By Minnie Stephenson
Ambi Narula used to admire comedians. Now she is one.
Narula fell in love with performing stand-up after taking a class about women in comedy at the University of Maryland. She started performing at the now-closed performance venue and restaurant MilkBoy ArtHouse. But Narula, a December 2020 graduate, said she noticed an issue with the comedy scene in College Park.
“I felt there was a lack of women, especially when I was at MilkBoy. So that prompted me to create the Hysterics,” she said.
Narula founded the Hysterics, UMD’s all-women and nonbinary comedy group in 2019. The group made its pandemic comeback with a casual event in a classroom on March 9, marking their first-in person show in three years.
Narula just started a job at UMD as a public relations specialist for the A. James Clark School of Engineering. She heard there was a show and stopped by to support the group she founded.
“I was like, ‘Hell yeah I’ll come,’” Narula said.
The group started from nothing. Narula said she sat alone at the 2019 First Look Fair, hoping someone would take a flyer.
One taker was Anna Artazova, a junior creative writing major and the president of the group. She joined in fall 2019 and was the emcee for Wednesday’s show.
Julia Parker, a member since fall 2020, jokes about watching Game of Thrones with her parents during her set. Photo by Minnie Stephenson. 
Aileen Foley, a member since spring 2022, performs live for the first time. She used her vintage Furbee as a mic and talked about tropes of male comedians in college. Photo by Minnie Stephenson. 
Kaelyn Roney, a member since spring 2022, performs live for the first time. She used her eczema cream as a mic and talked about how she feels UMD’s campus is suspiciously large. Photo by Minnie Stephenson. 
Caleigh Larkin performs her set, using a rose as a mic. She talked about her. summer working at a carnival. Photo by Minnie Stephenson. 
Artazova closes the show, giving a shoutout to the group that made it all happen. Photo by Minnie Stephenson.
Artazova said she has performed over 100 times live, both with the group and solo across the Washington area. But stand-up never grows old for her.
“When you’re up there and people are watching you, it’s a lot of pressure. But with time it gets addicting,” Artazova said.
Some club members had far less experience than Artazova. Sophomore Caleigh Larkin joined the Hysterics in spring 2021 but first performed live at the March 9 event.
“I wanted to join a club on campus that I felt I could actually excel in instead of struggle through during COVID and it’s been going well,” the criminology and criminal justice major said.
Artazova was relieved that Larkin and other new members enjoyed the club. After Narula graduated, Artazova was worried about the future of the group.
“But people came. People wanted to be part of the group even though we were so new,” Artazova said. “People were like, ‘We’re so excited about an all-female space, an all-inclusive space. It was amazing.”
Many group members said they feel the same. They said the rest of the stand-up scene on campus is dominated by men.
The Hysterics did not expect a large crowd at the comeback show. It was supposed to be a low-pressure environment for new performers.
To their surprise, people flooded in to watch them perform, squeezing into the tiny classroom. And there was no shortage of laughter — despite the performers’ lack of sound equipment. Each pretended to use inanimate objects as microphones, from eczema cream to a Furbee to a rose.
Narula had high hopes for the Hysterics when she founded the club years ago.
“I wanted to create community. I wanted to have friends. I wanted to have people I could talk to comedy about and workshop jokes,” Narula said.
Today the Hysterics are eight members strong. Artazova said they plan to host more stand-up performances soon.
Narula said she sees the Hysterics sticking around at UMD.
“This idea of having a space for women was one of my biggest accomplishments being at Maryland,” she said. “It’s something I’m very proud about.”
Featured image: The Hysterics’ group huddle before the show. Photo by Minnie Stephenson.