Comedy on the surface might just look like a series of premeditated setups and jokes, but underneath it really is a representation of human perseverance. It reflects an ability to look at a world that is content with being cynical and nihilistic and finds the absurd and ridiculous silver linings right in the very thick of it; and what’s even nobler is taking that joyful discovery to an audience and sharing it. It certainly is self-satisfying to hear the laughter of others, but what more admirable gratification is there than providing someone a smile?
That is the service that comedians like Ryan Rogers provide to the world. A Louisiana native, Rogers was born and raised on the West Bank of metro New Orleans, a place that he stresses is full of older women who can’t stop gossiping about anyone out of earshot. It is perhaps this background that served as the foundation of Rogers’ own darkly comic and brash stylings. Since getting started in comedy, he’s toured sororities around America, hosted for Tiffany Haddish, launched a storytelling show with Virgin Hotels, and headlined LGBTLOL, New Orleans’ first queer comedy festival. Now, on his first full-fledged comedy album, entitled She Is Me, Rogers has begun to put all of that experience on tape with vivid anecdotes, childhood observations and crowdwork.
Throughout the album, Rogers covers a wide array of topics, ranging from mundane aspects of life to how sperm-themed dirty talk is never romantic, gender identification, dysmorphia and even suicide. All the while, he navigates each topic like a personal diary. It feels that what we as the audience are hearing isn’t prerehearsed, but rather recollections voiced on the spot with the joke at the end, wrapping the whole story together. Like every diary though, it has pitfalls, serious tones, moments of joy, rage, melancholy; it has shorter paragraphs and then longer, more passionate passages. Through all of them, however, the listener gets a real impression of Rogers’ comic worldview, and like the best of art, it makes you smile to hear the tale. I laughed, of course, but I think that what is even more important is I wanted to listen, and that is a rarefied skill.
I had never seen Ryan Rogers’ standup show before his debut album, She is Me, came across my desk. But, after watching him perform his hourlong set at the Comedy House NOLA, I was struck not only by his proudly perverse sense of humor, but even more, by the sheer amount of passion he put into his performance. It is not just great to laugh, but it is a sweet experience to see an artist that is so clearly in love with their chosen form. Even though this is my first contact with Rogers as a comedian, I am eager to see him live and watch his comedic career grow.
She is Me is available on Apple Music, Spotify, and Youtube, and upcoming tour dates for Ryan Rogers are available here.
