Nicky Sunshine: On Laughter as Medicine

Actress and stand-up comic Nicky Sunshine grew up in Falls Church, VA. US News & World Report ranked it the Healthiest community in the country last year. Her mother worked in a hospital. “My brother and I always had access to health care, we had insurance, and would go to the doctor regularly,” Nicky explains. “I never experienced any hardship with health insurance until my adult years.”

Her First Experience With Out-of-Pocket Expenses

Nicky went to Illinois to attend Northwestern University. During her junior year abroad, she was a student at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. While there, she had some health issues, but had no problems with her insurance or navigating the healthcare system.

A few years after college, Nicky decided to pursue a career in the arts, seeking roles on stage. She decided, “That’s when I moved to New York. In my journey as a freelancer and an artist, with spotty employment, sometimes I missed going to the doctor because I had to pay out of pocket.”

She recalled one specific incident. “I remember I had a horrible incident where I fell, and that was due to having too much to drink, and I had to pay $3,000 out of pocket for dental work,” Nicky explained.

“When you’re an artist, you’re a gig worker,” she continued. “It’s hard, and it’s going to get harder under this new administration. And, it’s a little bit frightening to know what’s going to happen.”

Her passion for healthcare for freelancers, the importance of mental health, and the therapeutic benefits of laughter are just some of the reasons Nicky will be joining us on August 14 at Riverside Church in New York City as a Co-Host at the BHM Harlem Week 2025 Health Summit & Expo.

From the Stage to Comedy

Nicky realized her dream, originating the role of Samana in the Off-Broadway stage production of David Lamb’s Platanos Y Collard Greens. Following that, she was in a production of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues.

“I started auditioning for comedy. And I did an audition for NBC, and it went horribly.” Nicky recalled. “And so I said, You know what, let me keep trying. I entered into a competition down in the West Village. The club was called Sal’s Comedy Hole, and I won a runner-up position.”

That is when Nicky said she got the comedy bug. She joined the community and met other comics. One of them was her friend, Jamie Roberts, whom she later married.

Nicky recounted how her husband, Jamie, produced popular comedy shows with a former partner at The National Black Theatre called “What Are You Laughing At?” before the pandemic.

“During the pandemic, people missed the shows. They were fantastic, packed theaters with just people, falling over laughing,” she said, “And so when things started to open up, people were asking, ‘Are you guys going to do more shows? We did a Comedy in Harlem show at Lighthouse restaurant, and the layout wasn’t quite what we thought it would be, because it was a restaurant, not a club.”

The restaurant’s owner, Mike Clopton, suggested they ask the landlord about the space above his restaurant. So we use the space for a couple of shows. Just as it was taking off, the pipes burst. “We had some Tracy Morgan visit us. Sherry Shepherd visited us over there. So we had some highs, but then we were abruptly forced to close by the Department of Buildings,” she said. We had to shut down in 2024, and we were fortunate enough to find our current space in Sugar Hill. We’re very happy here, and we’ve been in this space since May of last year. ”

Even Creative People Can Fall Through the Cracks in the System

“I have a real love, concern, and care for the comedy community and a lot of the artists, the comedians I know, personal friends of mine, struggle with depression, struggle with anxiety, self-medicate because they haven’t been diagnosed,” she said.

“Some of them have addiction issues, and that’s playing out in different ways. So I think there’s still more work to be done in advocating for artists in the health space.”

Nicky was recently speaking with medical students at City College about providing better healthcare for their patients. “And I said, you know, you have to meet people where they are. And you know, when people don’t have strong social emotional supports, bad things can happen, she said. “Even with me, I had some issues that needed addressing in terms of counseling and therapy.”

“I want to shout out to First Corinthian Baptist Church. They have a lot of programs that support folks who may not have the money, or feel comfortable going to a counselor,” Nicky revealed.

“But there was a counselor. Her name was Joyce Johnson, and she helped me tremendously when I was really in a very bad mental space with depression and anxiety.

Laughter as Medicine

Nicky says you can view the benefits of comedy through several lenses. Clinically, there is evidence that laughter can help alleviate stress and trigger the release of certain brain chemicals, resulting in positive effects. That’s why there are practices like laughing yoga.

“But specifically speaking about the communities that we serve, you know, there’s so much trauma. We have a regular who comes here to our club, and she lost her son. The people come to forget their problems. People come here for community, for connection. You know, there are a lot of people who feel isolated in their apartments,” she explains.

“And they just want to feel connected to other people. And when you can laugh all together about something, you know, it’s, it’s almost, I like I liken it sometimes like church. It’s one thing to watch something at home or a show at home, but when you’re with other people and there’s a singular vibe, it’s almost spiritual. And I think people enjoy that. People can forget their problems and just be.”

The BHM 2025 Harlem Week Health and Summit & Expo will take place on August 14 at Riverside Church. Click here for more information and to register.