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Someone came up to at a show recently and said that to me. And it’s true. I am. It’s more of a burden than a curse. LOL. She was impressed with my joke writing and “crowd work”, which was just me responding to someone who dropped a glass and apologized to me. She asked about my background and since it was a show where I did not bring up that I was a lawyer on stage. WhenI told her and immediately her and her daughter who was with her looked at each other, as if they bet on it. It’s hard for my sense of humor not to be affected by my educational background. As a lawyer, I wrote often and had to condense many briefs to avoid being long-winded or wordy, which judges and their clerks hate. I had a boss tell me to get to the point after I handed him a 3 page letter summarizing a status hearing at court for a client. His edits made the letter 2 paragraphs. Comedy is all about cutting the fat and getting to the point. We need laughs and punches every 30 seconds so details that are not necessary get cut. I think my writing does that. As for delivery, I was trained to adjust to anything so if I have to react to something, I will and am able to roll with the punches. On a podcast, I recently said (somewhat jokingly) that I am usually the smartest person in the room. It has led to conversations in green rooms and my Why Are You Awake Podcast to talk about ACT/SAT scores with other comedians. And yes, I know that scholastic test scores or degrees don’t properly measure intelligence, but it’s a good start. And I happen to have done really well on my LSAT and have a law degree from what was once a prestigious law school. 
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I got this message recently from a fellow Iranian on social media as I was posting and promoting a show in his town. He asked how I could dare do comedy when people were dying in Iran and quickly unfollowed me. To begin with, this is my full time job. I do comedy full time and have been for almost 6 years. This isn’t a side hustler or a hobby. And last I checked, people rely on comedians not only to escape from the sadness of life, but also to hear their takes on issues in the news. Since he blocked me, and I am a comedian who has time on his hands late at night when I can’t sleep, I found him on a different social media platform. I explained that if he followed me and watched my reels, he would know I discuss the tragedies in Iran as well as the tragedies here in America. Like other Iranian Comedians or even immigrant comedians, I try to expose people in other cities and towns who likely have never met anyone of Persian descent. As for Iran, I share the great videos of comedians like Comedians Maz Jobrani and Max Amini who bring attention to the matter to millions of Americans, at levels I could not do. And perhaps I don’t talk about Iran as much because I have also been focused on the ICE related tragedies happening in my hometown of Chicago and Minneapolis, a city I love and visit often. As a lawyer, I hate to see laws broken, especially by those in power. I ended my message to him saying I noticed he was still working at his full time job in marketing and did not take off work. It was bizarre that he was telling me not to do my job, while he did his. #standup #iran #formerlawyer #comedy  Not even close. The funniest person in my family is my uncle Arsalan, or Arsi as we call him. As a child, he was always the favorite and the one who lit up a room and made us all laugh. Even now, when we decide what family tripes or reunions to attend, the deciding factor is whether he will be there or not. His funny would make the elderly, like my grandmother laugh as well as very young kids. He would make up words that would be silly and randomly yell words out in public, like Persian swear words that would only be funny to me and my relatives and not to the non-persians who surrounded us. I had unkept hair as a child and he used to smell my hair and retract and say I smelled like sheep. He would tell us stories of the racism he experienced in Oklahoma when he moved there from Iran and would mimic the southern accents with perfect precision. I can tell 100s of stories of how he was funny, but it would never translate into words. You had to be there. Even now, as a “great uncle” to my own nieces and nephew, he is the favorite and funniest. Unlike me, he is naturally funny. He has a likability that you can’t learn, it’s natural for him. He meets strangers on the street or a waitress at Waffle House, and makes them all laugh. He should have been a stand up comedian but instead, you guys have me. #standup #family #formerlawyer #comedian  |
AuthorPaul Farahvar is a comedian hailing from Chicago, Ill. Archives
March 2026
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