A truly great comedian is like an orchestra conductor. The instruments are not the jokes but the audience itself: the laughter of the crowd is what they conduct. Of course, people go to a comedy show wanting to laugh but genuine laughter is an involuntary physical response – and the stand-up comedian’s job is to provoke a large number of people to have this response en masse. Comedians on top of their game know how to get a mild chuckle here, followed by a short rest there, then scattered giggles, eventually building to a crescendo of hysterical guffaws, which gradually diminishes in order to hear the next joke. In the hands of a master comic, this process can intensify over the course of a set, climaxing in a riot of convulsive gasps.
Ali Siddiq, who will perform at UIS Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 23, is a comedian who operates on this level. Over the course of incessant touring resulting in 17 solo specials since 2010, Siddiq has honed his craft to a fine art. Specializing in long-form, autobiographical storytelling rather than rapid fire set-up/punch-line jokes, Siddiq invites the listener into the details of his very eventful life, rendering stories of childhood strife, street survival, incarceration, challenges of parenthood and more. Again and again, Siddiq takes material that in other hands could be the stuff of melodrama — or even tragedy — and renders it hilarious and ultimately relatable, all with pathos, wit and theatrical flare.
His most recent special, My Father, (currently available on YouTube) paints a portrait of Siddiq’s difficult relationship with a “not ideal” parent and does so with brutal honesty and disarming warmth. It’s also funny as hell.
“I’ve been telling stories, my whole career – this will be year 30 for me in December,” said the Houston, Texas-bred Siddiq during a telephone interview from the road last week. He explained that while earlier in his career his stories were brief, condensed snippets, beginning with his 2015 special This is Not Happening, he began to turn his performances into longer, overarching stories.
“I live a life every day, so I just draw from things that happen,” he explained. “I’m around a lot of different types of people, so it’s a worldwide view. I just want to give people a glimpse into how my life runs and the ordeals that I go through. You might think that me and a middle-aged white lady wouldn’t have anything in common. But then we actually have a conversation and realize that both of our kids have lost a chore list that’s been the same list of chores for five, six years. I can be sitting in the airport and somebody’s talking to their kids on the phone and they finish up and I just say, ‘Me too.’ And now the conversation starts.”
Siddiq also explained that telling longer stories is his way of paying respect to his audience’s intelligence. “Whoever sees my show, I am applauding you for not being a part of the narrative where people claim the attention span of human beings has gotten shorter. It’s like they’re down-talking our ability to be able to understand something. I do long-form. And when you watch it, you are dispelling that notion that people cannot listen and understand a longer piece.”
One element Siddiq said he feels is less noticed in his work is the intricately thought-out staging of the his performance space, which changes from tour to tour and special to special. For instance, 2023’s Domino Effect Pt II: Loss was shot in black-and-white to evoke the feel of early Alfred Hitchcock films, while My Father is done on a Tonight Show-style, talk show set.
Audiences for Siddiq’s show in Springfield (title: Custom Fit) can expect a completely fresh set of material. The comedian did mention that never having performed in Springfield before is a factor he finds freeing.
“When it’s a place that I haven’t really been, it opens up the whole playbook,” he said. “I can do almost anything. They’ve never seen me live, you know, so I’m excited to be there. You can expect me at 100% energy.”
Scott Faingold is a journalist, educator and musician. He has been director of student media at University of Illinois Springfield, founding editor of Activator magazine, a staff reporter for Illinois Times and co-host of Old School Bleep, a music-centered podcast. He can be reached at scottfaingold@gmail.com
