PARK CITY. At the moment, it's good to be Tig Notaro.
Up at Sundance for the debut of the documentary “Tig,” as well as a stint as host of last weekend's Sundance Awards, Notaro is coming off a year characterized by some of the most rapturous write-ups for any stand-up comic this side of Louis C.K.
Long beloved within the stand-up community, Notaro's success has spread into the mainstream and you'll be able to see a lot of her in 2015, including “Tig” (assuming it finds distribution) and her Showtime documentary “Knock, Knock, It's Tig Notaro.”
Oh and she's also newly engaged to her “In a World” co-star Stephanie Allynne, who co-starred in the well-received Sundance comedy “People, Places, Things.”
But “Tig” starts with darker times. Directed by Krista Goolsby and Ashley York, it chronicles Notaro's battle with C.diff, the death of her mother and her cancer diagnosis, a one-two-three punch that culminated in a confessional and soul-baring Largo performance that probably stands as the decade's most talked-about comedy routine.
The documentary follows those struggles, but focuses more on Notaro's recovery, her developing relationship with Allynne and her outlook on the future. It starts bleak, but ends up inspirational and it's no wonder that Notaro was receiving standing ovations whenever she went to see “Tig” at Sundance.
As the Festival was nearing its end, I sat down with Notaro and Allynne to talk about “Tig,” which parts were easy to watch and which parts were more difficult. We discussed her ideal comedy vehicles going forward, including her upcoming Showtime documentary, and how she views The Tig Notaro Brand after watching the documentary about herself.
We also talked about the developing of jokes, a process depicted in “Tig” and Notaro shares the joke she still can't crack. But she's trying!