Institute History
Description
"Good evening, I have cancer," comedian Tig Notaro famously announced in front of a stunned audience back in 2012. "Everyone having a good time? I have cancer." In just 30 minutes, Notaro not only revealed her grave prognosis, she delivered the news with a disarming mixture of humor and vulnerability. The set became a media sensation and critical smash overnight and, as Kristina Goolsby and Ashley York's new documentary reveals, helped push the beloved comedian past a series of devastating setbacks. Having just recovered from a life-threatening infection and still in mourning over her mother’s sudden passing, Notaro's subsequent discovery of bilateral breast cancer left her no choice but to turn profound pain into an ongoing punch line, both on and off the stage. The result is an alternately poignant and playful window into a comedian's process turning her worst fears and anxieties into pure comic gold. —H.V.