Tig Notaro Is Treading Water

What It Covers

Comedian Tig Notaro discusses her unconventional path from high school dropout to successful stand-up comic, her 2012 cancer diagnosis that led to a legendary Largo performance, plant-based nutrition certification, and navigating work-life balance while raising twins.

Key Questions Answered

• •Creative Risk-Taking: Notaro performed stand-up days after her cancer diagnosis at Largo, opening with "Hello, I have cancer," creating raw, unpolished material that went viral overnight. The performance succeeded because audiences relate to universal experiences like loss, illness, and relationship struggles when presented authentically in real-time rather than as perfected content.
• •Plant-Based Certification: After health crises including C. diff and invasive cancer, Notaro completed the T. Colin Campbell plant-based nutrition certification from Cornell. She reduced chronic pain and improved recovery by changing her diet, though she emphasizes needing a North Star motivation beyond temporary dieting to maintain lifestyle changes long-term.
• •Writing Process: Notaro writes comedy material on napkins with single words or phrases like "tube sock" or "breast cancer," then transfers keywords to a document. She develops all material on stage through audience feedback rather than scripting full sets, only memorizing what naturally sticks through repeated performances before taping specials.
• •Career Restructuring: Notaro voluntarily downgraded from Star Trek series regular to recurring guest star, choosing to tour one weekend monthly instead of living in Toronto for six months. She prioritizes attending her nine-year-old twins' baseball games and maintaining daily routines over guaranteed higher income, recognizing her values shifted after years of career uncertainty.
• •Parental Acceptance: Notaro's stepfather Rick apologized after her mother's funeral for decades of dismissing her comedy career and suggesting business school. He acknowledged it was his responsibility to learn who his child was rather than projecting his own expectations, later becoming fully engaged with her family and even cake-shopping for her wedding.