Portolfio: Interview with Warm-up comic Kevin Bartini
- Gary Miller
- Jul 7
- 4 min read
Editor’s Note:
I conducted this interview with Kevin Bartini over the phone and loved getting a behind-the-scenes look at the world of television. I genuinely had no idea that warm-up comics were even a thing, and I came away having learned a lot. I didn’t grow up around showbiz, so with every interview I did back then, I walked away with a whole new understanding of the industry.
Written by Gary Miller | Originally Published on BestComedyTickets.com, November 13th, 2015
A warm audience is an essential part of any comedy show. Whether it’s a club set or a live TV taping, you want the crowd open, ready to laugh—and often a little bit buzzed. In television, the job of warming up the audience falls to someone often underappreciated by the public: the warm-up comic.
These comics play a crucial behind-the-scenes role. They get the crowd loose and energetic, explain parts of the taping, and build excitement before the cameras roll. We had the chance to talk with one of the best in the business—comedian Kevin Bartini—about what it's like to be the guy behind the curtain at shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
"The Opener for Television"
Kevin has lost count of how many times he’s warmed up late-night audiences, but he’s never lost sight of what makes the job special. “A warm-up act’s job is to get a crowd going. It’s like being the opening band at a concert,” he explained. “The producers go to a big expense to have an audience, and I have to punctuate the jokes. I have to get them to feel like part of the show.”
Kevin often performs in front of crowds of around 150 people. In just a few minutes, he has to get them buzzing—without upstaging the hosts they’re there to see. “You have to be smart about your material. Don’t do news jokes or political stuff. That’s their job. That’s like opening for Kenny Rogers and singing ‘The Gambler.’ It’s just not done.”
Instead, Kevin leans into crowd work and improvisation—skills honed through years of stand-up.
The Journey from Comedy Fan to Comedy Pro
Kevin started performing stand-up in 1999 in Western Massachusetts. Like many of us, he caught the comedy bug young. “As a kid in the ’80s, during the comedy boom, I wanted to be a comedian since I was around 11 or 12,” he said. His early influences included heavy hitters like Jerry Seinfeld, Dennis Miller, and Lewis Black.
But Kevin didn’t stop at telling jokes—he also became an advocate for comedy itself. One of his proudest achievements? Helping lead the campaign to rename a stretch of West 121st Street in Manhattan after his hero, George Carlin. “It took three years of campaigning,” Kevin recalled, “but we did it. I even got to speak at the dedication.”
Writing for the Stage and Screen
In addition to stand-up, Kevin’s done sketch writing—most notably for HBO. “Writing solo versus in a team is completely different,” he explained. “In stand-up, it’s your voice, your rules. But in a writers’ room, your joke might get cut or rewritten entirely by someone higher up. I honestly think the first few drafts are funnier than the final product most of the time.”
He also shared something many comics can relate to: sometimes, an idea just doesn’t work for the stage. “There are things I’d never talk about in my stand-up—race, for example—but that worked better in a sketch. It’s about learning what format fits what idea.”
From Stand-Up to Shakespeare
Before he could do stand-up, Kevin got his feet wet on stage in the theater. “You can’t do stand-up until you’re a grown-up, so I did theater as a kid to get comfortable on stage.” That training paid off—he was recently cast as Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night, produced by Offline NYC and staged at the SOHO Playhouse and The PIT.
“It fell into my lap,” he said, “but I’m lucky to get to build a reputation as a comedic actor.”
Judging Movies by Their Trailers
Kevin’s also the host of a growing podcast: The Movie Preview Review. The concept is simple but brilliant—they review movies based solely on their trailers. “We bring in guests—comics, musicians, actors—and just talk movies. You can tell a lot from a trailer these days.” The show had already been downloaded over 250,000 times within its first few months.
Behind the Curtain
We asked Kevin if he ever gets the inside scoop before a taping. “Sometimes I know what’s coming. Like when Neil Young performed on Colbert—I got to see a bit of his soundcheck. But other times, I don’t know anything. Sometimes even the audience is surprised by a guest, and I’m kept in the dark to help preserve that reaction.”
Kevin Bartini is one of those rare comics who doesn’t just chase laughs—he earns them, nurtures them, and helps others shine in the process. Whether warming up crowds, headlining theaters, or helping honor legends like George Carlin, Kevin reminds us that comedy is an art—and it’s also work. He just makes it look easy.
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