When it comes to traversing some of life’s most trying and tragic situations, sometimes the quickest way to turn that frown upside down is through comedy. For men and women around the world, attending a good comedy show can be exactly what they need to escape their reality for a little while and press that much needed reset button when things become too overwhelming.

More than ever comedians serve a valuable purpose in society, drawing attention to important cross-cultural and political issues in ways that can be challenging, entertaining and more often than not, funny. With such a heavy responsibility, it’s therefore understandable that only the cream of the crop amongst comedians become regulars on the stand-up circuit. Ronen Tverya, whose first name translates to ‘song of joy’ in Hebrew, is

In the world of stand-up comedy, style and delivery are key. There’s a seemingly endless number of comedy styles-- slapstick, deadpan, satire, self-deprecating, parody etc., the list goes on and on; and while some genres overlap, not all of them will hit home with every audience, not by a long shot. But if the comedian on stage has good timing and nails the delivery, they can lead even the stiffest members of the crowd to crack a smile, in the majority of situations at least.

I recently had the opportunity to interview innovative and hilarious Israeli comedian Ronen Tverya. Ronen didn’t plan on doing comedy in the U.S. this year, but when he came here on vacation, he was asked to come in and perform as a guest at several of the country’s comedy hot spots.  Instead of just taking in the sites as a tourist in a foreign country, Ronen has been busy delivering his comedy routine to a totally new audience, and the reception has been altogether positive.