On Friday January 20th, Communications sophomore Shai Bardin directed and hosted Lipstick Theatre’s female and non-binary stand-up comedy show, which featured 13 Northwestern comics. Jankhna Sura takes us into Shai’s process, experience, and perspective.
[End of show clapping/clapping]
[Anthem Summer/ambient music]
THAT WAS SOPHOMORE SHAI BARDIN, THE FORCE BEHIND LIPSTICK THEATRE’S STAND-UP SHOW (HA/HA/HA) WHICH TOOK PLACE JANUARY 20TH IN LUTKIN HALL. TODAY, WE’RE GOING TO TAKE YOU BEHIND THE SCENES OF MAKING THE SHOW, WHICH FEATURED 13 FEMALE AND NON-BINARY NORTHWESTERN STUDENTS.
AFTER BEING REACHED OUT TO BY LIPSTICK THEATRE TO HOST AND DIRECT THE EVENT, SHAI BEGAN PREPPING. SHE SENT AN EMAIL VIA TWIST, THE THEATRE LISTSERV AND AS RESPONSES TRICKLED IN, SHE MET WITH THE STUDENTS INTERESTED TO FLOAT AROUND IDEAS, PERFORM, AND WORKSHOP THEIR MATERIAL.
[Shai Bardin] Everybody kind of came in with a specific voice, which was really awesome, but the workshopping process was everyone giving notes on what they liked, what they had questions on, or if anything was unclear.
ON THE DAY OF THE SHOW, SHAI SAID THAT FIGURING OUT THE SHOW’S TECH, SUCH LIGHTING AND SOUND AS WELL AS HAVING A MIC AND MIC STAND TO MIRROR AN ACTUAL SHOW, MADE EVERYTHING COME TOGETHER, EASING HER TENSION.
[Shai Bardin] Going into it, I was a little nervous. I was like ‘I am not the authority on standup, of what is funny and what isn’t,’ but this is exciting and cool. But afterward, I just felt super excited, super proud of myself and everyone in it because I feel like the show went super super well. I’m still getting a lot of positive feedback on it, which is super rewarding.
FOR MANY OF THE COMEDIANS, THIS WAS THEIR FIRST TIME PERFORMING STAND-UP. BUT FOR SHAI, PERFORMING COMEDY HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT PART OF HER IDENTITY SINCE BEFORE ARRIVING TO NORTHWESTERN. HER JOURNEY STARTED THROUGH A CLASS WITH THE MANHATTAN COMEDY SCHOOL IN NEW YORK, WHICH QUICKLY TURNED INTO MORE.
[Shai Bardin] I started doing open-mics a little bit in Brooklyn and Manhattan when I was 16, which was a particular experience because I was an underage person making jokes about being underage because what else am I going to talk about? I have no life experience. And then being approached by guys afterward, it was kind of like weird. But I did meet some cool people through that, people who were actually not creepy and would walk me back to the subway and make sure I was safe.
SHAI SPEAKS OF HOW COMEDY HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN A CIS AND HETEROSEXUAL-DOMINATED INDUSTRY IN THE REAL WORLD BUT SINCE STAND-UP COMES FROM A PLACE OF VULNERABILITY, IT CAN BE EVEN MORE INTERESTING WHEN IT FEATURES A VARIETY OF PEOPLE, STORIES, AND VOICES.
[Shai Bardin] People with different experiences can have different takes on things, which is I think where comedy comes from. Saying something that is familiar to people in a new different way, where the audience is like ‘Oh my god, I didn’t think of it like that’ when you have an experience that is different from what people decide is normal or default so that is the white experience, the male experience, the cis experience, the straight experience.
SHAI SAYS THE LINEUP OF FEMALE AND NON-BINARY COMICS WAS IMPORTANT TO HER BECAUSE SHE CARES ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY TO THE COMEDIC ARTS.
[Shai Bardin] I really want to learn and figure out how comedy, particularly stand-up comedy, can intersect with performance activism and representing underrepresented voices because I think it’s such an exciting genre for that because it is so personal and such a specific space in the context of live theater.
AS A NORTHWESTERN STUDENT, SHAI NOT ONLY PERFORMS STAND-UP THROUGH THE SET UP AND CLUBS IN CHICAGO, BUT ALSO PERFORMS LONG-FORM IMPROV THROUGH NORTHWESTERN’S TITANIC TEAM. FOR SHAI, THIS SHOW IS LIKELY ONLY THE FIRST OF MANY TO COME.
[Shai Bardin] Glad that that space was created and I’m hoping to make more spaces for people. So more girls, gays, and theys in comedy please. Because they’re so fun.
FROM WNUR NEWS, IM JANKHNA SURA.
[Shai Bardin] Everybody kind of came in with a specific voice, which was really awesome, but the workshopping process was everyone giving notes on what they liked, what they had questions on, or if anything was unclear.
[Anthem Summer/ambient music]
