Got Cancer? Quick, Lace Up Those Running Shoes
An Interview with Comedic Artist Alex Kumin about Healthcare, Unaffordable Healthcare and Laughing Through The Pandemic | January 11, 2022 | By Kimberly J. Soenen
(Alex Kumin performs at the Chronic Laughs comedy show in Chicago, September 7, 2021. Photo by J.Lenai @j.lenaiphotography)
Comedic Artist Alex Kumin has very strong opinions about the United States approach to, and model of, healthcare. She talks about it frequently on stage and manages to make people laugh about some of the most frustrating aspects of accessing, and affording, healthcare. She writes about bias in healthcare, unaffordable healthcare, illness prejudice, gender disparity in healthcare, and sexual and reproductive health medicine. She brings down the house each and every time.
Alex is an alumni of the nation's longest running independent standup comedy showcase, The Lincoln Lodge in Chicago, where she also taught the famously hilarious all-female standup class, Feminine Comique, known to locals as FemCom. She had a monthly showcase, Diamond Comedy Hour, at the Chicago Laugh Factory featuring the premiere female comedic artists from Chicago and national talent, as well.
She has performed with Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford, Tom Green, Rory Scovel, The Lucas Brothers, Aparna Nancherla, Greg Fitzsimmons, Jen Kirkman, and Todd Barry, among many others and was selected as one of eight comedians at Gilda's Laughfest - Best of the Midwest Competition 2017. She made her television debut on WCIU's "Chicago's One Night Standup" and has appeared in NBC Universal's Breakout Festival, Limestone Comedy Festival, Orlando Indie Comedy Fest and The Chicago Comedy Exposition.
In 2016 she was named a Comic to Watch by Timeout Chicago and was one of Chicago Reader's standout Comedians of the Year. She has been featured in Chicago Magazine as a comedian with "unapologetic honesty", as she tackles heavy hitting social issues like gender inequality health, healthcare, mental health and thigh chaffing.
I met Alex at FemCom several years ago in Chicago and knew her trajectory in comedy and stand up would be meteoric.
She recently moved from Chicago to New York City. I caught her by email to check in about how she was doing mid-pandemic. I also wanted to know, comedically, is anything off the table in 2022?
In between her shows at The Comedy Attic, a performance with Maria Bamford, and writing new material, we connected.
What personal experiences have you had with health and healthcare that has motivated you to frequently include the topic in your stand up sets?
I had thyroid cancer twice in my 20's and the struggles of navigating our healthcare system in the United States as a young person was beyond frustrating. That I struggled with it so hard as a technologically competent, native English speaker and citizen of the United States with flexible work hours where I could spend hours on the phone was even more devastating. What do people do who don't have the same resources as I did and do?
Comedic Artists were severely impacted by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic economically. How did that forced hiatus impact you, your health and your writing?
It was pretty devastating. I was definitely in a slump for most of the pandemic, but as soon as stages started to open up again I felt a renewed sense of creativity. During the slower months, I focused more on voiceover work and other forms of creativity like writing TV pilots, shorts, stories, and other work like that.
(Photo by J.Lenai @j.lenaiphotography)
You recently performed in a group stand up show in partnership with MTV and Comedy Central that addressed mental health. Earlier this month, the United States Surgeon General warned about the severe mental health crisis that is impacting children and young adults in the United States. What response did you get from that special and what do you think is most needed now to support kids and each other as performing artists?
What is most needed now for mental health is for comprehensive, age-appropriate social emotional learning to be taught in our schools. We ignore health education in our school system and the result is what we're seeing now: a mental health crisis across the boards.
What is the most astonishing experience you’ve had with the commercial health insurance industry in the United States?
The cost. I couldn't believe how expensive cancer treatment and follow up was and has been with commercial health insurance. I cannot imagine what the medical and health insurance bills look like for uninsured Americans.
Comedians have been under critical fire from the public over the last six years especially for crossing lines and going too far in their stand up. Are any topics off the table in your own stand up? Are censorship and challenges to Free Speech healthy for stand ups and society?
No topics are off the table for me. But I am mindful of where and when I have experienced privilege and oppression kin my own life and keep that in mind whenever writing or performing. I think a comedian's job is to push the audience to think about things from different angles, which can sometimes result in discomfort for the audience. As long as there isn't hate speech, punching down, or incendiary comments about specific groups, I think everything is fair game.
Who are some of your comedic inspirations and who, in stand up, most influenced you over the last ten years?
Amy Schumer, George Carlin, Maria Bamford, Aparna Nancherla, Chelsea Peretti, Michelle Wolf and Wanda Sykes.
(Photo by J.Lenai @j.lenaiphotography)
As the Supreme Court is currently weighing a case that could chip away at federal abortion protections under Roe v. Wade, physicians in Illinois and other states are already preparing for a potential surge of patients. The topic of Sexual and Reproductive Health find their way into your stand up sets frequently. Abortion providers say they are already seeing influx of patients from out of state–and expect more in the years ahead. Why do you choose to talk openly on this medical issue?
I choose to speak openly about reproductive rights because I have always had unlimited access to birth control and believe that everyone should have that same access, but that is unfortunately not the case. My mom was a large influence on me. She was a labor and delivery nurse in Boston for many years and always spoke very openly with me, from a young age, about reproductive rights and the importance of medical choice. I have always lived in “blue states” where birth control has been accessible and abortions have been legal and “affordable." Because of that, I have been able to make choices in my life based on my own needs and wants.
(Photo by J.Lenai @j.lenaiphotography)
A few quick questions:
PJ Harvey or Adele? Adele.
Christmas? Yes/No? Yes.
Muffin or bagel? Bagel.
Eggshell or off-white? Eggshell.
Madison Square Garden or Comedy Cellar? MSG.
Thank you Alex. And, thank you for making us laugh throughout the pandemic. We look forward to your sell-out show in the future at Madison Square Garden.
You can follow Alex Kumin on Instagram at @alex.kumin
Learn more about Feminine Comique at the Lincoln Lodge in Chicago on Instagram at @fem_com and check listings for the live monthly show and showcase.
To join the Chronic Laughs community visit @chroniclaughscomedy on Instagram and catch a live show at KaLab in Bronzeville located at 501 1/2 East 47th Street in Chicago. Get all the details at www.letskalab.com
Alex currently resides in New York City and performs nationwide.