On Saturday, April 5, some of Seattle’s funniest comedians will take the stage as part of The Stranger’s annual Undisputable Champions of Comedy showcase. It’ll be hilarious! The lineup was curated with help from everyone’s comedy bestie, Emmett Montgomery, co-host of Joketellers Union at Clock-Out Lounge and purveyor of all things delightfully weird. And this year’s lineup is stacked with talent, from a local comedy legend who once won over a crowd of bikers at an Aurora bar in the ’80s to a comic who uses laughter as a way to deal with grief. We even have a bunny and a fundamentalist Christian pastor on the bill! It’s gonna be great.

We're posting interviews with the champs all week long, and this morning, say hello to Emma Schmuckler! She's the founder of Queer/Bar's One Man Show, a showcase of female and non-binary comedians… and one man. (The next one is April 27, btw.)

Describe your comedy in five words.

Heartwarming, disruptive storytelling. Also, gay. 

What’s the first thing you did when you found out you were chosen as one of The Stranger’s Champions of Comedy?

In all honesty, one of the first things I did was text my ex. Mostly because he's a friend, and I wanted to share the excitement. But also, who doesn't revel in an ex seeing you win? 

You’ve used comedy to deal with some heavy stuff. You produced the comedy showcase Good Grief, which featured comedians sharing stories about death and grief, for example. Why is platforming humor in dark times important to you?

Eight months after I started doing stand-up, my dad died suddenly (unrelated to the stand-up, I think. But his autopsy was inconclusive, so there's really no way to know). Two weeks after he died, I was booked to do one of my first-ever paid spots. I didn't think I could do it. The haze of acute grief was all-consuming—how could I get on stage and joke about pap smears and threesomes? 

So I didn't. I talked about ICUs and funeral homes and my complicated relationship with my dad. My set was unpolished and raw. I closed by reading the "honest" obituary my siblings wouldn't let me publish in the newspaper. As unconventional as my set was, it killed. This was a real turning point for me as an artist. These days, the majority of my material is true stories about my real life, dark times and all.

People are hungry for vulnerability. There's a catharsis in hearing someone talk about the thing no one talks about. And there's an even greater catharsis in laughing about the thing no one talks about. That being said, the traditional comedy show isn't necessarily the best venue for winding stories about the intricacies of grief. So I think it's important to create spaces where performers and audiences alike can celebrate the human condition in its entirety—without totally killing the vibe. 

Where is your favorite place to see comedy in Seattle right now?

I love Kitchen Sink at the Rendezvous on Wednesdays. It's a variety mic, so it's a rad place to see in-progress alt-comedy like sketch, characters, and powerpoints. They also produce a showcase at the Rendezvous on the first Friday of every month.

The Stranger Presents: The 2025 Undisputable Champions of Comedy!, Sat April 5, Washington Hall, $25, 21+. Tickets available here.