Comedy from The Other Side of Fear

Date: January - June, 2019
Price: $30, $27 Friends, $22.50 students and seniors
Includes same-day Museum admission (redeem at Ticket Desk)
Comedy Packages:
Buy three shows at full price and save 15%
Buy four shows at full price and save 20%

Enjoy Comedy from The Other Side of Fear, a series including performances from some of the most exciting comics working today, as well as a live taping of the critically-acclaimed podcast #GoodMuslimBadMuslim.

Mo Amer, Zahra Noorbakhsh, and Azhar Usman are known for turning the difficulties of life as Muslims in America into gutsy, hilarious, and thought-provoking material. Similarly, the #GoodMuslimBadMuslim podcast, featuring co-hosts Noorbakhsh and activist/writer Taz Ahmed, has been lauded for its humorous takedown of the stereotypes Muslim women face.

Kicking off the series is Mo Amer, one of Rolling Stone’s “10 Comedians You Need to Know,” who takes the stage in January for two nights of laughs.

In April, Zahra Noorbakhsh makes her Canadian stand-up debut with two performances of On Behalf of All Muslims: A Comedy Special Work-in-Progress, along with a live taping of the #GoodMuslimBadMuslim podcast.

Back by popular demand, Azhar Usman, “America’s Funniest Muslim” (CNN), returns to the Museum in June for two shows, following last year’s sold-out performances.

The series, Comedy from The Other Side of Fear, celebrates the courage needed to tell our truths and explores how we conquer fear through storytelling and laughter. These comedic takes on challenging issues encourage us to find their lighter side, expanding our perspective. The series is part of our 2018/19 Performing Arts season, The Other Side of Fear, featuring acclaimed artists who have transcended fear through music, dance, and spoken word.

• Content may not be suitable for all audiences.

Bios: 

Mo Amer is an Arab­American stand-up comic and writer of Palestinian descent, known for his work with the comedy troupe “Allah Made Me Funny.” Named one of the “10 Comedians You Need to Know” by Rolling Stone magazine, Amer debuted his first stand­up special, The Vagabond, on Netflix in 2018.

Zahra Noorbaksh is an award-winning comedian and co-host of the #GoodMuslimBadMuslim podcast. In 2016, the podcast was invited to record an episode at the Obama White House. The Pop Culture Collaborative named Noorbakhsh their 2018 Senior Fellow on Comedy for Social Change. Her newest stand-up show, On Behalf of All Muslims: A Comedy Special Work-in-Progress is in development with Golden Thread Productions and will make its world premiere at San Francisco's historic Brava Theatre in June 2019. Find out more at ZahraComedian.com.

Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed is a Los Angeles-based activist, artist, poet, storyteller, and co-host of the podcast #GoodMuslimBadMuslim. Ahmed was honored in 2016 as White House Champion of Change for AAPI Art and Storytelling. An avid essayist, she had a monthly column called Radical Love. She is published in several anthologies and her third poetry chapbook Emdash and Ellipses was published in 2016.

Azhar Usman is an American Muslim stand-up comedian of Indian descent, widely regarded among the top comedians in Chicago, where he was born and raised. Usman performed at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal this year, and has toured with several of today’s top comics, including Dave Chappelle, Hannibal Buress, and Hasan Minhaj. He currently has a recurring role in Amazon Studios’ critically-acclaimed original series Patriot.