NOVEMBER 2 • 2023 | 51
in the office, and a friend
suggested he try his talents
in standup comedy and orga-
nized that start.
“The owner of the club
said that I was very good and
should stick with it,
” Modi
said. “While I was working at
the bank during the day and
appearing at comedy clubs in
the evenings, I decided to do
comedy full time.
”
The Comedy Cellar in New
York is considered Modi’s
home club, and he performs
there when he’s away from
touring clubs around the
world, presenting his act on
television or interviewing
other comedians in his “
And
Here’s Modi” podcast.
Wherever Modi is telling
jokes, his approach involves
noticing how the audience
reacts at first and following
through with the direction of
responses.
“We all know that Jewish
people have gone through the
hardest times in the world
and found laughter,
” he said.
“There’s a flavor of a Jewish
comedian on the stage, and the
audience finds a way to laugh.
I know there is a language
barrier for some people listen-
ing to me in other countries,
but they are able to follow the
cadence of the comedy.
”
Two Jewish comedians who
had a special cadence and
inspired Modi’s act were Alan
King and Jackie Mason. Modi
liked the way Alan King came
from a place of doing well and
was proud of it. He liked the
way Jackie Mason connected
with an audience by being true
to what they represented.
Besides doing standup,
Modi has appeared on TV
(Madam Secretary and CSI: NY),
in films (One, Two, Many and
Horrorween) and with video
games.
“I write my whole act
myself,
” said the comedian,
a performer sponsored at
Shaarey Zedek by the Irving
and Beverly Laker Concert
Fund. “I’m not one who sits at
the computer and writes. I’ll
sit with friends and hear a bit
of laughter from them. I pick
up on a premise and try it on
stage with added sidelines.
It’s observational comedy,
and being a comedian is a
preparation for acting because
you learn how timing is very
important.
”
Living in New York, Modi
is affiliated with the Sixth
Street Community Synagogue.
Whether in town or on the
road, he likes to go to a gym
and exercise.
When Modi thinks of what
audience members have said
to him after a show, he recalls
a well-dressed woman using a
walker and attending an event
sponsored by several Ohio
synagogues.
“She said to me, ‘I don’t
know if you were funny or not
because I didn’t bring my hear-
ing aids. They seem to have
enjoyed you; but I will tell you,
you’re pleasant to look at.
’”
“I will take that any day,
”
Modi said.
Details
Modi will appear at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, at
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield. Free
admission for the general audience; $150 per family
for patrons invited to an afterglow with the comedian.
To register attendance, go to shaareyzedek.shulcloud.
com/event/modi/html or tinyurl.com/modinov.
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ATTENTION
Business
Owners
Cancer Thrivers Network for Jewish
Women Presents the Sandy Schwartz
(Z’L) Education Series
WHERE: Temple Shir Shalom 3999 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township 48323
WHEN: Wednesday, November 14, 2023, at 10:30am
A CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST WILL BE SERVED, AND SECURITY WILL BE PROVIDED.
Please RSVP to cancerthriversnetworkmi.org/events by 10/10/23
Genetic Testing: Changes and Enhancements
Our featured speaker is Dr. Dana Zakalik.
Dana Zakalik, M.D. is the Corporate Director of the Nancy and James Grosfeld Cancer Genetics
Center and a Professor in the Oakland University William Beaumont Medical School. She is Board
Certified in Internal Medicine and Oncology.
Dr. Zakalik completed her undergraduate and Medical School studies at the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she went on to do her residency and Chief Residency in Internal
Medicine. She completed a Fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at the University of
California, San Francisco, where she became faculty and conducted NIH funded research in
the area of gene regulation in cancer development. Dr.Zakalik was instrumental in developing a
Cancer Genetics Program at Beaumont at a time when the understanding of Cancer Genetics
was coming into the forefront of Oncology.