Comedian Mohanad Elshieky's rise to fame has been anything but by the book. He grew up in Benghazi, Libya and first dipped his toes into the world of entertainment by hosting a political talk show in Benghazi during the Arab Spring of 2011, and the Libyan Revolution that led to the overthrow and assassination of Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
Elshieky began his comedy career in 2014 while in the United States attending college at Portland St. University.
Elshieky recently performed on CBS's The Late Show w/Stephen Colbert this past November and joined WNIJ Morning Edition host Jason Cregier during his North American stand-up tour to discuss life and comedy.
Elshieky will be performing at Chicago's Den Theater on February 26th and Milwaukee's Laughing Tap Comedy Club February 28th-March 1st.
Jason Cregier: So, you began your career hosting a political call in radio show in your home city of Benghazi.
This was during the Arab Spring of 2011, as well as the Libyan Revolution that led to the overthrow and death of Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
What did you take away from this experience?
Mohanad Elshieky:
We were just trying to figure stuff out. We were not sure what we could and could not say.
And the station was burned down due to the content you were producing, correct?
I believe so. I just know how it ended. I was on Facebook one day and the radio station posted a message saying that they would not be podcasting today due to a "little accident".
So, I asked, "what is a little accident?"
And they said, "There was a big fire..."
My reaction to that statement was, "That's not a little accident, that's just the end of it."
And do you believe this fire was set by an extremist group?
I believe so because at that time we were receiving threats. I was 20 years old at the time and that was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me. So even with the threats my mindset was that I was going to keep doing what I'm doing. But when that incident happened it made me think that maybe it was time to wind down a bit.
Your subject matter can be heavy at times, yet you're so patient and calm on stage. Did it take you a while to build that cadence and tone?
I'm lucky enough to be able to travel a lot and receive a good amount of stage time. There is a lot of trial and error involved. I have to trim down the bits and see what works and what doesn't. I now have enough of a fan base that they allow me to work on stuff on stage and work through my material.
You were briefly detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents in January of 2019 while traveling on a Greyhound Bus.
They accused you of being in the country illegally. How did that experience shape your act? Where you able to discuss the incident right away?
At the time it felt like the worst thing that had happened to me, and I didn't know how to make it funny. To be honest, I wasn't even thinking about how to make it funny. I was shocked it even happened. It took months for me to even write about it, but then I said, "I have to do something about this."
Does comedy then play a role in helping people define the world around them?
A lot of times when you say something on stage about politics or commentary on the political landscape, a lot of people would say to you, "You know, I'm thinking the same thing. I just don't have the words to say it".
Mohanad Elshieky performs at Chicago's Den Theater on February 26 and Milwaukee's Laughing Tap Comedy Club February 28-March 1.
You may listen to the full conversation in the link above.
