Meet Tarek Turjman | Comedian

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tarek Turjman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tarek, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I have had an interest in performing since I was a kid. I did television commercials in elementary school, and theater throughout middle and high school. I pursued a Real estate career after college, but I never lost my passion for performing. In 2019 I discovered the Villain Theater where I became a company member and where I do improv and stand up on a weekly basis. I’ve been performing professionally all over the city ever since. My drive to perform really comes from my frustration with the state of the world. I am a Guatemalan and Palestinian and I am queer, so my comedy is really an outlet for me to talk about my experience growing up and about the causes that matter to me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What really sets me apart from other stand up comedians in South Florida is my crowd work and ability to connect with the crowd and roast them. My training and content comes from improv and I thrive on being “in the moment” and making the crowd feel like they are amongst friends and that they can laugh at themselves. I have also made a name for myself because I don’t really play it safe with my content. I do clean sets when asked too, but most of my content is based on my life experience so I might bring up the Palestinian struggle or immigration or I’ll tell you about an awkward threesome I had recently.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would definitely take them to Argentinian eatery Fiorito in Little Haiti, it is a wine and food hotspot, and a great place to have dinner on Fridays and Saturdays before a Villain Theater comedy show, which is a few blocks away. On Wednesday nights the Goodtime Hotel comedy night at Strawberry Moon is so much. I am a big coffee drinker, I love Vice City Bean and I love going to Books and Books in Coral Gables and ordering a chicken curry sandwich and pretending I read. If we end up partying then we would probably go to The Anderson or Gramps and if we wanna dance we go to Floyd, or probably Twist, Twist is fun for all orientations and music tastes. I also like to horseback ride and spend time at The Orchid Stables, it is such a magical place in the Redlands of Miami.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would not be doing comedy if it weren’t for Villain Theater in Miami, FL. I started doing open mics in 2017, and I quickly realized that I really didn’t fit into the fabric that was the Miami comedy scene at the time, which was largely male dominated and almost entirely heterosexual. A few friends started doing improv and stand up classes at Villain, so I signed up because they told me they were very diverse and queer friendly. That is where I found the community that nurtured me and helped me develop the confidence and content that led me to perform professionally. So many POC, women and queer comedians, would not have a place to learn and to perform if it weren’t for Villain Theater, if it were not for them I definitely wouldn’t be part of Brittany Brave’s “Bad Bitch Brunch” on Aug 22nd at the Miami Improv.

Website: https://linktr.ee/Tarekturjman

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarekturjman/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarekinmiami/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs-khtL-hEkfWxI7IAC3yBA

Image Credits
Villain Theater, Lukas Jason.