For creatives working in show business today, being a multi-hyphenate seems almost a prerequisite for success. But Isabel Hagen is a creative polymath unlike any you’ve likely encountered.
A Juilliard-trained musician who began playing the violin at age five before transitioning to viola, Hagen grew up with a passion for comedy. She didn’t try stand-up, however, until she was forced to take a break from music, given a diagnosis of repetitive stress syndrome. Bringing her musical instrument into her stand-up act when the moment calls for it, she broke through as a Just For Laughs New Face less than a decade after earning her master’s in viola performance, marking her as both a comic to watch and an artist of real versatility.
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Six years on from that showcase, Hagen has shown an all new side to her creative abilities with her feature directorial debut, On a String, a film inspired by a decade of freelance viola gigs, which draws on her skill sets in both music and comedy. The dramedy premiered earlier this year in US Narrative Competition at the Tribeca Festival, where it won the award for Best Screenplay.
Though she grew weary of the viola toward the end of her Juilliard years, Hagen remains a sought-after musician, who balances work there with her endeavors as a touring stand-up and burgeoning filmmaker. Currently touring in support of the Grammy-winning rock band Vampire Weekend, her journey is the focus of this week’s Comedy Means Business podcast, where we examine the makings of a uniquely multifaceted artistic career.
Alongside the podcast, I release a Comedy Means Business newsletter for Deadline — chronicling the latest happenings in the comedy space — twice a month, on Mondays. Sign up to receive that here. View a video clip from the conversation with Hagen above and listen to the full cut below.
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