Adam Mamawala (born May 18, 1987,

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage, Kane County, Illinois, Kane, Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall, and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Locat ...

) is an American stand-up comic. He makes use of accents and laughs at his own name as means of diffusing and parodying

stereotypes of South Asians Stereotypes of South Asians are broadly believed impressions about individuals of South Asian origin that are often inconsistent with reality. While the impressions are wrongly presumed to be universally true for all people of South Asian origin ...

Biography

Mamawala was born in

, to an Indian Muslim father from

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

and a German-American mother from Whitewater, Wisconsin. His father studied in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

where he met his mother. His father was an insurance agent for

MetLife MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, wi ...

and

MassMutual The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, also known as MassMutual, is a Springfield, Massachusetts-based life insurance company. MassMutual provides financial products such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term ...

while his mother was a special education teachers' aide. He graduated in 2005 from Hillsborough High School in

Hillsborough Township, New Jersey Hillsborough Township is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. The township is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region within the much larger New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the tow ...

, where he was part of the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

; he graduated from The College of New Jersey in

Ewing Township, New Jersey Ewing Township is a township in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township falls within the New York metropolitan area as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. It borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is part of the F ...

, with a degree in Communication Studies in 2009.James Queally, "Punchlines punch Mamawala's ticket to Atlantic City", ''The Signal'' ( College of New Jersey newspaper), November 29, 2006, found a
Punchlines punch Mamawala's ticket to Atlantic City
Accessed March 14, 2008.The College of New Jersey official web site wep page for Student Ambassador Adam Mamawala
. Accessed March 14, 2008.Thomas Bartlett, "Funny You Should Say That," ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to rea ...

'', January 11, 2008, found a
Chronicle of Higher Education sample article
Accessed March 14, 2008. Mamawala was featured in ''

''. His signature

comedy routine Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

is "about a GPS system that (speaks) in different accents" Mamawala was a finalist in Catch a Rising Star's Comedy Challenge in November 2006, which allowed him an opportunity to perform in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

in December 2006. From there, he won the 2007 New Jersey Comedy Festival, where he was crowned "New Jersey King of Campus Comedy." Adam performed frequently on campus during his time at The College of New Jersey, and in 2009 he hosted the New Jersey Comedy Festival. He also performed with

Kel Mitchell Kel Johari Rice Mitchell (born August 25, 1978) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He was an original cast member of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''All That'' for its first five seasons (1994–1999), where he was often paired a ...

at a charity show in June 2008, and in November 2009 he opened for Nigel Lawrence at Boston University's BU Central. He has performed throughout different comedy clubs, including Caroline's, Comix, New York, Broadway,

Gotham Comedy Club Gotham Comedy Club is a venue for stand-up comedy in New York City. The comedy club is located on 208 West 23rd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues in Chelsea. Several movies and television shows have been filmed at the club. Numerous ma ...

s, and

The Stress Factory The Stress Factory is a stand-up comedy club chain owned by comedian Vinnie Brand. The clubs are in New Brunswick, New Jersey and Bridgeport, Connecticut. Incidents Greg Giraldo's final performance On September 24, 2010, Greg Giraldo perfor ...

References

External links

Personal blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mamawala, Adam 21st-century American comedians American stand-up comedians American people of Indian descent People from Hillsborough Township, New Jersey People from Aurora, Illinois American people of German descent Hillsborough High School (New Jersey) alumni The College of New Jersey alumni Comedians from Illinois 1987 births Living people Comedians from New Jersey American male comedians