Between her honesty on racism and her paranoid schizophrenic mother, comedian Tracey Ashley discussed a little of everything without apparent shame or regard for the audience's judgment.
The Student Union Board hosted Ashley as a part of SUBLaughs. This program brings comedians to campus to perform, usually in Irazu.
" It is basically the same thing as a SUBLive, but it is the first of the month with a comedian," said sophomore SUB member James Davies.
Ashley said her life was destined for comedy since she was born. A woman named Slappy May delivered her in a barn in Opa-locka, Fla., she said.
Even though her mother had paranoid schizophrenia, Ashley made light of the subject. She said her mom gave her the best advice: "Whatever you do with your life, be happy."
Her mother then proceeded to moon-walk into the kitchen.
"She nailed it, too," Ashley said. "That's what you do when you have a mental illness — you say something profound and then you do a little dance."
Many of Ashley's stories focus on racism.
"I don't care about those kind of things, those things make me laugh," Ashley said.
Even as a child, she made fun of it and wondered why racism existed. She would tell people that her dad, whom she never knew, was Batman and that nobody knew what color he really was under his costume.
She has experienced many situations involving racism. For example, one time a drunken white man asked if he could smell her. When her friend started to shoo the man away, Ashley stopped him, saying the man's reaction could be a good story.
The man said she smelled good, and Ashley asked if he was expecting to smell ribs, hickory or slavery. When the audience laughed at this joke, she said she was relieved because her story sometimes offended people. At one comedy club, she told the same tale and a woman stood up and, horrified, asked why she would mention that. Ashley responded by calmly assuring the woman that slavery had been abolished.
Even some complements she has received have a racist, or sexist undertone. At a comedy club, she was approached and told that for a woman, Ashley was really funny. She said that in the industry, a lot of people don't want to see a female comedian, but are pleasantly surprised when they do.
"It's like a slap in the face, but I know they're trying to compliment me," Ashley said.
Ashley bases her comedy around things she is passionate about. Racism and sexism are major themes, but she also pokes fun at domestic life.
"I talk about my life, now that I'm married, I talk about my husband, and when we weren't married and were dating, I'd talk about my boyfriend," Ashley said. "I talk about race, I talk about a little sexism."
Ashley is married to, as she said, her best friend.
"We just lie around like a couple of pandas and watch football," she said. "We don't even cook the food, we just throw it at each other."
She doesn't want kids, although she said she loves them, and doesn't want to stop traveling for her shows.
"We're going to adopt some teenagers when we get in our '70s and make them mow the lawn and clean the house," Ashley said.
In her next phase, Ashley said she hopes to include more on her in-laws, and her relationship with them.
Comedians usually bring in a large audience because everybody can enjoy the performance, said Davies.
"The musicians usually bring a very selective crowd, but laughter tends to be something that is universally enjoyed." Davies said. "Especially with how stressed and busy students are here, it is important to relax and laugh a bit"