Despite the pandemic, actress and comedian Tara Grammy has had a busy few years. For one, she starred alongside Iranian-American icon Shohreh Aghdashloo in Sara Zandieh’s delightful romantic comedy A Simple Wedding. When the pandemic hit, her plans might have taken a hit too. But instead, the resilient actress joined director Ali Mashayekhi to create the short film “The First Goodbye”. They filmed entirely in isolation.
But Grammy has also found success in other media, notably her viral videos. For example, “The Persian Bachelorette” has received well over a million views. Her latest project features Grammy alongside other comedians in a sitcom-inspired web series, “My Immigrant Family”.
Hayat spoke with Grammy about these projects, and how she has embraced and highlighted the lighter side of her Iranian heritage.
Read more about A Simple Wedding here:
“A Simple Wedding”: Sara Zandieh’s hit comedy stars Tara Grammy, Shohreh Aghdashloo
Tara Grammy broke into the comedy scene with one-(wo)man show “Mahmoud”
Though born in Tehran, Iran, Grammy grew up in Toronto, Canada. She attended the University of Toronto, studying drama. There, she began work on what would soon launch her comedy career: the one-(wo)man show “Mahmoud”. It debuted in 2009, while Grammy still attended UT, with additions and developments over the next few years.
In this play, Grammy plays three very different characters: an aging Iranian taxi driver, a very fabulous gay Spaniard, and a young Iranian-American girl. With wit and humor, she tackles difficult and emotionally charged subjects that face immigrants such as herself.
“Mahmoud” earned Grammy numerous awards, including Best of Toronto Fringe, Best Solo Performance and Best Solo Show at NYC Fringe.
But even while treating some of the most difficult subjects facing immigrants, Grammy always wanted to show a lighter side of things. “There are already enough people out their telling the sad side of what it is to be an immigrant, or what it is to be diverse in this country, or in this part of the world, or even what it is in that part of the world,” she explains. “I’ve played really heavy, depressing stuff. And as an actor that’s really gratifying to get into, but as a storyteller, as a creator, as someone who wants to kind of create a diverse community, I’m only interested in comedy. I’m only interested in light, I’m only interested in people seeing themselves and maybe having a cathartic experience, but laughing through that experience, you know?”
Tara Grammy in “A Simple Wedding”
A case in point: the hit romantic comedy A Simple Wedding. In this film, Grammy starred alongside Shohreh Aghdashloo and a host of other talents to tell the story of Nousha, an LA lawyer balancing her American life with her Iranian roots.
“There’s storytelling like that, through comedy, that kind of normalizes my community,” she says. “I think that’s a great way to normalize, is through grounded comedy.”
In A Simple Wedding, Grammy’s character falls in love with a non-Persian man, and has to balance the expectations of her family with her other desires. Through this frame, Grammy and director Sara Zandieh show both the realities and the humor of their Iranian culture.
“[In[ “A Simple Wedding”, you just see a normal Iraninan family in funny situations,” Grammy notes. “Some of the more exaggerated stuff I do, like Mahmoud and the characters I do on Youtube, that stuff is more in-your-face, highlighting some of the dark parts of our culture.”
Grammy excels at both.
From “The Persian Bachelorette” to “Persia’s Got Talent”
In the last year alone, Grammy has created several viral mini-series, filmed a short film entirely in isolation, and even hosted “Persia’s Got Talent”. All of her projects seek to highlight the lighter side of her culture, which she embraces wholeheartedly.
“I have a deep connection with the soil of my country,” Grammy says. “Iran is not just an idea to me, it’s a place that I’ve lived and breathed.” Though she has been unable to return to Iran in the last 11 years, she still feels deeply connected to the country.
“That relationship to Iran is what pushed me to tell my stories,” she explains. “It’s what pushed me towards telling diverse stories, what pushed me to stop trying to be a white actor and just get parts, and be adamant about telling Iranian stories.”
Don’t miss Grammy’s hilarious videos, including her latest web series “My Immigrant Family”, on Youtube.
