On the “City Lights” series “Speaking of Comedy,” Atlanta’s funniest locals share insights on the perks and perils of their profession. This edition features comedian Ian Aber.
Aber first got into comedy by taking a class where a straight instructor told Aber, who is gay, that he shouldn’t do gay material if he ever wanted to get work.
“So we wrote this whole set about my wife Debbie. It was really hilarious,” Aber said. “And then when we did the graduation, I did my gay stuff, and I’ve been doing my gay stuff ever since.”
Getting into the comedy industry was challenging for Aber as he started at age 38, and for comedic industry-type people, that can be a barrier.
“Being queer also doesn’t necessarily help all the time,” Aber added. “Although the longer I do it, the less it matters, it seems.”
