She wasn't always on the nation's radar. Mixing her deadpan, dry wit with absurdist bits, she started off doing small tours around the country and was a frequent guest on Conan O'Brien's show. Her stories were laced with uncomfortable pauses and awkward moments, told in her trademark languid voice. Not many people knew who she was.
But then came the fateful year of 2012. In February of that year, while she was suffering from pneumonia, Tig was diagnosed with clostridium difficile, a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection that destroyed her intestines. She was losing half a pound a day, and spent a week in the hospital recovering from the disease. One week later, shortly after her 41st birthday, she learned that her mother had died in a freak accident. It doesn't stop there. After a routine check-up with her doctor one month later, Tig was diagnosed with breast cancer. And to top it all off, she was going through a break up.
This leads us to her set at the Largo in August 2012. Her cancer diagnosis came only a few weeks before her scheduled appearance, and at that time she had no idea what her prognosis was. With all of her luck, she thought, she assumed she was probably going to die. And so, when she walked on to the stage that night, before the audience had even finished applauding her appearance, she said, "Hello, good evening! How are you? I have cancer." Audience members were at a loss. It took several minutes before they even realized she was actually being serious. As she went on to describe her year of tragedies, the audience was at times laughing out loud, uncomfortably silent, awkwardly chuckling, and openly crying. The humor did not lie in stale jokes; instead, the comedy gold was hidden in the absurdity of just how horrible life could be. She describes receiving a questionnaire from the hospital in the mail a few weeks after her mother died, asking her mother how her stay went. "Mmmmm....not...not great. It did not go great."
Among the audience members that night was Louis C.K., who later wrote, "I can't really describe it but I was crying and laughing and listening like never in my life. Here was this small woman standing alone…employing her gorgeously acute stand-up voice to her own death." Ed Helms was also present, and immediately texted his girlfriend, saying, "Tig is doing something historic right now." At one point, an audience member shouted out, "This is fucking amazing." Everyone roared with agreement.
Her set at the Largo went viral overnight. Louis C.K. convinced her to release the set as an album, which was downloaded more than 100,000 times (the album is called "Live," which you can purchase on iTunes here, or listen to it for free here). Tig Notaro catapulted into fame.
"Tig," the documentary on Netflix, describes her journey in detail, also including her more recent struggles of trying to start a family with her partner. At times painfully moving and wonderfully funny, "Tig" is the epitome of comedy with substance -- as life often is.
Watch it now here.
Other Tig Notaro things to watch:
- The Moth presents Tig Notaro
- Tig tells a story about Taylor Dayne
- Tig bombs onstage, then things get worse
- Her new comedy series, "One Mississippi," on Amazon Video
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