Doomscroll: Chicago comic reflects on life in Amsterdam amid U.S. political climate
At one of the more recent additions to the Boom Chicago itinerary, The Good, the Bad and the Algorithm, American-born comedian Katie Nixon, who has lived in Amsterdam for over four years, performs a song she wrote about doomscrolling. Nixon describes the tension in her body she feels from being sucked into “all the bad news, all the sad stories,” in a conversation with the Dam Yankee podcast.
“And suddenly 20 minutes are gone, and I’m like, 'What have I actually done? I feel educated, but I’m miserable,'” Nixon said to host Zack Newmark. “'What can I actually do? How can I turn this into action?' So the song, the chorus, is just that: ‘Doom scroll, doom scroll. I’ve become my own troll.’”
The daughter of a military band leader, Nixon moved around the U.S. quite a bit before settling in Chicago for a decade. She is now a cast member at Amsterdam theater Boom Chicago, where she also teaches improv, and hosts the monthly queer comedy program Laugh Out Proud. Speaking on addressing hard, political subjects in her comedy, Nixon says that it feels like a powerful release through comedy, and she hopes her audience can experience that, too.
“And I scream about billionaires, and I scream about Donald Trump being a pedophile, and all these things, and it feels good to release, and it also feels nice to give the audience an opportunity to shout, clap, and cheer,” she says. “It doesn’t always feel super funny, but then I remember not everything is going to have a huge laugh. Sometimes it’s making a larger point,” Nixon adds. But it doesn't all
She added that much of Boom Chicago’s improv material is pure play, and isn't meant to be a deep dive into anti-asylum protests in the Netherlands and violent raids by immigration authorities in American cities. That said, sitting in the Dutch capital while while the raids intensified in Chicago this month has been surreal, to say the least.
"It’s been a strange experience living here during this second Trump administration … seeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on the streets where I used to walk my dog, and hearing reports of ICE agents in the Jewel I used to shop at in Andersonville," she says of the grocery store in her old neighborhood. "It’s scary and it gives one pause,” she continues.
And with such outlandish scenes occupying the doomscrolling minds of so many, it's no surprise it comes up from time to time when the improvisers are on stage. “We get a lot of audience input throughout the show. So if someone does shout out 'Gaza' or 'Epstein' or whatever, we can choose to take it and play with it or not,” she says.
“And sometimes we do take it, it’s fun to get our point of view out that way and acknowledge it. But sometimes we can shut it down and say, ‘Hey, we’re all here having a good time. Let’s keep having a good time, not put a damper on it.’ So I never want to shy away from tricky subjects.”
Nixon’s journey to Amsterdam began with a push from a former colleague. Stacey Smith, director of the Boom Academy and the theater's interim artistic director, worked with Nixon at the famed iO improv theater and school in Chicago. Smith produced several shows at iO, and reached out at the end of 2021 to ask Nixon if she would consider moving to the Dutch capital.
“I’d heard of Boom before, and I was working in a restaurant and maybe doing one show a week at the end of the pandemic. It was kind of like, I think I got to go. And thankfully, my wife was like, ‘You got to go.’” Nixon also knew Matt Castellvi from their time in Chicago, and having him and Smith at Boom felt like a “warm Chicago embrace.”
She also noted cultural differences between Chicago and Amsterdam, whether the confusion of performing for audiences that tend to be more reserved than boisterous, or more mundane daily happenings. “That was the biggest change for me. Chicago is so big. I would ride the L train an hour to downtown from where I lived. Now my 20-minute bike ride here feels long."
Listen to this entire episode of Dam Yankee on all major podcast platforms, or watch the full videos on YouTube. Nixon goes on to discuss her struggle with self-doubt and the hint of imposter syndrome that comes along with it, despite the support she received from family, friends, and her wife over the years.
Her next edition of Laugh Out Proud is set for Nov. 6, and is typically held on the first Thursday of the month. Tickets are currently set at 10 euros with discounted prices for drinks. While Nixon is frequently on Boom Chicago stages, she announces other projects on her Instagram account.
