An [EMAIL] Conversation with Fareeha Khan
The Hustle Economy, Artistic Freedom, Getting Paid To Do Improv, Vague Hope For The Future & More!
A [BLANK] Conversation With… is an interview series where guests engage in a three-day conversation via their preferred mode of text-based communication, with no commitments to the length or frequency of their responses.
It’s funny, I don’t think
and I have met in person more than twice. But, then again, everything before the pandemic feels a bit like a past life so anything is possible.Regardless, she’s always stood out to me as one of the great comics on the New York “alt” comedy scene (if that’s even a valid description or line a division people care about anymore).
And like many people I’ve interviewed in this series, she’s involved in more than one craft — effortlessly blurring the lines between the labels of comedian, artist, writer, filmmaker and actor…
…all of which I became more aware of via the thoughtful personal essays, comics, and comedic insights posted in her amazing newsletter
.
We wrote to each other for three days via email. And, I don’t know about you, but part of the fun of these intervies is trying to figure out what the hell we were up to during the gaps in time between responses.
Anyway, enjoy!
TABLE OF CONVERSATION:
2024, Radical Improv, & Susan Sarandon
Depressed Paralegal, The U.S. Economy vs. Artists, & Hope For The Future
Parents, The Chopping Block, & Hasan Minaj
Note: Since Tim and Fareeha are based in New York, each text is timestamped in Eastern Standard Time. There have been minor adjustments of the text for clarity.
DAY 1 (Tuesday 3-5-2024)
Tim Barnes: (11:42AM) Hi Fareeha! Welcome to the interview. You're one of the rare few who have chosen to kick this off via email. How's 2024 treating you so far? That's a pretty loaded question these days, but if anything hopefully you're comfortable answering that in terms of the world of the arts and media. -- timbarnescomedy.com Fareeha Khan: (3:05PM) Yoooo! Tim, my man. I have no idea why I chose email... I feel that makes me look cheugy but I have no choice but to double down and commit so here we go. Honestly, I'm happy about 2024 so far. If anything, to just get 2023 off my back – youknowwhatimsayin haha But really... I'm actually feeling genuinely excited in my personal artistic life. I feel conflicted saying that when the world is falling apart around us: war literally raging on in Gaza, an impending election where the options are dead guy or fascist, climate catastrophe looming overhead above it all. The world around us is absurd, depressing, and demoralizing. But in my own personal world, I finally feel like I'm growing into who I've always wanted to be as an artist... I started working on this new anti-capitalist sketch show and I'm sooo freaking excited. It's being produced by Hyperobject which is run by Adam McKay, which is cool. It's the first time I'm getting paid to do improv instead of paying something to do it. lol. It's a really radical show. Our small ensemble cast is getting to shape it, write it, and perform it. Eventually we'll put up live shows in New York in the Spring I think. It's giving me so much hope. We show up to rehearsals and talk honestly about how we feel IN the world and how we feel about everything happening AROUND us. It feels like the one place in art-making, besides tinkering in my own lab (i.e. apartment/head), where we can be so honest without needing to hold back. This is so crucial and important. I can see how it's allowing me to blossom as an artist. When journalists around us are getting blacklisted for talking about Palestine, or artists are getting fired for showing up to Palestine protests (UTA really dropped Susan Sarandon – like what!) and the like ... it feels so important to be able to build a show about what is actually happening rather than pretending like it's not happening. Anyways... working in entertainment is so hard and demoralizing. It's mostly rejection and waiting to get picked for something. And if you do get picked, it's often not radical and has to be suitable for a broad audience just to get funding. I'm so grateful for this gig. It hits different. It just feels really nice to feel like I've finally landed a gig that aligns with who I am and what I want to make in the world. It's giving me hope for the future – more than I've had in a really long time. Okay! Is that a good answer? What's next, champ? -- Fareeha M. Khan fareeha-khan.com Tim: (3:43PM) Hahaha, perfect answer. And it’s great that you’re feeling so much artistic freedom right now. The best example of living the dream I’ve ever heard is “getting paid to do improv.” You have such a clear comedic voice, and I love seeing people create something that gets that across to a T. One example of that is your short film ‘Break Up Baby’ which incorporates animation and highlights the way you find joy through overtly tough situations. It’s actually funny seeing the poster for that next to the poster for your latest short ‘Stuck!’ which I can only assume highlights the opposite. Which of the things that you do would you say came first? And how had your interaction with the industry part of entertainment changed over the years?
Break Up Baby (2021) Creator & Writer: Fareeha Khan / Director: Alec Cohen / Animations: Greg Wilson
DAY 2 (Wednesday 3-6-2024)
Fareeha: (2:05PM) Aww thanks bud! I appreciate all the kind words – that's really nice to hear. You've always been so supportive to me and it always fills me with joyous feelings! Ok great question. So which of the artistic mediums that I dabble with came first? It's funny because it's been a journey and there's a lot of dabbling and I'm also going to argue how this reflects our current economic situation. Strap in, busters!!! When I was younger, I always loved drawing and illustrating and writing lil stories. But I didn't think it could be a career because I was growing up as a Pakistani American immigrant in a tight knit Muslim American community where the only options were – classic bit alert – doctor, lawyer, or engineer. I was notoriously bad at STEM, to my parents' dismay, so I intuitively knew those options were not going to work out for me. My parents always told me I needed a stable job or I was going to be homeless, so I felt like being an artist was just a pipe dream that only rich kids got to do. Through college and my 20s, I spent a lot of time searching for ways to be ~creative~ within a stable, traditional job context. I was also interested in activism, so I ended up studying political science in college. That led me to working in non-profits, which I realized was really hard and not for me. Then I had a dark depressing stint as a paralegal. That sucked, but I stacked that cash to move to New York. Then I got into advertising and marketing. To this day I have a day job in marketing because art doesn't pay in this country!!!! When I was a depressed paralegal, I started taking improv classes. That led me to sketch and character writing. Eventually, I built up enough confidence to try stand up. Once I was regularly performing as a stand up, I realized I could do acting. So then I got into filmmaking. And the desire to produce my own work led me to learn more about screenwriting. So I wrote, produced, and acted in my own short film, Break Up Baby, which you mentioned! I've worked on my friends' short films, including Stuck, which has been soo fun and fulfilling, if also challenging in its own ways. And now I'm working on a witchy buddy comedy feature film script with one of my best pals Sara Hennessey and I pray that we one day get funding to make the film of our dreams :) So now I have a lot of skills and the U.S. economy barely values artists. And because the internet "democratized" sharing art for everyone, I'm supposed to learn to how to make TikToks and reels or I won't ever "make it." I have so many thoughts on the hustle economy, but I guess that's not the question, so I'll save it for another time :) I often worry about what my future will look like ... but I have hope that eventually things will get better even if it looks so damn bleak right now. I do know that no matter what I will keep making art because I love making art and so if I have to work multiple jobs until the day I die, so be it. Damn. Choosing to be an artist really is crazy – my parents were right. lol. Anyways, yeah... if you're reading this: come to a show. haha! (2:05PM) Oh wait ... idk if I answered your question about the entertainment industry part! Do you want me to elaborate? let me know. I am popping off ~*~*~ Tim: (6:31PM) I think that pretty accurately answers the question! And it's interesting that your latest projects have an informative, or what some might describe as "activist" vibe to them. Classic question alert: How did your immigrant family react to your pivot to comedy and the arts? Do you think you've finally won them over? Or, is "winning them over" even a thing that matters to you at this point?
DAY 3 (Thursday 3-7-2023)
Fareeha: (11:21PM) Dude... winning my family over is, like, TOO important to me. lol. I talk about this in therapy a lot. It's been a journey for me with my family. When I first started out, they really did not understand it at all. To be fair, they had nothing to compare it to. We didn't know anyone in the arts when I was growing up. Over time, they've come around. I'm so grateful for that! What helped me was just staying committed to my own path. They came to my first ever show when I lived in D.C. (an improv class show, no less) and my mom – who is a harsh, Pakistani, Libra woman with a limited filter – told me that I wasn't that good. But years later, she came to a stand up show I did in New York City and, to my surprise, she told me I was really good. As I figured out my way in comedy more, they relaxed into supporting me more. Building and flexing skills is helpful to win over practical immigrant parents. Now they even tell me they're proud of me :) In 2019 before the pandemic, I was chosen to be part of a Comedy Central documentary about comedians and their moms. A whole ass film crew came down to Virginia to interview me and my mom about me doing comedy. Me and my dad peeked around the corner as the film crew asked my mom if she was proud of me. She said, "Yes, I'm proud of her." And that's the first time I ever heard her say she was proud of me about comedy. It was so epic. I remember it vividly. Classic show-biz style, I got cut out of the film - probably because I'm not famous enough to entice viewers. (Gotta love the biz, baby!!!!!) But, holy shit, it was worth it just to hear my mom say that. If you ever come out to see my solo show "I Actually Don't Feel That Good", which I hope to put up agian soon, you'll see that footage in the opening (lol) so at least it's getting salvaged! It's a great set up for an hour long show unpacking my mommy issues and intergenerational trauma in chill, funny (I promise) ways. Also, what helped a lot is more representation of South Asians in comedy. Straight up: Hassan Minaj getting successful helped my parents understand this a LOT! His aunt and uncle live in Maryland in the same area as my family. When I got into comedy, my dad talked to his uncle. His uncle said, "It takes time, but they figure it out" or something to that effect. Hassan Minaj getting on the Daily Show, then starting his own show, then selling Netflix specials all helped my parents understand that sometimes a brown kid expresses themselves and gets successful in that good-money kinda way. I'm hoping I can bring home that kinda success one day and ultimately win my mother over for life. I still have a day job and she still thinks comedy is a cute side gig. I want to achieve my dreams of making a living as an artist. That would feel nice. Then my mom can never say shit to me ever again!!!! I think this is healthy...
END OF INTERVIEW
Did you enjoy this conversation? Let me know what you think in the comments. Anyone you think I should interview in the future? You guessed it — leave a suggestion in the comments!
Craving more? Check out some of the other text interviews here or listen to episodes of my You Are The Genre podcast!
 | A guest post by
|
My favorite series of posts on here!