Stand-up comedy may sound like the worst possible career for anyone with anxiety. But in Wendy Lobel’s insightful, empathetic and very funny documentary Anxiety Club — playing today at the El Dorado Film Festival — she explains how comedians including Marc Maron, Tiffany Jenkins, Baron Vaughn, Aparna Nancherla, Joe List, Eva Victor, Mark Normand handle the pressure of telling jokes to strangers.

The film, which premiered at DOC NYC in November, is currently on a festival run that also included screening at the Sedona International Film Festival earlier this week. Lobel, an Emmy-winning TV veteran and documentarian, said that while many people experience anxiety across many professions, standup comics tend to be especially good subjects because they’re so introspective.

“They’re smart and observant and see the world in a unique way and they talk about it,” Lobell told MovieMaker. “So my sense is that anxiety is no more or less prevalent among comedians than it is in the general population. As Marc Maron said, ‘We just romanticize it.’” 

The film fascinatingly follows comedians on and off the stage, and even into a therapist’s office. Most notably it tracks Tiffany Jenkins as she makes videos about how it feels to have anxiety and undergoes a series of different therapeutic tasks to try to heal herself.

We talked with Lobel about examining our stressors, unpredictability, and a certain SNL Digital Short.

MovieMaker: Do you deal with anxiety? Because I do! I really related to Tiffany Jenkins’ tendency to catastrophize. 

Wendy Lobel: Yes, I have dealt with anxiety for decades! I have generalized anxiety disorder and have been known to spin over certain decisions (you know, big things such as finding the perfect printer or shade of paint). I also hate disappointing people so I’m a people pleaser, which is a classic maladaptive behavior for people with anxiety. (My therapist once gave me an assignment: ”Do one thing everyday that might disappoint someone.”)

Years back, before I knew I had anxiety, I’d often experience a knot in my chest — my body trying to tell me something — but I avoided examining why it was there because it seemed too hard or scary. Thanks to my exploration of a variety of tools at different times in my life (including making a film about anxiety!), I’ve come a long way. 

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MovieMaker: Why do you think so many people with anxiety pursue standup, instead of seeking jobs that don’t require the stress of public speaking — and trying to make people laugh?

Wendy Lobel: I think stand up comedians are incredibly brave. I also think they are compelled to do what they do whether they get stage fright or not. Paradoxically, some of the comedians in Anxiety Club told me they feel more comfortable ON stage, where they are in control of their material, than OFF stage having a conversation with a fan after their set. As Baron Vaughn told me, “A lot of the unpredictability that can cause anxiety is eliminated when we’re on stage – we are in control.”

MovieMaker: Do you think there are more standups with anxiety than, say, doctors? Lawyers? Teachers?

Wendy Lobel: I didn’t take a deep dive into this question because I wanted the film to focus on the common experience of anxiety whether you’re a doctor, lawyer, teacher or comedian. However, here’s what I think: There are a ton of people struggling with anxiety and some of them happen to be comedians. Comedians are a different breed in that they look at and analyze their environment in a way that most of us probably don’t.

MovieMaker: How did you identify the comics who have anxiety in your film? Did you reach out after hearing them talk about it onstage?

Wendy Lobel: It was a combination of word of mouth, research and, in the case of Marc Maron, already knowing their work. My husband followed Aparna Nancherla on social media and told me about her. I learned that she did a lot of stand up material about her anxiety and was actively tweeting about it, as well. I interviewed her at a comedy club and my contact there told me about Joe List. He was perfect.

My consulting producer found out about Tiffany Jenkins, who had done sketch videos about her anxiety that had gone viral. I also did a ton of research about comedians with anxiety who spoke about it in their sketch material or stand up and found some of the comedians that way. It was critical that the comedians were comfortable talking about their mental health — and that I liked their comedy. 

MovieMaker: Some of the comedians you talk to — like Joe List and Mark Normand in particular — seem to have zero fear of backlash or offending people. (I started listening to their very funny podcast after seeing your film.) Do you think they say potentially offensive things as a kind of therapy? Almost to force themselves not to be afraid?

Wendy Lobel: I don’t think it’s that. I think comedians take liberties with content in the name of comedy. Sometimes they’re expressing things that the rest of us feel but wouldn’t say out loud. Sometimes they say things to be intentionally provocative, to push the envelope. If anything, some of them probably feel more anxious worrying about the fallout of their material than they do in the moment when it’s flowing from their mouths. 

MovieMaker: Some comedians are kind of dismissive of the idea of using anti-anxiety drugs. Did you talk to a lot of comedians who feel that way?

Wendy Lobel: Joe said he was on medication but decided to tackle his anxiety through meditation and therapy. Other comedians expressed a combination of feelings about medication. In one case, a comedian felt she couldn’t be funny without medication. Some of the comedians told me that they worried that if they got help, be it from medication or therapy, they wouldn’t be as funny. In the end, the comedians prioritized getting help rather than avoiding it. With Aparna, she said that without medication she couldn’t even show up to be funny. 

MovieMaker: What did you think of the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Digital Short “Anxiety“? Did you think, “Yes! This is great for my film!” Or more, “Darn it, this is exactly like my film”? Or something totally different?

Wendy Lobel: I loved that sketch because it was funny and relatable and because it Illustrates how relevant my film is! But it also feels like the anxiety those comedians experience being on SNL is, perhaps, a different kind of anxiety than what we explore in Anxiety Club. Who wouldn’t feel anxious under those super high-pressure circumstances?! 

Anxiety Club plays today at the El Dorado Film Festival.

Main image: Anxiety Club by Wendy Lobel.