By Polina Smith
Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, www.dhayacomedy.com
Many say we’re living in the era of the multi-hyphenate. With the gig economy decentralizing the modern workforce and opening alternate avenues of employment, artists are increasingly finding ways to maximize visibility through a wide variety of disciplines and mediums. Comedienne storyteller, speaker, host, actor, and writer Dhaya Lakshminarayanan is no stranger to the world of the multi-hyphenate, an amazing woman with several different talents. Dhaya has embraced the hard-to-pin-down nature of her art. At one minute, she’s delivering a lively story on NPR’S Snap Judgment accompanied by restless avant jazz, and the next minute she’s writing in the San Francisco Chronicle about the importance of the library to her early childhood. Such is the life of an artist whose refusal to pigeonhole herself into one neat box has only increased her visibility. The indefinability of her craft widened the scope of her work, creating additive opportunities down frequently intersecting paths.
Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, www.dhayacomedy.com
As a comedienne, Dhaya tackles issues of geopolitical, racial, religious, and familial significance. She is unafraid to wade into dicey emotional territory, whether the subject resides on a global scale or sits right in her own backyard. This bravery translates to her storytelling as well, where she uses the candidness and vulnerability of her comedy as the baseline upon which she spools out both short and long form narratives for live audiences.
Perhaps the unifying concept of Dhaya’s work is her ability to express herself openly and honestly in front of an audience. Staring out into the faceless void of anonymous bobbing heads with a blinding spotlight staring right back, Dhaya seems eminently at home. One might feel welcomed by her craft, as if taking a seat next to Dhaya on her living room couch over a steaming mug of tea.
It should come as no surprise that Dhaya Lakshminarayanan has collected a vast array of awards and honors including the Liz Carpenter Political Humor Award and being featured in “The Ultimate Comedy Challenge” by Comedy Central Asia. Additionally, she was named among twenty “Women to Watch” by KQED, one of “The Bay Area’s 11 Best Stand Up Comedians” by SFist, and one of “16 Bay Area performers to watch in 2016.” Dhaya has opened for and been featured alongside such luminaries as Janeane Garofalo, Marc Maron, and Greg Proops, among many others.
Alongside her career in the arts, Dhaya is, in all senses of the word, a scholar and was a formidable presence in the corporate world. She is a two-time graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with a Bachelor of Science in Urban Studies and Planning, as well as a Masters in City Planning, specializing in energy economics and infrastructure finance. She has worked in the fields of strategy and management consulting, venture investing, brand strategy, and financial modeling, among other such disciplines. All told, Dhaya has incredible talents that span across many different arenas.
For all of her disciplines, Dhaya is a bold and brave artist, tackling issues of great political and societal saliency across multiple forms. Rather than detracting from her art, the scope of her interests only reinforces the depth and primacy of her work. Such is the world of the intimidatingly proficient multi-hyphenate!
For more Dhaya comedy, see her Seismic Sisters ‘Presidential Inauguration Party’ performance
Dhaya Lakshminarayanan comedy tribute on #InaugurationDay2021 celebrating new U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris! Seismic Sisters hosted this ‘virtual’ Presidential Inauguration Party featuring music, comedy, dance, performances and inspiring messages from political leaders and activists.
Watch her Seismic Sisters Show Interview
Stand-up comedienne Dhaya Lakshminarayanan sits down for a deep conversation with Seismic Sisters on ways to connect, build community and make progress during this transformational era of the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests. Dhaya talks about her journey of allyship and using her stand-up skills to tell stories that illuminate and motivate people to do something to contribute to positive change.