Sapna Kumar
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Sapna Kumar is selected amongst 50 of the nation's best women in comedy by AfterEllen.com - AfterEllen.com
Sapna Kumar is selected amongst 50 of the nation's best women in comedy by AfterEllen.com - AfterEllen.com
On Aug 1, Homo Comicus delivers the best queer comedy at the Gotham Comedy Club with A Midsummer Night's Scream. Enjoy a hot night of high hilarity as some of the nation's top LGBT comics—including the great and powerful Judy Gold as headliner, the fabulous Jennie McNulty from L.A. and a gaggle of other greats—hit the stage for a rainbow-hued laugh riot. Then, on Sep 5, nurse your Labor Day hangover with the outrageous, legendary leading lady of laughter Lea DeLaria. She tears the roof off the sucka in a rare NYC appearance with a gang of killer LGBT comics, including the hilarious Sapna Kumar from Chicago and more.
Just in time for Pride weekend, I Can’t Even Think Straight: Molly “Equality” Dykeman’s Big Gay Pride Show premieres at the Laurie Beechman Theatre Jun 21-23. Dykeman is a barely lucid poet/security guard at PS 339 and a lovable train wreck who launched her career to critical acclaim in the 2011 New York International Fringe Festival. She returns to NYC with her first gay Pride themed variety show—including home movies; new poetry about vaginas, nachos, and mullets; and Molly's tribute to the many, many ladies she would like to do. Featured special guests include Xelle, Robin Cloud, Ariel Speedwagon, Lea Robinson, Brad Loekle and Marie Wallace from the original Dark Shadows!
Head out to Sag Harbor for a night of laughter as BIG and TALL: An Evening With Bruce Vilanch and Judy Gold plays one night only at the Bay Street Theatre Jun 30. Join multi-Emmy Award winner Bruce Vilanch (a writer for the Oscars for 23 years, the Center Square on Hollywood Squares, and Edna in Hairspray on Broadway) as he teams up with the queen of Off-Broadway, Judy Gold, for what promises to be a hilarious, side-splitting evening of comedy. Then stay after to party with the stars.
Take Fido on The Wonder Wheel at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park’s 2nd Annual Pet Day Jun 16. Pets ride free when accompanied by their owners from noon-7pm. At 2pm, enter your pooch in The Coney Island Pet Costume Contest, hosted by The World Famous *BOB* and judged by proud pet owners Bambi the Mermaid of Coney Island, Miss Cyclone, Angie Pontani and Bunny Love. The contest is limited to 25 entries, and registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis. The entrance fee is two cans of cat or dog food which will be donated to The Sean Casey Animal Rescue.
Cirque du Soleil returns to Radio City Music Hall with the slightly twisted fantasy universe of Zarkana for a limited run through Sep 2. The show is an acrobatic spectacle that blends circus arts with the surreal to create a world where physical virtuosity rubs shoulders with the bizarre. The diverse cast of more than 75 international artists transports the audience into a fantastical and suspenseful world, blurring the boundaries between the real and imaginary. - GO MAGAZINE
“Anyone Who has seen Kumar on stage knows how funny she is, and if you haven’t seen her, then...well, she’s REALLY funny! Like most other comics bridging two cultures—Margaret Cho to Woody Allen—Kumar views her life through a pair of “giggle goggles.” - Outlines
“Anyone Who has seen Kumar on stage knows how funny she is, and if you haven’t seen her, then...well, she’s REALLY funny! Like most other comics bridging two cultures—Margaret Cho to Woody Allen—Kumar views her life through a pair of “giggle goggles.” - Outlines
Sapna Kumar is a self-described "loud-mouth, pint-sized" lesbian comic who was born in India and grew up in Indiana. - AfterEllen.com
Sapna Kumar is a self-described "loud-mouth, pint-sized" lesbian comic who was born in India and grew up in Indiana. - AfterEllen.com
"And keep your eye on comedian Sapna Kumar . . . ." - Curve Magazine
"And keep your eye on comedian Sapna Kumar . . . ." - Curve Magazine
"Sapna Kumar has definitley made her mark as a top lesbian comedian . . . ." - Windy City Times
"Sapna Kumar has definitley made her mark as a top lesbian comedian . . . ." - Windy City Times
"Chicago's answer to Margaret Cho" - The Red Eye--The Chicago Tribune daily
"Chicago's answer to Margaret Cho" - The Red Eye--The Chicago Tribune daily
"Chicago's answer to Margaret Cho" - The Red Eye--The Chicago Tribune daily
"Chicago's answer to Margaret Cho" - The Red Eye--The Chicago Tribune daily
Sapna Kumar . . . is both funny ha ha and funny queer . . . . - Time Out Chicago
Sapna Kumar . . . is both funny ha ha and funny queer . . . . - Time Out Chicago
Discography
Featured Comedian "One Night Stand Up 9" LOGO TV
Regional Finalist "Last Comic Standing 4" NBC
Featured Performer Oliva Travel's 40th Anniversary Resort Vacation
Top 14 Finalist Magners USA Comedy Festival
Supporting Cast, Promise Land, Feature Film
Cameo, "Jamie and Jessie Are Not Together," Feature Film
Selected for the 2012 Women in Comedy Festival
Photos
Bio
Chicago press calls Sapna Kumar "Chicago's answer to Margaret Cho." Curve Magazine says she's "a comic to keep your eye on." She has been featured on LOGO TV’s “One Night Stand Up 9” and as a Regional Finalist on NBC’s “Last-Comic Standing 4.” In 2013, she was a featured performer as part of Olivia Travel's 40th Anniversary week in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. She is also in the indie feature films “Jamie and Jessie Are Not Together” and “Promise Land.” In 2011, Sapna was a Top 14 Finalist in MagnersUSA National Comedy Festival and was selected for the 2012 Women in Comedy Festival.
Sapna began touring as a comedian at the tender age of 19. She tackled the backwoods of Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. At the time, her act was about being Indian raised in Indiana. She became a house emcee at Cracker’s Comedy Club in Indianapolis, IN. When Sapna moved to Chicago, she came out on stage. She created an act about her zany Indian immigrant parents learning she was a lesbian. Sapna honed her skills as performer as an improviser at the ImprovOlympic and ComedySportz Chicago. She is also a skilled theater actor, who toured nationally and worked at the renowned Steppenwolf theater. For over a decade, Sapna has been a regular at Chicago's Zanies Comedy Club. She also worked the Midwest and South college scene with Mikey O's Cultural Madness, and currently is a part of this year's Mikey O's Fajitas & Greens and All in Betweens. She has worked on both coasts and featured in clubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago.
No other act is quite like Sapna's because hers is autobiographical, with a lot of hyperbole. Sapna discusses what it was like for her immigrant parents to learn that she was a lesbian when she was just 19. Of course, they did this by the conventional parental method of sitting down and reading all her journals. Her act begins with tales of her outrageous Indian mother, who always said the most unexpected things. Once Sapna’s mother exclaimed, “Sapna, you know why you are gay? Because you don't eat enough fruit." She shares fond memories of her father, who often mispronounced words, including ordering a Crappucino at Starbucks.
Sapna doesn't take anything too seriously, and neither will you when you see her act. You might pee on yourself from laughing, at which she'll respond, "Yuck, grow up. Get a diaper."
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