Re-educated comedy: A Bilingual Stand-up Series

Re-educated Comedy, a stand-up series in Los Angeles, has been making waves by offering a unique bilingual experience.The sold-out shows feature a mix of English and Chinese performances, catering to a diverse audience. According to series organizer Lewis Liu, the decision to go bilingual was driven by the lack of Chinese-speaking comics in the area.

“After our first show, our comedians were telling me, ‘Lewis, it’s great that we have a show, but we’re running out of material,'”

Lewis Liu

To address this, Liu introduced free open mics, allowing comedians to test and refine their material live. Re-educated Comedy welcomes all jokes, and its name is a nod to the cultural learning process immigrants undergo. Liu, who immigrated from central China over a decade ago, explains, “When you come to a new country, you learn about the new things in the new world. You essentially get reeducated.”

This year, the series is expanding from quarterly to monthly shows, reflecting its growing popularity and the increasing demand for bilingual comedy in the U.S.

Emerging Platform for Bilingual Comedy

Re-educated Comedy, a burgeoning stand-up comedy series, has been drawing significant attention, shows, attracting both new and experienced bilingual comedians.

Sliding Between Cultures

Liting Chen, a comedian who has been performing stand-up in English for a year and a half, is one of the performers who has found a home at Re-educated Comedy. She discovered the series through a fellow Chinese comic and was surprised by the audience composition.

“I was shocked to see there are so many Chinese-speaking [people in the] audience. Like, they’re real people; they’re not comics.”

Liting Chen

Chen noted that the audience at English open mics is often other comics waiting for their turn. She finds the Chinese-speaking audience more engaging and has been exploring the differences between performing in English and Chinese.

“I don’t think it translates,” she said, bringing up a conversation she recently had with another bilingual comedian. “We feel like when we speak different languages, like Chinese and English, we switch our personality, we become another person.”

Liting Chen

Chen’s experience highlights the cultural nuances and personal transformations that come with bilingual comedy. As Re-educated Comedy continues to grow, it is indeed not only providing a platform for comedians but also fostering a community that bridges cultural divides through laughter.

Introducing Jesse Appell

At Tang Dynasty,a comic with a close-cropped head of curls jumps on stage to work the crowd of about 30 people. His name is Jesse Appell,but he goes by another name in the Chinese stand-up scene.

“My name is ai Jiexi,” Appell said to the audience.”When you look at my face, you probably don’t know where I am from. Well, I am a Dongbei ren.”

— Jesse Appell

Dongbei ren means someone who’s from northeastern China.

“america’s Northeast,” Appell added, drawing a parallel between the two regions.

The Chinese Stand-Up Scene

The chinese stand-up comedy scene has been growing rapidly, with performers like Ai Jiexi bringing a unique viewpoint to the stage. According to a recent report by the China Stand-Up Comedy Association, the number of stand-up comedians in China has increased by over 50% in the past three years.

Performers like Ai Jiexi are not just entertaining audiences but also bridging cultural gaps. “Comedy is a universal language,” Appell said. “it brings people together, regardless of their background.”

From Boston to Beijing

About 15 years ago, a Bostonian traveled to Beijing to study Chinese.Already familiar with improv in the U.S., he decided to explore the comedy scene in China. He discovered an old-school style of comedy known as xiangsheng — or crosstalk — that dates back some two centuries. A couple of years later, he returned to China on a Fulbright fellowship to research Chinese comedy, with the ulterior motive to study with the only crosstalk master in the country that would take on foreign disciples.

From there, Appell started to make a career for himself in china as a stand-up comic, performing some 300 shows in one year, including on Royal Caribbean cruises, a popular Chinese internet knock-off of SNL, and at his own comedy club in Beijing.

“Then I came home to the States for what I thought would be a nine-day vacation, and COVID hit in midair,” Appell said. “I found myself locked back in America after having not lived here for basically my whole adult life.”

“A lot of my comedy in Mandarin and even in English comes down to being this person that lives between the two worlds.”

Appell

A global Phenomenon

Despite the vast Chinese-speaking diaspora in Southern California, the local Chinese comedy scene isn’t as developed as other cities. re-educated’s Liu said stand-up comedy started blowing up in China and Taiwan in the late 2010s, with variety and late-night type shows devoted to the artform.

“I actually was not surprised there’s an audience out there for Chinese-language comedy,” Liu said,referring to Los Angeles. “Because of the popularity of these shows, there are many other Chinese-language comedy clubs that started to pop out around the world.”

New York, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, and the Silicon Valley, according to Liu, all have their own spots.

The Impact of Stand-Up Comedy

Stand-up comedy has become a powerful tool for social commentary and cultural exchange. “Through comedy, I can talk about issues that matter to me and to the audience,” Appell explained.”It’s a way to connect and to make a difference.”

Appell’s performances frequently touch on themes of identity, culture, and the immigrant experience. “I want my comedy to be relatable and meaningful,” he said. “I want people to laugh, but also to think.”

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San Gabriel Valley’s Cultural Confidence

What Los Angeles has is the San Gabriel Valley.The SGV is different, as described by Appell, who has performed in various Chinese-speaking communities, including Paris, London, and Seattle. He attributes this to a unique cultural confidence that he hasn’t seen elsewhere, such as the fact that an entire mall’s signage could be in Chinese, and no thought is given to whether you know the language.

“I feel like [in] the SGV, people are living their life and they’re thriving and they’re doing what they want,” Appell said.

Appell

Details for the Next Show

Re-educated Comedy

Date: Saturday, Feb. 22

Time: English stand-up: 7 – 9 p.m. Chinese stand-up: 9 – 11 p.m.

Venue: Happy Humble Hub, 117 East Main Street #Unit A & B, Alhambra

Tickets: Get Tickets

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