Dear Wyatt Cenac -
(from December)
I've been going to your comedy show for years, and the community and energy you've created is fantastic. The tone you set is one of deep empathy and vulnerability, and the performers you host clearly aspire to emulate your thoughtfulness, creating a ripple effect throughout comedy. You consistently channel the emotions of the room and amplify them in a way that is at times awkward, cathartic, and revelatory.
Comedy obviously plays an important role in times of political discord. I remember clearly the temporary hibernation of irony after 9/11, and the difficulty performers and television hosts had getting back into the swing. I remember how certain jokes and styles of humor just permanently seized to resonate, making way for something new, and how uncertain and awkward the blank spaces felt for some time. As an artist I look back at things I made just weeks ago, and nothing from before the election feels like it could ever be relevant again. These are undeniably dark times and its hard to know where to go from here.
At your first show after the election your audience wanted to be entertained, consoled, and told how to process. We wanted to be made to feel present, and we also wanted to disappear. You seemed to think it didn't go well. In fact, you sat down on the stage and asked the technician to just turn the lights off. But you always bring people together and you have the ability to carry us through with strength and earnestness, so if there was a nervousness in the room, it wasn't caused by you. This is a time of mass trauma, and unlike the weeks after 9/11, it feels like the enemy is among us, and the worst may be yet to come.
We have a lot of work ahead of us, and I can't wait to see what you bring to the new era. You are an important voice of compassion and responsiveness, and you have a lot of ears on you. Stay strong.