Wanda Sykes handles
burden of comedy

By Rita Charleston
For the Times

She’s been called "one of the funniest stand-up comics" by her peers and ranks among Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Funniest People in America.
And now that Wanda Sykes has earned those accolades, she admitted that she now has to bear the burden.
"Actually, I’ve already put that burden on myself because it’s always been my goal to work really hard and be as good as possible at what I do," Sykes said.
And, obviously, she’s achieved her goal. Sykes will be appearing at the Music Box at the Borgata in Atlantic City on Friday, April 20, and she is looking forward to it since, she said, stand-up is what she probably enjoys most.
Although she writes, produces and has done movies and lots of TV, Sykes said stand-up is her favorite.
"When stand-up is going well, when you’re in front of a crowd and they’re hot and they’re laughing, there’s nothing better in the world," she said. "That rush you get from hearing people laugh when you’re in control is the best feeling in the world.
"Now," she continued, "if you’re out there and struggling and not getting the laughs you’d like, that’s when I say, ‘Where’s my script? I really need that script. I wish I had some cast up here with me. I wish somebody would give me some good lines.’"
Born in Virginia in 1964, and raised in Maryland, Sykes recalled that while growing up she always seemed to find "good lines."
"I think I moved into being funny when I got to junior high school," she explained, "but I would say I was always outspoken. I think that’s just the way my mind is wired. I just happen to see funny things — the things everyone else is seeing and probably thinking, but I’m the outspoken one who says it."
Today, as she appears onstage, some of the subjects she likes to tackle include politics, gay marriage, karma, health care, racial profiling, the pressure of being a woman and the perks of getting older.
"You know," she explained, "one of the great things about getting older is you figure out what matters and what doesn’t. That’s when you say you just don’t care about a lot of stuff. You just don’t have time. You reserve your energy for really important things."
A graduate of Hampton University, Sykes began her stand-up career at a Coors Light talent show in Washington, D.C., where she performed for the first time in front of an audience.
From there it was onward and upward. Sykes spent five years as part of HBO’s critically acclaimed Chris Rock Show, which was, she said, "such a great experience because not only did we get to write our own pieces, but we got to shoot them and edit them. So I walked away from that show with so much knowledge that I felt I was then capable of doing anything in the business."
Indeed, as a performer and writer on the show, she was nominated for three Emmy awards and, in 1999, won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special.
In 2001, she won the American Comedy Award for Outstanding Female Stand-up Comic. She won two more Emmys — in 2002 and 2004 — for her work on Inside the NFL.
And there have been other awards and other writing credits. Additionally, Sykes has appeared in several feature films, including Nutty Professor 2, The Klumps, Down to Earth, Monster-In-Law, the animated feature Over The Hedge, and, most recently, Evan Almighty, the sequel to Bruce Almighty. ••
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