Comedian entertains crowd with self-deprecating humor, impressions
Toronto based comedian Aisha Alfa performed her stand-up act Tuesday night in the Bovee University Center Rotunda.
Sponsored by Program Board, Alfa has been on MTV Canada’s Degrassi, reached the finals of the nationwide comedian search StandUp NBC in 2014 and appeared in the Canadian comedy festival Just for Laughs.
Alfa started her set with comments on Central Michigan University's location, commenting on the campus that’s so much in the middle of now where she thought she’d made a wrong turn.
With funny voices and lots of energy, she went on to talk about her childhood in Canada, which she described as difficult since, as an Nigerian-Canadian woman in a overwhelmingly white community, all people wanted to talk about were things regarding her race.
Alfa's routine was rife with humorous self-deprecating comments. Both of her parents are doctors, which makes her feel a little guilty about her chosen profession.
“It’s a little hard when everyone in my family is like, ‘I built a bridge today,’ (or) ‘I saved the world today,’ and I’m like, 'I told a really good joke today,'” she said.
Alfa also talked about her struggles with being a female comedian and how there's a “weird stigma about it.” She recalled past experiences when male club owners were confused when they found out she was a girl, and didn’t understand how girls could be funny.
After the show, Alfa shared how even though being a woman in comedy is difficult, it’s something you have to take pride in.
“There’s a quote a friend told me, about how whatever makes you an outcast, own it," Alfa said. "That’s your thing.”
Program Board president Kaylee Bloom said the organization heard about Alfa while attending the National Association for Campus Activities conference in November.
“(Our organization) thought it would be a really good idea to get something we don’t always have, (which is) a female comedian,” Bloom said. “I love that she’s very animated, and she incorporated the audience into her jokes.”
Catherine Patterson, vice president of Program Board, said she was drawn to Alfa because of her "physical comedy."
“A lot of comedians have strict routines and don’t ever vary from their scripts," Patterson said. "I like how she was sort of flexible with her act."
After the show, Alfa took pictures with audience members and chatted with them.
