My name is Brian Bahe and I’m a standup comedian. I’m Native American (an enrolled member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, and a member of the Hopi and Navajo Nation) and gay and I live in New York City. Those things are really what my comedy is about. 

I started doing standup in New York City. I moved here after college to be a comedian with a few years of improv under my belt. I thought I was going to be the Steve Carrell of my generation in terms of being an improvisor, but I started doing standup when I moved to the city and eventually abandoned improv altogether. I also write and act in sketches, but standup is where about 75 percent (pre-COVID) of my creative output goes. 

During my time doing standup, I’ve noticed that the industry has many – how do you say it? Flaws. It’s a flawed-ass creative world. But before I talk some shit about standup, let me say some good things about it because although it is not a perfect industry, there are many good things about it. Otherwise why would I still be pursuing it? 

First of all, it’s fun. You can be serious or silly. Tell emotional stories or just play a goofy character. It’s like, you have an idea, you say the idea, and people laugh (or they don’t). In terms of having an idea and executing that idea, there is no better or faster creative medium. Second, comedians are some of the best, flawed people there are. Everyone is flawed, no one is perfect. But comedians have figured out a way to wear their flaws like a fine, silk coat and I enjoy being around those people. It’s stimulating on every level (although breaks are necessary lol). Third, the number of comedians and shows happening on any given day in New York City is staggering. There’s so much of it. There’s so much variety, and it’s like, there’s something for everyone if you look hard enough. It’s energizing on so many levels. It makes you want to write more. It makes you want to play with different joke formats like music or literary pieces or videos. It makes you want to make more things.

OK, now the bad stuff. 

Here’s one flaw that I noticed immediately when starting standup at open mics in Manhattan, primarily the west village, east village, and midtown because those were the closest to get to after work. It’s that standup is primarily white and primarily male and primarily straight. You go into almost any open mic and its crawling with straight white men all telling a different version of the same Tindr Xbox dick joke. And because that is the environment they create simply by being the majority, that biased environment is going to determine what is funny. They’re unconsciously (or worse, consciously) going to think someone who looks like them (a straight white male) is funny because that’s how social psychology works (can you tell I was a psych major?). It’s in our DNA to look out for people who look like us. I’ll come back to this.

There are two parts to a joke: the setup and punchline. I used to be envious that straight white male comedians didn’t have to work so hard at crafting a setup. Their setup could just be, “I met someone on Tinder” and all the other straight white dudes would be like, “oh yeah, I’ve been there my boy, swiping left on these broads, I bought her pizza so why hasn’t she texted me back, etc.” The white dudes in the room are already on your side. No matter what the punchline is, no matter how clever or dumb what you’re going to say next is, they’re giving you the benefit of the doubt. But when a person of color, a woman, or nonbinary person, or an LGBTQIA person tells their version of a Tindr joke, their setup needs to bring these straight white dudes into their world. They need to make sure that the context is relatable and shows where they’re coming from and what the emotional stakes are, and why anyone should care about those stakes, and it better be short or people lose interest, and then you can finally get to that punchline. And if the punchline works, great. But if it doesn’t then you just affirmed that straight white guy’s bias of looking out for people who look like him. I’m not saying this is every straight white guy ever. But it does seem to be the case when it comes to straight white men at open mics. They love to be biased.

And this exists outside of open mics. I’ve seen white male audience members just shut off when they see me get on stage. I’ve seen them shut off when a woman of color gets on stage. Something happens in their brain when someone of a different race, ethnicity, or gender, assumes a position of power (the power being the only person in a room with a microphone) that goes “I won’t relate to this. Why bother listening?”

Smashcut to March when COVID hits. No one really expected COVID to be this long. I honestly thought it would be 2 weeks (lol). It’s been 7 months now, and comedians are like, “is standup dead?” I would argue yes and no. Comedians tried virtual shows on Zoom and Instagram Live early on in April and May and those were fun because it was uncharted waters. It was like, will jokes work like this? And even if it didn’t work, who cares because I’ve been stuck in my apartment for the last 5 weeks. Virtual shows still exist but they’ve lost their luster. Outdoor shows are happening in New York City in parks and parking lots and rooftops. I haven’t been to or done one of these shows yet, but it feels like putting a band-aid on a leak coming from the ceiling. Do I really want to stand in a park with no microphone and shout my jokes at 12 people who are spread out around me? Kinda. But also not really. Either way, it’s not sustainable. So what is the answer? What is the future of comedy?

If there’s one thing I know it’s that you need an audience to do comedy. That’s like comedy 101. It must be done in front of people otherwise it’s more like meditating or therapy at that point. So live comedy can go only one of two ways. It can be virtual, or it can be for small, intimate, in-person groups because gathering in large crowds is a no-no. I think this means that comedy will become more focused. Standup will be less about one person with a microphone being like, “so the other day, I was…” which is how most standup jokes start. And it will shift to more instances of one person talking into their laptop or phone with a directed purposed or theme. I think in order for comedians to get audiences to watch these virtual shows, comedians will need to create a show and point of view (POV) for that show that is specific and enticing. And from an audience perspective, there are so many options when deciding how we want to spend our time during the apocalypse that it’s like, a good show premise always wins. I think the comedians who will be successful right now, and during this time when we transition from quarantine to post-quarantine, are the ones who make the digital space work for them rather than retool their jokes for a digital space. Something that is an extension of their point of view and voice, which is ultimately an extension of their life experiences and how the world perceives them and how they interact with it.

One example that comes to mind is Ziwe Fumudoh’s Instagram live show “Baited” where she interviews people who have been, on some level, “canceled.” They’ve fucked up on a huge level or made a faux pas at some point in their public career and Ziwe asks them questions about race and their experience with racism and we tune it every week to watch them answer under pressure. It’s funny and captivating. It’s perfect comedy for this medium and time. More importantly, she created something that is very specific and has a strong point of view, and it’s like, that’s what all good comedy is. As a comedian, once you have your point of view, then everything falls into place. Usually, in standup you would piece by piece, set by set, try to build your POV. But now comedians have the chance to develop their point of view outside of standup but still in the realm of comedy. So that’s really cool. I am looking forward to seeing how comedians create more of these POV-driven shows. It’s no surprise to me that a lot of the comedians who are the most successful at making this kind of comedy are usually women and POCs and LGBTQIA, because as stated earlier, most comedy is straight, white, and male. As a woman, POC, or LGBTQIA who starts comedy, you’re like, “well I can’t do Tindr Xbox dick jokes, so let me figure out what else I can do.” So that’s what I realistically see happening in comedy. In terms of what I hope to see happen…

I do think that comedy has a long way to go in terms of centering BIPOC voices, and especially BIPOC female and nonbinary voices. I feel like a very easy answer about how to center BIPOC voices is to just book more BIPOC comedians on standup shows. Don’t just book one Black man and then 5 white dudes and 1 white woman, which is what so many standup show lineups look like. Actually book BIPOC comedians. I think the reason this is such a persistent issue speaks to a deeper problem, which is that white people don’t like listening to BIPOC people talk. (Remember the white dude at the show I mentioned who basically shut down when I got on stage?) White people would much rather listen to a mediocre white comedian than a BIPOC comedian. I think in order to combat this, there just needs to be more BIPOC comedians in media. More BIPOC TV shows and movies and books, more opportunities for BIPOC comedians. People need to go out of their way to book BIPOC comedians. White audiences need to be taught how to relate and empathize with other people’s story and journey. Centering BIPOC voices means white people have to decenter themselves.

The future of comedy is going to be good. (I’m an optimist.) Like, right now it is obviously bad. But you ever notice that anytime something goes wrong with anything, it ends up coming back stronger and better if people actually take the time to work with it? Like cars are so much safer these days than they were in the 1930s or whenever cars started getting made. I feel like a car could explode if you turned the ignition too quickly in the 1930s. Now cars are driving themselves. Comedy is never “complete.” It’s always changing. What’s funny last year might not be funny today, but I get the feeling comedy will get better in the coming months and years. I think a lot of younger comedians have a different idea of what comedy should look like and be like. They’re growing up consuming comedy that is starting to be led by women and BIPOC and LGBTQIA comedians. Audiences are more comedy savvy these days. I just think that comedy will be a fun space to work in. I also want to be sure that I hold myself accountable to change it as much as possible from the inside.