Reem Edan is an Iraqi-American stand-up comedian, actress, and screenwriter. She tours colleges around the U.S. and performs with comedy clubs internationally. She has also performed at famous venues including the Comedy Store, Laugh Factory, and Gotham.
Like Paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi and BBC comedian Eman El-Husseini, Edan uses comedy to broach difficult subjects with audiences.
“A lot of what I discuss revolves around cultural and religious barriers, poking fun at the overlap and clashes between my Eastern and Western sides,” Edan explained. “I’m an advocate of shattering stereotypes (religious, cultural, and gender) and take to the stage to spread awareness and change.”
In 2020, Bustle magazine named Edan in their “5 Muslim women comedians to get you through social distancing” list.
Reem Edan dreamed of a comedy career
Before pursing her dream of standup comedy, Edan worked in film marketing for companies including Paramount, Disney, and STX Entertainment.
“I had my first standup performance June of 2016 and have since then, become an actual writer/comedian — completely changing the path I’d been on previously!” Edan told VoyageLA.
The stand-up comedian later became a sketch content creator for actress Elizabeth Banks’ digital comedy platform WhoHaha.
In 2018, Edan performed at the Burbank Comedy Festival “Best of Fest” Showcase at Flappers Comedy Club.
In 2019 Edan performed with the Beirut-based Hollywood Pop Up Comedy Club in Bahrain. She also won a 2019 Filmmatic Comedy Screenplay Award for the comedic pilot “The Degenerates.”
“I came in to help format/punch up [the script],” Edan told Filmmatic.
“I taught myself how to write by studying and taking notes on my favorite show scripts,” she said. “I’ve been weary of receiving any formal training as I stick to the rules too much when I learn something the ‘right way.’”
In 2020 Edan won the second annual Create the Writers Room contest with her short film The Ramadan Diet Kit. The “satirical infomercial” highlights “what not to eat or drink… while not eating or drinking.”
Reem Edan grew up in Colorado and Bahrain
The Los Angeles-based comedian hails from Fort Collins, Colorado.
“I lived [in Fort Collins, Colorado] until 2001, when my family and I moved to the Middle East… just a week before 9/11,” Edan explained. “After living in Bahrain for 4 years, I returned to the US and completed university in CO before taking the plunge and moving to LA.”
“My parents were both born in Baghdad, Iraq,” Edan told Bustle. “It must have been huge for them, given that they’re immigrants, for their daughter to suddenly be like, ‘I don’t want to use my college degree. I want to make jokes.’ But my mom is a fan; she comments on all my Instagram jokes.”
Reem Edan debuts with The Standup Sketch Show
In November 2021, Edan made her TV debut on The Standup Sketch Show. The new series is an original of the Arabic video-on demand platform Shahid, owned by MBC Group. Edan’s set is the fourth episode of the 7-episode first season.
“Established and aspiring stand-up comedians perform in a surreal theatrical reconstruction of their own material,” the official description reads. Edan appears alongside comedians including Palestinian-American Netflix comedian Mo Amer.
The half-hour skit was Edan’s first entirely in Arabic.
“Not to sound corny, but the fear of failure almost kept me from performing in this…but I took the risk, worked very hard to write a set in Arabic…and Alhamdulillah it paid off,” Edan wrote in an Instagram post. “It was a real ‘Little Engine That Could’ moment and I hope it inspires someone else to do the same.”
Find Edan’s episode of The Standup Sketch Show here.
