On Their Own Terms: Asian Comedians in Boston

7/29/2019 On Their Own Terms: Asian Comedians in Boston

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On Their Own Terms: Asian Comedians in Boston (for Asian Boston Magazine)

When I first met the five Asian comedians that I interviewed for this article, I

immediately had the idea to convince the editor to photograph them for the cover of

AsianBoston. Vibrant, attractive, intelligent, independent and driven were just a few of

the adjectives that came to mind when I spoke to them on two separate occasions. Theindividual stories they told me were a great insight into what it takes to be young, Asian

and a stand-up comedian in Boston.

Esther Ku, who goes by her last name, Ku, has a strong desire to conquer the stereotypes

of Asian women as smart, submissive, and quiet. I couldnt help but to let her know shewas doing a poor job on the smart part, to which she smirked. Kus first experience

with humor was her relationship as a preteen to her very unhip first generation Korean

parents. While she and her sisters became Americanized, Kus parents stuck to their

foreign language, foods and culture and this became the fodder for many of the girls

jokes. Kus rebellion did not end there; she was told by her conservative mother: You

are not going to get boys if you laugh so loud, so she, of course, has cultivated aboisterous laugh that is well known in the comedians circles in Boston. This laugh has

become almost her trademark along with what she describes as her blunt sexuality.Preferring what she calls non-PC audiences, Ku likes to shock, something that started

as early as High School when the Principal censored her school paper articles. While Ku

relishes the freedom that stand-up comedy has given her, she balances this with the

structure of a scientific approach. Everything is pre-planned, you write down your jokesand you tabulate laughs per minute, said Ku. When I asked Ku who her inspirations

were, she was adamant about her desire to be completely original to the point of notexposing herself to others material.

Eric Cheung is a strikingly handsome young man who has an Italian mom and a Chinese

dad. He notices a lot of people scratching their heads trying to figure out his ethnic

identity; he is very conscious of this confusion with the way he presents himself on

stage. I like to get up there looking like a British mod and spout out absurd ist one linersabout my hypochondria. Eric and Ku both agreed: we acknowledge were Asian in the

first few seconds of our performance, but we dont use it as our schtick. Preferring notto fall into the role of self-parody, both Eric and Ku did not want to use their Asian

identity as fodder for jokes, although that could be an easy way to get the much coveted

laughter of an audience. Eric nodded in agreement with Kus statement that: People

never get tired of making fun of Asians.

Eric cant pinpoint when he began making jokes; but his Dad met his Mom working atthe famous Ding Ho restaurant in Boston where people like Janeane Garofalo and Dennis

Leary got their start; so you could say comedy is in his blood. He finds much of his

material coming from his less than intellectually stimulating day job. He is also a huge

fan of Woody Allen. One of the organizers at a comedy club likes to introduce him as

the Asian Jeff Goldblum; Eric does not see a huge resemblance, but if cornered he

wouldnt disagree that he shares some of Goldblums dry wit.


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If you met Malissa Hunt you would remember her. Initially I had seen her somewhat cute

and sweet photo on her website; but Malissa in person is a force of nature. Irish and

Filipino,people often dont think she is Asian. Perhaps this is a secret weapon with themostly Caucasian crowds she performs to in the burbs. It was a common experience

noted by the comedians that the jokes specific to being Asian often left the room quiet

once you left the city. Malissa pointed out that relating to the audience, not alienatingthem, is of utmost importance to ones success. Three years ago, Malissa gave up a careerin physical therapy after taking a class in comedy and she hasnt looked back; she is

determined to make comedy her full time gig, whether its stand-up or writing for TV.Malissa described her obsession with her art: I like to push people, I am going to make

you laugh whether you want to or not. This is the ultimate control and something I

create. Malissa relishes the challenge of an unresponsive crowd; she enjoys it much

more than entertaining an audience that is ready to laugh at the drop of a hat.

Joe Wong once got a call out of the blue from a filmmaker saying hed been

recommendedas a nerd; this description is far from the complexity that makes up the

charming and witty person who is Joe Wong. Joe was born in China. His first experiencewith American comedy was at a club in Texas, where he lived for almost 8 years. He

only understood fifty percent of the jokes, but he was hooked. After taking a comedyclass after moving to Boston for his day job at a biotech firm, he began trying out open

mike nights at various comedy venues. He has mixed feelings about performing, it makes

him nervous yet he loves the thrill. Joes coworkers have no idea what he does with his

evenings. When I asked him why he didnt use them to fill up the rooms at the comedyclubs, Joe said something a layperson like me had no idea about: Friends and co-

workers cannot give you an honest indication of a joke. When I asked Joe who inspiredhim, he mentioned the names that came up over and over as mentors for these young

comedians; local comedians like Tony V, Lenny Clarke, Tim McIntyre. Joes materialcomes from his day to day life and from being Chinese. Taking ownership of, and

subsequently changing the dominant discourse about what it means to be Asian seemed

to be a common occupation among all the comedians I spoke to. Joe had this to say: I

saw so many people making fun of the stereotypes of Asians; I said to myself, I want a

part of this.

Sandy Asai is a delicate, lovely woman. When I asked her ethnicity, she hesitated, as it is

part of her stand-up routine to name it. I didnt pursue the question further. One has thefeeling she must be writing jokes about you for her next show as you speak to her; she is

so quiet, yet so vividly observant. Like Malissa and Joe, Sandy got her start in Boston

taking a class in comedy. Sandy talked about some of the pitfalls of being a comedian;

she noted that it is harder to get people to laugh because of stereotypes people haveabout gender and race. Sandy, Malissa and Joe all agreed that for them dirty jokes were

out of the question; Asians being considered the model minority, they often weretreated to blank stares when they attempted the ubiquitous dirty joke. Even with all the

difficulties, Sandy was quite gleeful when she explained that comedy was something that

she was meant to do and that she knew deep down it was the only path she shou ld be

taking.


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The future of these comedians is not in Boston. Boston is a great place to nurture ones

craft, all five agreed, but the industry is in New York or LA. Malissa and Eric have

already ventured out to LA with some interesting stories to tell. Malissa made the mistake

of using a joke with a punchline that was, out of context, considered R rated in the clean

club Comedy and Magic. She half-jokingly mentioned that she hopes she is not bannedthere. Eric was courted by agents who sent him on several useless auditions; they seemedmore concerned about him joining a gym than his comedy. Eric, Ku, Malissa, Joe and

Sandy plan on making a name for themselves in Boston, signing up for as many open

mikes, auditions and classes as time allows. All of the comedians agreed on one thing:

whatever they do will be on their own terms.

We talked about what the comedy scene was like ten or twenty years ago and everyone

acknowledged that indeed they are the first major crop of young Asian comedians to

come out of Boston. They see themselves as examples for future Asian comedians; the

more successful they are in their craft, the more Asian voices are heard, the more the

stereotypes will subside. As Ku commented: The ten Irish male comedians in a row at acomedy night gets old quickly.

You can check out these up and coming comedians at places like The Comedy Studio in

Harvard Square, above the Hong Kong restaurant; Improv Boston in Inman Square,

Cambridge;Nicks Comedy Stop; The Comedy Connection; and Jimbos restaurant in

Braintree.

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On Their Own Terms: Asian Comedians in Boston