No joke

New city councilor and School Committee member are a couple of stand-up guys

Nothing against the City Council or School Committee, but their meetings are usually not a barrel of laughs. Maybe that will change in 2026.

Among the new members of the two boards are a couple of stand-up guys named Keith Sonia and John Taylor. ‘Stand-up’ as in stand-up comedian.

Sonia is a newly elected city councilor while Taylor is a new member of the School Committee. Last September, in the midst of their election campaigns, the two happened to sign up for the same comedy class at Off Cabot.

The four-week workshop culminated with Sonia and Taylor performing in front of a live audience at Off Cabot. A month later, they were both elected to public office for the first time.

John Taylor and Keith Sonia on stage at Off Cabot.

So does that mean future meetings will keep us in stitches?

“People in this climate could use a laugh,” Sonia said. “I think people in this day and age are impressed with authenticity. This is my personality. (Humor) brings people together and ultimately might ease tensions and be more productive in some ways.”

“You’ve got to show the people who make the hard decisions that they can laugh at themselves,” Taylor said in a separate interview.

Taylor is a certified public accountant in real life, and Sonia, who has Ph.D. in international relations, works in global affairs for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.

I know, they sound hilarious, right?

“It’s definitely a notion that people have (that CPA’s aren’t funny),” Taylor said. “The reason I do it is to give myself a little bit of a break. The CPA can be the shoulder that a business is coming to saying, ‘I’m failing. What can I do about this?’ There can be a lot of stress. I have to find a way to express myself and not explode.”

“We’re both from that kind of a white-collar, buttoned-up world,” Sonia said. “Maybe this kind of thing is a great place to let your hair down a little bit.”

Taylor, 58, said he started doing comedy in 2023, both improvisational and stand-up. He said the improv background definitely helped him out on the campaign trail as he went door-to-door speaking with voters.

For Sonia, 37, the Off Cabot show was his first time on stage. He said he and his friends have always joked around, including a Roast of Keith Sonia for his 25th birthday party, and some of his friends have done stand-up.

When his wife, Madhvi, saw that Off Cabot offers “Couch to Mic” stand-up classes, she gave it to him as a birthday gift. They live the next street over from Off Cabot, on Broadway, fittingly enough.

“I always felt I would be comfortable on stage, not necessarily from a place of bragging or ego,” Sonia said. “So much of what holds back the typical person is fear of public speaking in general. It’s not something I suffer from. I didn’t mind the feeling, the lights being on me. It felt right.”

So how did they do on stage? See for yourself, first Taylor, then Sonia.

The next School Committee meeting is Jan. 14, City Council on Jan. 20. Get your tickets now.