By Kathryn Roberts
On Monday night, comedian Aparna Nancherla performed at Keating Hall as a part of the Campus Activities Board’s (CAB) Diversity Month.
For Diversity Month, CAB has been working diligently to create events appealing for everyone. Such functions include, bingo, a cultural affairs raffle, a unity walk and a lecture from Michael Sam, the first openly gay NFL player. All events are created to promote diversity across the Fordham campus and bring people together. With her career on the rise, Nancherla did not fail to entertain students on Monday.
The comedian has appeared on “Inside Amy Schumer” and “Conan,” has written for “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and “Totally Biased” with W. Kamau Bell. This past summer she released her own album Just Putting It Out There. Nancherla’s hilarious content is what truly makes her stand out from other comedians.
For years Nancherla has been battling with anxiety and depression, but she has been using her comedy career as a method of coping. In an interview with NPR, the comedian said in reference to her mental health, “It was at a time when I was sort of in a rut and struggling with anxiety and depression in a real way.” She decided to bring her illnesses into her comedy when she had writers-block, as a way to incorporate more reality to her work.
Nancherla spoke about her anxiety and depression in her set on Monday. By doing this she not only breaks a lot of stigma that surrounds these diseases, but she puts herself out there as a performer, making her comedy stronger.
In her set, Nancherla joked that when people hear she has depression, the typical response is, “Wow, you really can have it all.” Fordham’s campus and location were also the subject of many jokes. Nancherla primarily spoke about the city, which every audience member was able to relate to.
From cat-calling to online dating, she had the crowd laughing endlessly to her real life experiences. Lilly Engeler, FCRH ’20, said, “I thought that it was funny how she used her everyday experiences in NYC in a lot of her jokes. That made it relatable, especially to us Fordham students.”
Nancherla’s comedy was relatable, but the laid-back vibe she gave off was what really provided for a comfortable show. Dressed in a baggy sweater and patched jeans, she casually walked across the stage spitting out jokes that were so true to life. It made the show very enjoyable.
Tying into the theme of diversity month, Nancherla also spoke on topics surrounding her ethnicity and gender. She spoke shortly about her Indian background and also included jokes about women’s rights. Not only did her material speak to the audience, but Nancherla herself interacted with students. Throughout the bit she asked the audience many questions, even calling on students and hearing what they had to say.
With her resume growing, her career in comedy is taking off. It was certainly a pleasure to hear the genius, hilarious mind of Aparna Nancherla at Fordham.
