There aren’t that many comedians who’ve completed graduate school. Musin Yesilada has a PhD in psychology from the University of Bristol. Lewis Black earned a master’s degree in drama from Yale University. Then, there’s Vancouver-based Niki Mohrdar, one of six comedians featured in the second season of Killjoy Comedy, which will return for a second season on OUTtv.com on Friday (July 25).
Mohrdar has a master’s degree in communication and culture in a joint graduate program at Toronto Metropolitan University and York University. In an interview with Pancouver, she acknowledges that what she studied has nothing to do with comedy.
“Initially, I pursued a career that was more based in politics and advocacy,” Mohrdar says. “While I did find that to be an interesting and meaningful pursuit, there was a lot of bureaucracy and a lot of hierarchy and rules that I wasn’t really expecting.”
She had previously studied journalism as an undergraduate at Concordia University and she retained a desire to connect with people through storytelling. Mohrdar thought that comedy could enable her to do this while engaging with people with different perspectives or backgrounds. She wouldn’t always be spending time with people like her.
“Comedy pushes you out of that bubble,” Mohrdar says. “And sometimes, it can be quite uncomfortable or disarming. But I just found it a more challenging and interesting way to achieve what I kind of already was achieving and what I was doing before—which is sharing my story, connecting with other people, and learning about other people.”
On Killjoy Comedy, she speaks about how she made this transition. Created and directed by Shana Myara, the LGBTQ+ friendly show features comedians who challenge norms and dismantle the status quo rather than punching down on marginalized members of society.
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Mohrdar keeps things silly and light
Mohrdar feels that after four years as a comedian, her style is still evolving. Right now, her standup routines are highly conversational, almost like she’s chatting with an old friend at a party.
“I’m trying to make it fun and silly and light while I’m still talking about more serious topics and things that impact me,” she says. “Hopefully, in the best jokes—my favourite jokes—I’m also making observations about what that means in a more thematic, greater scheme.”
This is on display in a segment of YVR Funny! on STORYHIVE. On-stage, Mohrdar mentions that she’s been reflecting more on her Iranian identity. She concedes that there was “a lot of shame when I was younger”.
“But now, I feel really proud,” Mohrdar states. “Iranian women are strong. They’re powerful women. They can do, like, freaking anything, right?”
Then, she quips: “They can do even more than, like, most white men! You know, there’s some things they can even do better than white men. Like, I can grow a real moustache.”
It’s a confession that few women would make in public. It reveals the comedian’s willingness to go where others fear to tread.
Watch one version of Niki Mohrdar’s moustache joke (above).
In the same routine, she recalls the time she told her family that she’s bisexual.
“I’m coming out as bisexual, not American,” she told her them. “It’s okay. We’re good.”
It’s funny and personal. But this line is also laden with deeper meaning, given the longstanding impact of U.S. interference in Iranian affairs. For some, it may even trigger a reminder of the CIA’s role in the overthrow of a democratically elected president in 1953, which laid the foundation for so many sad and heartbreaking events in Iran ever since.
Graduate school changes her perspective
Mohrdar was born in Iran and immigrated to Canada with her family when she was three years old. She speaks fluent Farsi, but in her youth, she spent a fair amount of time pushing her culture away to avoid being “othered”. However, her perspective changed in graduate school.
“I dedicated my thesis to learning more about immigrant experiences among Middle Eastern women,” Mohrdar says. “So, that really catapulted my self-discovery.”
She comes from a family that has always been involved in the arts.
“Culturally, there’s a love of performance and art—and expressing yourself in creative ways,” she notes.
Mohrdar moved back home to Vancouver during the pandemic and in January 2024, she landed a job as programming manager at Little Mountain Gallery Comedy. She recently hosted a reality TV show called Fade Masters, which will be released on STORYHIVE in August. It’s about barbers engaged in head-to-head competition.
In addition, Mohrdar co-produces the monthly Pillow Talk Comedy Show with fellow comedian Cass Furman. It was featured in the “Best of the West” programming at Just for Laughs Vancouver. Mohrdar describes it as a “slumber party” with lots of banter, prizes, and the odd prank. They’re currently adapting Pillow Talk Comedy Show as a two-woman show for the Vancouver Fringe Festival, which takes place in September.
Mohrdar concedes that she’s not the type of person to come up with a three-year or five-year plan for her life. Nor does she think that other comedians do this.
“I might have an overall goal of becoming a professional comedian that might take the form of performing and writing, or performing and acting,” she says. “But I would always like to do standup. That’s the direction that I’m going in. But I’m someone who’s always open to new opportunities.”
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