fun thing
Dina Hashem: The Gulf Between Audiences and Her Comedy
Comedian Dina Hashem is no stranger to the challenges of navigating the comedy world. She believes there is a gulf between what audiences are willing to pay to hear and what she wants to joke about. But for Hashem, this distance is both freeing and stressful, providing an opportunity for creative freedom and distancing.
Hashem’s stand-up routines embody multiple contrasts, effortlessly and effortfully. On stage, she appears both confident and uncomfortable, a dynamic that is evident in her most recent special, Dark Little Whispers, now available to stream on Amazon. With her low-key delivery, Hashem proves that strong material doesn’t need a lot of bells and whistles to score big laughs.
Behind the Scenes of Dark Little Whispers
After the release of her special, Hashem admits to feeling mostly anxiety. When asked if she’s enjoying the sense of accomplishment, she responds, “Oh no. I never feel that way. I’ve been waiting my entire life to feel a sigh of relief that I’ve done something properly. Maybe that’ll come someday.” But for now, she’s focused on the present and the future, acknowledging that it may take some time before she can truly feel a sense of relief.
When it comes to the reactions of her audience, Hashem is more concerned with people not saying anything at all. She explains, “It’s not even that I’m afraid of what people will say. I’m afraid people won’t say anything. I’m just afraid people won’t see it with the fucking algorithms. They get in your head where you’re like, oh my God, I can’t reach the people I’m trying to reach. It’s very, very frustrating, but whatever.”
Bringing Comfort to Shy and Anxious Individuals
One of the things Hashem hopes to achieve with Dark Little Whispers is to bring comfort to shy and anxious individuals. She wants people to know that they are not alone and that they too can overcome their barriers to communication. With her low-key delivery, Hashem’s comedy serves as a reminder that less is often more.
But don’t be fooled by her calm demeanor. Hashem’s thoughts are anything but low-key. She explains, “My thoughts don’t necessarily match that energy. I think it does work for comedic effect. I do think it allows some flexibility to go a little harder.” And while she may have a low-key demeanor, Hashem knows when to turn up the intensity for maximum comedic effect.
Embracing the Uncomfortable
Hashem’s comedy often delves into uncomfortable topics, and she doesn’t shy away from the silence that follows a particularly shocking joke. In fact, she enjoys it. “Definitely for my grandma joke. I mean, that joke sometimes doesn’t even get a laugh. People are just shocked when they process the information,” she says. “For anything religious or political, that makes the tension release of the punchline even better.”
Hashem’s jokes about Trump also elicit a strong reaction from the audience, depending on where she’s performing. But she loves the unpredictability of it all, saying, “But what I like about that joke is that it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter who people voted for because the joke works for everyone most of the time. So it’s more of just a fun thing.”
