Commonwealth Sanctuary is offering the chance to nerd out this weekend at a stand-up comedy show that promises to fuse laughter with science.
Ben Miller, a scientist-turned-comedian based in New York City, is bringing his multimedia Stand-Up Science show to Northern Kentucky Saturday, March 2. The show will be hosted by Cincinnati comedian Ossia Dwyer and star Miller, who will use pictures, graphs and videos to make science both approachable and funny.
Miller says the show’s also deeply personal, as he uses stories on topics ranging from his musculoskeletal condition to his childhood history with milk as jumping-off points for both scientific and comedic exploration. Miller also has a degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Columbia University, so you know you’re getting facts from a certified geek.
“One of NYC’s best pound for pound joke writers Ben Miller is unsurprisingly a scientist… you have to see this just for the Spike Lee joke, I almost spit milk out my nose when I heard it,” writes Matt Levy of Comedy Stray Notes.
Miller has been a comedian for seven years and has performed at some of the top clubs in NYC, is currently ranked as the top roast battler in NYC and was even the artist in residence at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park — the first-ever stand-up comedian selected by the National Parks Arts Foundation. He says for his first few years in stand-up, he was hesitant to tell people about his background in science, worried it would alienate him from audiences.
But during COVID-19 lockdowns, Miller says he realized this set him apart from other comedians and that he could combine his skills to make science funny and accessible. He recorded a few episodes of a web series he called “Stand-Up Science,” which took off and has now been developed into a live show.
You can catch Stand-Up Science at the Commonwealth Sanctuary (522 Fifth Ave., Dayton, Ky.) this Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased here.
More info: commonwealthsanctuary.com.
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This article appears in Feb 21 – Mar 5, 2024.
