The Bee Chair Debates...

BCD's PEOPLE WHO ROCK - CAROL HARTSELL

By Dustin D'Addato


Of all the people I have met while performing in New York perhaps no one has more of love of comedy than Carol Hartsell. If you’ve been to a comedy show in NYC in the last few years, odds are Carol was there laughing and enjoying herself. But it’s more than her stellar attendance that makes Carol our BCD Person That Rocks; it’s the way she genuinely cares about people, supports them and works her ass off trying to help the people that mean the most to her, often sacrificing sleep and just about everything else to help others achieve their dreams.

Carol is the co-producer of Drinkatwork.com, a hilarious website and blog. Along with her team of writers, Carol’s site entertains thousands daily and it’s readership is growing all the time. Rather than using the site to promote herself however, Carol uses it to help struggling comics get the attention she feels they deserve. “I want to play some small part in helping the people I like, whether it’s by featuring them [on drinkatwork.com], putting in a good word for them at another show, helping them dissect a performance, or just showing up and being a friendly face in the audience,” Carol tells BCD. Those who know Carol know that those are more than just words. Friend and comedian Sean Crespo describes her as “one of those sweet people who hopes for others, especially comedians, to reach their full potential. She sympathizes with the difficulties of comics.”

Alabama-born Carol may be sweet and nice and supportive, but you better not call her a soft southern bell. “People see the blonde hair, blue eyes and benevolent grin and never realize that it's all masking a sincere desire to start a fight club at that very moment,” says Carol. Her husband Francesco Marciuliano (or Ces as she calls him) adds, “She likes to fight. Well, she likes the idea of getting into a all-out brawl, followed by congenial slaps on the back and everyone buying drinks for each other.” According to Sean, she’s even taken her playful aggressions to the next level, taking part in what is described as an “on-going slap fight with me and Maryanne (a mutual pal). I mean, she keeps it on the down low in front of the hubbie and all, but she’s gotten in a couple sneaky slaps, which shocked me with their shear ferocity and agility. She’s a fighter, that one.”

If you are looking to be on the receiving end of one of Carol’s slaps, one of the best ways is to insult her current hometown of New York City: “People who disparage New York…they can die. I have no use for them.” Accordingly, Ces kindly informed BCD, “If you want to lose Carol's support and friendship immediately, just say something like, ‘I can't see how someone could live in New York.’ Then get ready for the crotch-punching of your life." Carol may even be the first person in history to ever attribute her niceness to being in New York, and claims, “I think I’m nice to people because I genuinely feel so happy to be here. I can get pissy and lose it every now and then, but for the most part I am constantly in love with everything about New York, even the inconveniences and assholes. I like being alone on the street in New York during the magic hour light when the sun has just gone down…it makes me feel small in a great way, like everything can suddenly be surprising and larger than life.”

Carol’s ability to see the beauty in small things is a big part of what makes her so special, and for a person who sees as many comedy shows as she does, that’s important. Take it from me, a lot of shows in the city are bad, but Carol doesn’t see it that way. “There are really ‘bad’ rooms I like going to for various reasons. With some shows you sit through a lot of crap to see one good person you didn't expect; with others, it's so bad it becomes this amazing experience; and with still others, you're just there to support your friends, and you wait and wait and wait and then they have a bad set because the crowd is drunk and rowdy and there's only three people in the audience anyway...and that in and of itself becomes the fun of it because you’re suffering through that with them. Bottom line is, if you love comedians you start to love the bad shows and sets, too, because you love the process that comedians go through.”

Carol’s love of comedians can easily be seen in the photo blog section of drinkatwork.com (http://www.drinkatwork.com/20d.html), 20D (named after her kick ass camera). At the 20D you can find pictures from all the shows that she attends. But they’re not just snapshots of comics on a stage. They are stunning and captivating portraits of a person. Each one could easily appear in art gallery in the world. “The reasons I like people are very specific, so when I take a picture of someone I want to capture whatever that thing is about them,” she says. “I don’t always succeed, but in a few cases I have. I think the affection I have for comics comes across, too. You don’t put a camera that close to someone’s face if you don’t like them.”

Now, Carol’s taking the next logical step in supporting all of her comedy friends, by starting her own show titled, Drink At Work Presents… “I wanted to create a show that would bring together some of the pros in NYC as well as the up-and-comers. I want to put people I’ve seen at open mics and places like The Duplex up with people like Tom Shillue, who is one of my favorites and has a built-in following. If we can create a room that gets a good audience but has the feeling of a place where you’ll definitely see something new, I think we’ll have something special.” Knowing how hard she works and how much she cares, I am sure it will be.

Ultimately, perhaps one of the most impressive things about Carol is how much she is able to just enjoy life and whatever it brings. “I guess the one thing I’ve realized is that I don’t want to live my life like I’m checking things off on a list,” she says. “I don’t want to decide that this is the way things are and I never have to think about them again. I like being surprised and open and searching. I change a lot and I don’t ever want to feel like that’s a bad thing.” She adds, “I don’t like uptight people, people who aren’t up for experiencing something they didn’t plan on, or people who are incapable of finding a glimmer of hope in a dark situation. One of the darkest moments of my life is hysterically funny to me, simply because it’s so absurd. I think true friendship probably lies in finding people who have the same threshold for gallows humor as you. And when I find someone like that I get so excited, I just want to be a positive part of their life for as long as I possibly can be.”

I think she has found that in spades in the two people with whom you can just about always find her, Ces and Sean. “Ces is my best friend and the best partner I’ve ever had in anything. We’ve both accomplished so much more than we could have independently, and we believe in each other and take care of each other. He’s also one of those rare people that you can trust implicitly. He’s sincere in everything he does and when he talks to you he really listens.” Similarly, Sean “is the ridiculous friend I should have had in college. He’s equal parts silly and smart, scathing and earnest. He’s also one of the few people, along with Ces, who makes me believe in my own creative abilities. You know those friendships where you know you’ve got each other’s back? It’s like that. Crespo’s got my back, I’ve got his.”

So if you are lucky enough to run into Carol at one of the many shows she attends I suggest you grab a drink with her after the show, because if this article didn’t convince you, you will soon discover this girl ROCKS!


WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HER:

“I have scoliosis. I had a surgery called Spinal Fusion with Rods. And, yes, sometimes I set off metal detectors at the airport. Also, if you hug me hard my back cracks awesomely.” – Carol Hartsell

“If you know her, you know this about her--she’s a sincere person with a good sense of humor. Just treat her with respect and you’ll get the same back, regardless of how famous or close-to famous you are. In that one respect, she reminds me of my loyal, townie friends back in Boston (although I do think the name Fitzy would suit her if she were a man). But if she’s anything like them, she’d just as soon take a pipe to your neck if you cross her or her friends.” – Sean Crespo

“Frankly, I think she's capable of almost anything she puts her mind to--and I don't say that lightly. She could quite possibly take over the world so I would get on her good side now, since it could mean the difference between serving as a cabinet member on her Legion of Doom or being processed as a source of high protein gruel (I already have dibs on Secretary of Acid Spray).” - Francesco Marciuliano

“When I was a kid, one of my teachers asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. My response was, simply, ‘A boy.’ When queried further I explained in what I can only assume was an exasperated tone, ‘Because girls can’t do anything!’” – Carol Hartsell

“She is extremely proud of her Korean heritage.” - Francesco Marciuliano


THINGS SHE WOULD LIKE TO PLUG:


Drinkatwork.com (http://www.drinkatwork.com)
Her hilarious and extremely well-written blog.

Drink At Work Presents… (http://www.drinkatwork.com/dawp_flyer.jpg)
The First show is Monday, March 27th. It’s located at Siberia (40th & 9th). The doors open at 8pm and the show is free. Follow the link above for more info.


WHERE SHE SEES HERSELF IN 5 YEARS:

“It would be cool to be in creative development somewhere, in a job that actually has the potential to give good writers and comics a real break. I also want to finally be making films of my own with friends. I’d also like to be wasting a lot less, making efficient, eco-conscious lifestyle choices, all that bunk.”

posted by Dustin D'Addato at 8:48 PM