This Saturday, Nov. 1, CalArts alum Ishika Muchhal (Acting BFA 23) brings her comedy special, Please Don’t F*ck the Funny Out of Me, to Caveat in New York City for a one-night-only performance, with a livestream and video on demand available until Nov. 8. The show is framed as a “thesis defense presentation” on her hypothesis that if she has sex, she will no longer be funny.
“I grew up feeling really behind in my life, especially in sex,” Muchhal says in the show’s press materials. “It is so easy to compare your timeline to everyone around you and feel like there may be something wrong with you if you aren’t where your friend or a random stranger on Instagram is. The situations I have encountered in my dating life have been such fruit for comedy—and pain—that it made me wonder, if I have sex, will I no longer be funny?”
Below, we spoke with Muchhal about why she framed a comedy set like an academic argument, how she mixes humor and vulnerability, and how CalArts’ cross-disciplinary ethos shows up in her work.
24700: You call Please Don’t F*ck the Funny Out of Me a “thesis defense presentation.” Why structure a comedy show like an academic argument?
Muchhal: I’m a really big nerd. I’m very Type A. My personality is data and spreadsheets. I’m an artist in every aspect of my life, but I definitely have a heavy influence on the data side. I felt like the best way to talk about what I wanted to talk about in a way that is funny and also defends this idea I’ve had was a thesis.
24700: The title is bold and personal. How do humor and vulnerability work together in this piece?
Muchhal: I came up with the title while I was ranting about a date with a friend over dinner—“I can’t let these men f*ck the funny out of me.” The original iteration was a very personal one-person show I wasn’t ready to present. I let it sit, went back to it, kept the funny parts, and turned the plot into bits—like telling my friends stories—so I could still say real things, but in a way that isn’t harmful to anyone else or to me.
24700: What does the CalArts cross-disciplinary approach look like in your comedy?
Muchhal: I started this as a one-person show. I had never done stand-up. My background is straight storytelling and theater-type performance. After workshopping with friends, they suggested I do it as a stand-up. I also mix media. I run a live presentation with the set—I love a visual aid—which fits the venue well. Caveat is known for hosting academic nerd comedy.
24700: Do you have any advice for current students chasing their own funny?
Muchhal: We try to fit into what the industry wants, especially post-grad. At CalArts you develop your voice and have the agency to create what you think is important. Then senior year and after, you can feel boxed in and chase approval. But the industry is us. Even the most personal can be universal. Everyone has some funny sh*t going on in their life. Your story matters.
Follow Ishika Muchhal on Instagram @ishika.muchhal.
