hardest thing is not writing jokes, but finding who you are on stage--and it always changing. Funny in front of your friends at a party is not funny on stage. You have to keep getting up there.

TS: The way you talk about family life is hilarious, any new insights for us?

SE: Annoying teenagers turn into lovely young adults. If you can ride out those horrible years you could get lucky and have a great friend and companion. If you can make it without killing them.

TS: Now that you live in "upstate" New York, what do you miss most about living in the city?

SE: I still have an apartment in the city! I will never give that up! What I miss most when I'm upstate is the restaurants. I miss having 15 different options on every block. And walking. They don't do that in the suburbs.

TS: When friends visit the city what is the first place you always recommend that they go?

SE: I tell them to do the same thing I do when I'm traveling somewhere--walk the city top to bottom. You'll find treasures. I've lived in Manhattan since 1978 (do the math, it's a long time) and there are still blocks I've never been on. Go to the theatre, go to great restaurants, but really, walk around. People watch. It's a visual feast out there. When I'm in the suburbs I go people watch at Wal-Mart if I'm feeling fat, but they just don't have the diversity you get in the city.

TS: In your opinion how has the city changed since your club days? Some say it's been "Disney-fied", is this for better or worse?

SE: Yea, it's been "Disney-fied" and it's good and bad. It's great that New York is a safe place. Tourism is a huge, it's a vital part of the city and the changes have made the city an inviting place for people to come and take advantage of everything New York has to offer. New York is the great experiment of the world, all these people of different ethnicity, socio-economic status, living together. In the 80's you couldn't walk up Amsterdam at night, too dangerous. It's good but I kind of miss the seedy 80's danger.

TS: You write beautifully about how the city felt after 9/11? Do you think we have healed?

SE: I don't know that we'll ever completely heal. You don't forget but it's not as loud of a voice anymore. There's always a painful place of grief in your heart, but I think being able to grieve like that makes you stronger. There is an incredible power within us to heal. The city has moved on but people haven't forgotten. I think about it every time I go over the George Washington Bridge. We still remember. It was tragic and it was horrible, it was an incredible day for New York, the way we came together.

TS: You said the Yankees helped pull New York through that grieving period, any advice for the team next season?