Comedian Rajiv Satyal Comes Home to Ohio, 10/5

From corporate cubicles to Comedy Clubs, "Funny Indian" Rajiv Satyal has been making people laugh all over the world for a decade. Now, the former Procter & Gamble marketing manager will bring his unique brand of sidesplitting humor to his hometown of Fairfield, Ohio, for the first time in 10 years on Friday, October 5 at the new Fairfield Community Arts Center Theatre. It will be the first ever standup comedy show at the center.

Satyal, a Los Angeles-based, second-generation Indian American, grew up in Fairfield, a Cincinnati suburb. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in engineering, he worked for Procter & Gamble for four years, before deciding he would rather make people laugh than sell them toothpaste and diapers. His experiences at the world's largest consumer products company often figure into his act, but never in a derogatory way.

"It's common for comedians to say they hated their jobs, but I actually loved it at P&G," Satyal said. "While I worked there, I won P&G's Funniest Employee Contest. That's saying something, considering four comedians from P&G have gone full-time in the past decade. I still come back from time to time and do shows for them."

And other Fortune 500 companies, as well. In addition to working the Comedy Club circuit, Satyal developed Standpoint, an agency that helps marketers generate insights for their businesses. The group has done programs for such clients as Herbal Essences Haircare®, Gillette®, Clairol® Nice 'n Easy and Dannon® Yogurt.

Satyal, who describes his performance style as alternatively self-aggrandizing and self-deprecating, has opened many times for well-known comedians Kevin Nealon ("Saturday Night Live," "Weeds"), Kevin James ("The King of Queens"), Tim Allen ("Home Improvement"), Dave Chappelle ("The Chappelle Show") and legendary Indian comedian Russell Peters, who declared Satyal one of the top two U.S.-based Indian comics. Satyal has previously performed on NBC, on three continents, and at Comedy Clubs in Cincinnati, but he has never done a full performance in Fairfield. His 90-minute "homecoming" show in Fairfield will be a multimedia experience, and will include photos and videos of his recent U.S. government-sponsored comedy show, "Make Chai Not War."

Satyal, a Hindu, founded "Make Chai Not War" with Muslim comedian Azhar Usman to help bring people of different religious and cultural backgrounds together. When the U.S. State Department found out about it, the agency sent Satyal, Usman and comedian Hari Kondabolu on a seven-city goodwill tour of India, which received international media attention, including coverage by The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, The Times of India, and National Public Radio.

"Touring India for Uncle Sam was a great experience," Satyal said. "I'm not going to turn the Fairfield show into a travel lecture, but I will talk about some of the crazy things that happened over there. I will also cover dating, technology, race, politics and anything else in the social realm."

Rajiv Satyal will perform Friday, October 5 at the Fairfield Community Arts Center, 411 Wessel Drive, Fairfield, Ohio. Showtime: 8:00 p.m. Tickets: $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students. For information, call 513-867-5348 or visit www.fairfield-city.org/cac/.

Information about Rajiv Satyal is available at www.FunnyIndian.com.