sapnakumar
As seen on LOGO TV’s “One Night Stand Up 9” and NBC’s “Last Comic Standing 4”.
Top 14 Finalist Magners USA Comedy Festival
Sapna Kumar is pint-sized, loudmouth Indian lesbian comedian whose act tells her unique story: “I was born in India and raised in Indiana. I found myself in cornfield, eating a bowl of curry, feeling tragically displaced. Growing up Indian, I had many choices. My dad said to me that you can do anything you set your mind to. You can be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, an engineer, a lawyer, or doctor. Or you can drive a taxicab. I chose comedy . . . Oops! I first disobeyed my parents when I told them I was going to college to study acting. My mom placed her hand on her forehead and let out in a guttural moan, ‘Where did you learn this acting?’ And she was being serious. My mom’s theatrical antics inspired me to create over-the-top characters. Through all their disapproval, my parents ultimately supported who we were, until of course, I said, ‘Mom, Dad, I’m gay.’ It didn’t really happen like that. My parents found out about my sexuality through the more conventional parental method of sitting down and reading all my journals. My mom just said the other day, ‘Sapna, you know why you are gay? Because you don’t eat enough fruit.’ Indian mother’s and their old wives’ tales. I hope my act can inspire other children of immigrants and anyone with disapproving parents to be who they are and express their individuality.”
Bring Sapna to your venue to hear more about her hilarious parents and her tales, or travails, of being a single lesbian in the city and a “model” Indian daughter.
Sapna Kumar has been featured on LOGO TV’s “One Night Stand Up 9” and as a Regional Finalist on NBC’s “Last-Comic Standing 4.” Sapna will be in the upcoming feature films “Jamie and Jessie Are Not Together” and “Promise Land.” She has toured Midwest clubs and colleges and performed on both coasts. She has worked regulary at Chicago's Zanies Comedy Club and featured in the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, the Park West and the Black Orchid in Chicago, and the Icehouse Annex in Los Angeles. Her comedy tells the story of her hilarious parents.
Sapna was inspired by the antics of her mother. Every night after getting home from work, Sapna’s mother “performed her set” about the colorful personalities she encountered while working in retail. It was no wonder Sapna pursued an acting degree in college, to which her mother asked with overly dramatic reproach, “Where did you learn this acting?”
Sapna also caricatures her father, who was a typical Indian parent. He pressured his kids to do well in school. He told Sapna that she could do anything she set her mind to, like be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, an engineer, a lawyer, a doctor, a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. In fact, if Sapna had graduated high school as valedictorian, her father probably would said, “Valedictorian. You could do better. Rupal Singh’s daughter. She’s a freshman at M.I.T., and she’s only fifteen years old. You're such an embarrassment” Sapna's act is packed with punchlines like these that were first delivered by her dear old mom and dad.
Through all their good humor, Sapna's parents encouraged their kids to be themselves, until of course Sapna said, “Mom, Dad, I’m gay.” Well, it didn’t really go like that. Sapna’s parents found out about her sexuality through the more conventional parental method: by sitting down and reading all of her journals. It took years, and is still taking years for her mother to come around. In fact, just the other day Sapna’s mother suggested that if she would just eat more fruit, Sapna wouldn’t be gay (Indian mothers and their old wives’ tales). Sapna takes her mother's quips and spins them into bits on the mic.
Sapna's act promises vivid characterizations, high-energy, and witty commentary. Sapna Kumar is not the kind of girl you invite over for tea; you invite her to the stage.
" Chicago’s answer to Margaret Cho .
"1of 5 lesbians comics you might not know, but should. A "loud-mouth, pint-sized" lesbian comic who was born in India and grew up in Indiana.
" A Comic to Keep Your Eye On .
" Anyone Who has seen Kumar on stage knows how funny she is, and if you haven’t seen her, then...well, she’s REALLY funny! Like most other comics bridging two cultures—Margaret Cho to Woody Allen—Kumar views her life through a pair of “giggle goggles .
