New Jersey Stage 2016: Issue 1 | Page 30

When he eventually began talking again, he did so in English. He returned to Russia after graduating high school and again sometime around 2008 or 2009. Since his parents both do business with Russia they go back several times a year and often tell him stories about how it was before and how it is now. Despite what some people may think when they hear his set, he’s quite happy being here. “I love America, I just think it’s falling short of its potential,” he explained. “I use Russia to get people to see that. First I talk about Russia and how it’s bad and then I always bring it back to America and how it could be better.” His own personal tag line (“smart comedy for smarter people”) came from getting backhanded compliments from audience members for years. “People would come up to me and say, ‘we really enjoyed you Ben Rosenfeld on “What It’s Like To Follow Your Passion” NewJerseyStage.com 2016 - ISSUE 1 Table of Contents 30