As it happens, there may not be a better time for Laura High to be heading to Cambridge’s Comedy Studio.
When I mentioned to her a recently passed resolution designating the city as a sanctuary for trans people, the comedian, TikToker and social commentator was delighted.
“Fantastic. I love that. Good job, Cambridge. Well done!”
Those familiar with High’s comedy shouldn’t be surprised how pleased she was. She describes her comedy as “pretty far left leaning,” adding that she’s been excited to perform for the audiences that she expects to see here: smart, appreciative of comedy and politically engaged. “I definitely have some dark humor, I have a lot of political activism as well in my stand-up, and I think that just it kind of aligns with Boston,” she said.
It took her a while to move into the space comedically, and she cautions young comics against following too quickly, or too impersonally.
“I think a lot of comedians [start out] like, ‘I’m gonna be George Carlin. And I’m gonna talk about what it is and I’m gonna have all these think pieces on all of these national issues,’” High said. “You can talk about political issues, you can talk about cultural, social issues, but it has to come from a very personal place.”
It’s that personal connection to her material, and the politics associated with it, that has made her such a force on TikTok. Those who have only seen her there might be surprised how funny she is, given how matter-of-factly she covers topics there compared with how she addresses them onstage.
She moved from the stand-up stage into that at-once far smaller and far bigger stage thoughtfully.
“I was eight years into stand-up. I have a theater degree. I’m a Sag-Aftra actor … I already knew what a joke was, I knew who I was.” Her instinct toward gently controversial authenticity paid off quickly, gaining her 15,000 followers in her first two weeks on TikTok and 100,000 within a few months. (Today she sits at just over 620,000.)
She’s proud to have an audience that cares about their fellow humans and the issues that affect them – and grateful they’ve followed her into clubs to laugh about them. She’s using her following to also address an issue that could bring more folks to her own work and that of other comics: accessibility at comedy clubs.
“I am autistic, and I have ADHD. So I work really hard at making my shows neurodivergent-friendly. I realized that not a lot of neurodivergent people come to comedy shows, because it’s not a safe space. Comedy is made to be experienced live. Watching a comedian work live is like nothing else, and it’s wrong that we’re cutting out multiple communities.”
To High, accessibility isn’t just about making sure bathrooms are on the same floor as a show, or that comics can access the stage with a ramp or stairs. It’s allowing folks to opt in or out of crowd work with a clearly visible sticker, encouraging showgoers to bring anything that will help them focus and committing to not calling folks out on their laughs or other noises from the stage. For some, this might seem like overkill or even a softening of the comedic experience. But she insists that these small details matter. They give folks the chance to see people whose material they connect with, and at a time laughs are so sorely needed.
“These are easy adjustments we can do to ensure everyone can come, everyone can be welcome and everyone can have a good time. It’s fucking comedy. Goodness gracious, we should all be enjoying it, especially in this regime. Right now we need to laugh. Everyone does,” High said.
Comedy with Laura High at 8 p.m. Thursday at The Comedy Studio, 5 John F. Kennedy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $15 to $20.
A stronger
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