Jane Russell, CEO of Carlsberg Cats Laugh Comedy Festival, describes her day
I TOOK OVER as head of the Cat Laughs comedy festival in January. It’s the best job. Where else would I get paid for trawling through YouTube looking for the funniest clips? It’s one of the things I’m doing at the moment for a new show we’re putting on.
I’ve been working with the festival in one capacity or another for years. I was at the first one as a teenager, and, because my birthday is May 25th, coming to Cat Laughs was always my present.
I moved to Kilkenny five years ago and contacted the team to offer my services. That’s how I ended up as CEO.
It takes me 10 minutes to walk to work each morning, past Kilkenny Castle. It’s a gorgeous city to live in.
We launched our 2009 show last week, so the office is mad. First thing I do each day is check ticket sales. We’re getting so many e-mails from people who say they need a laugh more than ever this year, so that is driving sales.
Most days I’ll have some contact with our sponsor, Carlsberg. It used to be Smithwicks, but I think Carlsberg is a better fit – its ads are funny. At some stage I’ll check the online club, Scratch, we have just launched via our website, which lets us send out ticket news and accommodation deals.
We bring 30,000 visitors to the city and contribute €8 million to the local area. Most mornings I will be in touch with hoteliers to talk about accommodation. Kilkenny’s hotels got themselves a reputation for being expensive during the boom, but there is great value to be had now.
Much of my time is also spent organising the travel arrangements of the 60 comedians coming to the festival. The younger ones are very professional. The memories of trying to get some of the older guys to the venue in the old days are hilarious, but at the time it was hard work.
Much of my time at the moment is spent doing media work for the festival launch. We signed up Jack Charlton to coach the Irish comedians’ football team so got lots of publicity for that. The Irish comedians play the overseas comedians each year, and it’s hotly contested.
We have a team of seven working full time; at festival time that swells to around 100 volunteers, so I’m busy recruiting them.
I’m also out and about checking venues a lot, but the last thing I do each day is check ticket sales again, before heading home for a glass of wine.
It’s so great to have a job where you look forward to going to work the next day. Whatever happens, I know we’ll have a laugh.
** Jane Russell is CEO of Carlsberg Cat Laughs Comedy Festival, www.carlsbergcat laughs.com
** In conversation with Sandra O’Connell