It was also validating when he told me to just be who I was, because I was all dressed up when I opened for him. Go deeper.” And I was like, “Oh man, I already think I’m already doing too much.” But he was like, “No,” and “I used to tell Richard, ‘Just go deeper.’” And I’m sitting there thinking to myself, Well, if he told Richard … Like, I’m nobody. I don’t think anybody thinks, Oh, he’s had this major change in his life right now. If you know who Paul Mooney is, you know that this is always who Paul Mooney has been. They’re like, “These people like abuse.” Some people like to feel it, and some people don’t. The people at the club told me every time he comes, the same thing happens: He sells out, and then people start to walk out. When I opened for him, I wasn’t as seasoned, and I saw Paul Mooney being his authentic self. But for me, I don’t feel like I grow as a comic that way. If you just want to get a bunch of people in your audience that are gonna high five and salute you, that’s cool if that’s the experience you need. Otherwise, you’re just preaching to the choir. Because for me, that’s the only way that we’re having an honest conversation. There’s always been this daredevil in me, if you will, that goes out on this stage and says, All right, let’s see what happens. You should be able to laugh at things that are uncomfortable and inappropriate so long as it’s not being harmful. The point was that you can’t say anything because people get all weird, and this weirdness is causing a really bad comedy experience. You can put in the laugh track, you can hide the audience, you can cut from both specials and say, “I’m going get the best laughs here.” But I thought it was important to let people see that some people didn’t react to the jokes the way you wanted them to. I wanted to create a real environment where people are reacting authentically. When I’m onstage, I’m a comedian that’s observing liberals and conservatives. On Audience Authenticity in Her Comedy SpecialsĪn audience can take refuge in someone who they know is across-the-board liberal, and they’re going to talk about being liberal and what liberal people do. Tune in to Good One every Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Below, you can read an excerpt from the transcript or listen to the full episode. On Vulture’s Good One podcast, Rodriguez discusses her new special, what she learned from Paul Mooney, and why it’s important to talk about difficult subjects onstage. Her audience is a safe space but not a comfortable one, not even for herself because, to her, that is the only way forward as a community, as a country, as a village. On the other hand, you have Aida Rodriguez, a stand-up whose debut hour-long special Fighting Words premiered on HBO Max this year (Vulture named it one of the top ten comedy specials of the year) and who believes progress is hard-earned, coming only through difficult conversations. And in their defense, they compare themselves to the people who have used a microphone to actually say something, something that helps foster social change. If you hurt people, it’s not collateral damage, but the point - it’s proof of how far the freedom can extend. Who cares about the ends it’s just means. Over the last five years, the cynics have hijacked comedy’s freedom of speech, asserting that comedians can say anything because comedians can say anything. She was also a finalist on season 8 of Last Comic Standing.Photo-Illustration: Vulture Photo: Earl Gibson III/Shutterstock Other titles from Rodriguez available to stream now include headlining the 2020 HBO LatinX standup special Entre Nos available on HBO Max, Showtime’s Shaquille O’Neal Presents: All-Star Comedy Jam, and Netflix’s They Ready, executive produced by Tiffany Haddish and Wanda Sykes. The special is executive produced by Rodriguez, Michelle Caputo, and Shannon Hartman for Art & Industry. The travel documentary will conclude the special following Rodriguez as she reunites with her estranged father and how she pays it forward by supporting up-and-coming comedians. Known for her no holds barred commentary, Rodriguez will share unapologetic commentary on topics ripped from the headlines, being worn out from political comedy, and getting back into the dating game. ![]() The one-hour special is directed by Emmy-nominated cinematographer Nadia Hallgren ( Becoming) and multiple SXSW Film Festival Jury Award winner Kristian Mercado ( Pa’Lante). A comedian for the LatinX generation has finally arrived.Īida Rodriguez’s new HBO Max comedy special Fighting Words will take viewers on a journey that extends beyond the stage and into her personal life with a travel diary as she faces her past in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
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