Get to know comedian and actor Cher Lynn, and two things stand out. First, crucial to her comedy: she’s incredibly funny. The second is her deep love of and appreciation for yoga. She’s bringing her most frequent pursuits together with a unique monthly show at Harvard Square’s Breathe Cambridge, in which bare feet is part of the dress code and floor-protecting cushions replacing the more typical folding chairs. I caught up with Lynn ahead of the inaugural show on Saturday in a conversation about yoga, comedy and the unexpected way the two have converged. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What do yoga and comedy have in common? How does each inform the other?
The Breathe studio manager, Andy Pyman, suggested I do a barefoot comedy show at the studio. I am grateful he asked me, because it’s nice to be excited about something new.
I never planned to align my yoga practice with my stand-up comedy. It happened naturally over time. Both activities teach you to be present – the more present and relaxed you are, the better you perform and feel.
There is always a new joke you can write and a new yoga pose you can learn. It’s the long and tedious process I find most fulfilling, no matter the ups and downs. The years of stage time get better and better if you allow yourself to be patient, focused and consistent. With both yoga and comedy, if you stay present and focus on your own practice, you will feel less apt to compare yourself to others.
The sensation of stressfully running from work or traffic to a show and jumping on stage is the same feeling as making it to your yoga mat. The biggest success is just getting there. It took me years to actually pursue comedy, so that was the biggest challenge: taking the first step, just like taking the first yoga pose.
Given that yoga has a very specific sort of vibe, how did you choose comics for this inaugural edition?
Everyone I booked for the first show I have worked with and been around the circuit with for years. We all know what it’s like and can handle a similar kind of adjusting and pivoting. This first show sets the tone. I trust everyone to show up, do their job, bring positive energy and bring smiles to faces I see around the yoga community. We all get it. It’s nice to be around people who understand and want to make people laugh.
This may be the first time that some folks set foot in a yoga studio. What do you hope audiences get from it as a venue for comedy?
My goal is for yogis and others to experience comedy in a happy, comfortable space.
The inaugural Barefoot Comedy is 8 p.m. Saturday at Breathe Cambridge, 30 John F. Kennedy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $20. It features Brieana Woodward, Logan O’Brien, Cher Lynn herself and headliner Doug Key (Comedy Central, SiriusXM) with host Ryan Ellington.
The feature image on this column has parts that were created in a digital retouching process: The far sides of the feature image’s background and left shoulder were created by computer after being cropped out by the photographer. The image above is unretouched and as photographed.
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