Arash Tadjiki: Stand Up Comedy

On any given weeknight comedic hopefuls herd themselves into dive bars, grasping at worn-out notebooks filled with graceless setups and banal tags. One by one they stand on a small stage and give heart-rendering speeches. Some are salacious, some are sagacious, others are simply crude. Most of these acts go unobserved as the audience, who consist of other comedians, croon over their own jokes.

Arash Tadjiki, perhaps the most brilliant of the bunch, can frequently be spotted at an open mic huddled over his black notebook methodically writing jokes. With his handsome demeanor and strident laugh, it is difficult for Arash to be inconspicuous in any setting. However, it is his cadence and natural charm constructed together that make him compelling. Whereas many locals have situated themselves as callow comedians, Arash’s act strings together narratives that serve as an introspective look at American culture and his experience as a first-generation immigrant. Many of his anecdotes muster a modest amount of vulnerability that in turn invokes approachability. In a certain sense, he crafts his jokes with a pinch of poeticism, though they skirt around ribaldry. His contentions are often met with roaring laughter from audiences and praise which he shrugs off in a lowly fashion. With the combination of these characteristics, it is evident that Arash will reach stardom and notability. Meanwhile, Arash spared some time to sit down with Salt Lily Magazine to discuss comedy, joke writing, and performing.

Is it difficult to balance comedy and a full-time job? 

Oh yeah, you just have to sacrifice everything.  

What sparked your interest in comedy? 

When I was in college, I was just really bored. Then my roommate and I would just go to a lot of [comedy] shows. Then we both ended up trying to do it. He stopped doing it but just kept doing it. It was fun to get up on stage. 

Were you a fan of watching comedy before you started? 

I watched for years but I just thought ‘oh I could never do that.’ Like I liked going to shows and stuff. 

What was your first open mic? 

I went to the downtown Wiseguys. That was like 2016. 

Was it a good show? 

Yeah, I did pretty well for my first time. My second time I bombed really hard, but I just kept going, so it was fun. I think I got way too overconfident and I came back and it's like, Ah shit, it was horrible.

Were you a natural or was there a learning curve? 

I mean everyone new is bad. No one is good when they begin. I mean I was fine when I started. 

You weren’t a comedy prodigy?

No one is. Everyone sucks. Everyone thinks they’re good when they start. You’re good by your own standards I think. I think I was fine. I got on shows pretty fast. Yeah, I think the first year is learning. 

Did you have certain comedians who inspired you or that you aspire to be like?

Colin Quinn for sure. He’s good. He's like my all-time favorite guy because he just mumbles a lot like he doesn't finish the sentences, but he has cool grand ideas. Like he has specials about just one thing. It's been interesting and like he just kind of does what he wants. He's very creative. No one else is like him, which is fun, he’s a cool guy He turns mundane things into interesting topics. I don’t watch a lot of stand-ups. I’m way too impressionable. I’ll just start hacking it. But it’s nice when people come into town Like I saw Michelle Wolf recently. I had never seen her before. It was so good, especially with a COVID. I don't know how she practiced that because there's not much comedy in New York or whatever. She was really good. 

What is your favorite thing about comedy? 

The joke writing is fun. It's like an experiment. You write this, you're like, ‘okay, my hypothesis is this is gonna work’, then you test it out. Then if it works you keep it if it doesn't work then you just toss it. At least you like you learn something anyway. When you don't look at failure as like an actual failure, it's like, way more fun because like it’s just testing stuff out. It’s kind of like you’re in a lab. 

What was your early stand-up like and how did you progress? 

I think I didn’t really understand how jokes worked. You’re supposed to have a set up and a punchline. Mine were like all setup and there was barely any punchline. I just had to hope that they would be good enough. I had really long jokes that just went nowhere and they weren’t that good. But eventually, they all got shorter and shorter and way more economic. Now I’m addicted to shortening them as much as I can. I just want to get to the point faster. 

When you write comedy do you write for the audience or do you mostly write to get your point across? 

I think when you start out you’re just trying to get the audience to laugh. Then later on you trust yourself a lot more. Then you can trust your own sense of humor and hope it matches with the audience. I think that's kind of the goal is you want both. 

What does your writing process for jokes look like? 

I just write a ton of stuff then I try all of it. Just anything comes into my mind, I’ll make a note of it. Then I’ll have a giant list of stuff and do a few of them during the week. Anyone’s that are good I’ll keep and throw the rest away. If I’m lucky like in a month I can maybe have one or two new jokes. I mean it starts with like a hundred jokes. I’m really jealous because some people don’t really write anything and will have one really good one [joke], but I have to write a ton. Sometimes you get lucky because something that didn’t work will come back and you can figure it out again. 

Is there a particular feeling or idea you want your audience to take away from your comedy? 

Just like they get my point of view so I don’t feel crazy. They just have to get it. 

What are your favorite themes or topics to write about? 

Honestly, social-cultural things like race, immigration or politics.I really can’t stop writing about that stuff. I always feel like I’m a hack. I should focus on other topics. But I think you just want to talk about things you want to talk about. 

Do you think our current cultural consciousness has made it harder to write comedy? 

Not at all. People have really good jokes about all those things that everyone thinks are untouchable. It's really just their fault for not acclimating to everyone else's sense of humor because your job is to make the crowd laugh. If you're not doing it then, that's on you. That's your mistake, they're not supposed to acclimate to you, you're supposed to acclimate. They just got the whole transaction wrong. I think those people [comedians who don’t acclimate] are more fragile than the people they think are fragile. 

I feel like none of your acts are offensive, but some comedians try to go out of their way 

to be edgy. 

There are like jokes about edgy topics that are ridiculously good. Everyone likes them because they're so well crafted. That's part of the whole thing like it's a puzzle, you're supposed to figure out the perspective that people will get it from

Do you think comedy is an important tool for cultural criticism, and have you used comedy in that way?

Yeah, no. It is entertainment. It's like people getting drunk and eating chicken wings and stuff. It's not like this amazing forum of ideas. There are actual politicians and actual activists who do that stuff. Some guy talking about dating should not be seen as some modern-day philosopher, or whatever. It’s just entertainment, it's fine. 

Do you think comedy has recently become more diverse? 

Comedy has always been diverse; it started with Jewish people. Vaudeville turned into stand-up in the 40s and 50s. Then it became more modern in the 70s. But it all came from really oppressed people. People who have to go through a lot of adversity usually have a pretty good sense of humor, that's just how it works. 

How does that affect your comedy as an Iranian American? 

It’s a good way to talk about everything that interests me. The other option would be to get sad or frustrated or angry. I don't know what other forum I would really seek to get those things, because it [comedy] makes me feel better. Like I was saying when you feel like everyone gets you it validates you a bit, so it's like okay I'm not crazy for thinking this. Like it's been bothering me my whole life. When everyone else agrees with you, it kind of takes the weight off your shoulders,

You can follow Arash Tadjiki on Instagram for more information about his upcoming shows.