4th Annual Hong Kong International Comedy Festival
4th annual HK comedy festival
Support some of our very own Comedy Cartel members as they perform in this year’s Hong Kong International Comedy Festival. Although, the site claims to be the first full time comedy club, it’s actually not. Details below.
Get ready for The 4th Annual Hong Kong International Comedy Festival
Oct 6-16! Main events include SHECKY WONG (from Comedy Central) and
The 4th Annual HK International CHINESE and ENGLISH Comedy
Competitons!
For the English Competition, there will be over 40 comedians (11
overseas comedians flying in from England, USA, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Singapore, South Korea, The Philippines, and China) compete! Tickets
on Sale soon!
Get ready for The 4th Annual Hong Kong International Comedy Festival
Oct 6-16! Main events include SHECKY WONG (from Comedy Central) and
The 4th Annual HK International CHINESE and ENGLISH Comedy
Competitons!
For the English Competition, we will have over 40 comedians (11
overseas comedians flying in from England, USA, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Singapore, South Korea, The Philippines, and China) compete! Tickets
on Sale soon!
All details on www.hkcomedyfestival.com
Laugh Out Loud at the RCBC Theater June 4, 2010
What happens when you put together the funniest impressionist in the Philippines and the pioneer of Pinoy point of view stand up comedy? One hilarious show called Laugh Out Loud. I’ve seen both guys perform and let me tell you they are worth every peso. I’m going to watch this show and I suggest you do too. You will truly enjoy.
Tickets to Laugh Out Loud are available at Ticketworld! 8919999 or log on to ticketworld.com.ph
Here’s a little snippet of Tim Tayag’s performance at Votre Bar in Quezon City. Incidentally, you can also catch the Comedy Cartel, the pioneers of Pinoy point of view stand up comedy, at Votre Bar every Thursday at 9:00pm.
Pinoy Comedian Raffy Taruc
One of the promising stars in the Pinoy comedy circuit is a young man by the name of Raffy Taruc. Nicknamed “the Huk”, not because his grandfather was part of the hukbalahap (a group of rebels that fought the Japanese occupiers) but rather because his penis is shaped like a hook, Raffy’s deadpan style and rhythm is bound to have you in stitches once you open your mind and throw away your judgement. Watch him regularly perform with the Comedy Cartel in Spicy Fingers, Greenbelt 2, Makati, Philippines every Monday night.
Kevin Camia
Kevin Camia is one of the fastest rising stars in the comedy scene. I’ve known this guy for quite a while and he’s the real deal. He’s good friends with Allan Manalo and Tim Tayag. He’s one of the best writers out there in the circuit and he can do Filipino audiences and mixed audiences as well. This video is just a snippet of this guy’s awesome skills on stage. I hope you enjoy him.
3 Quick Tips to Improve Stage Presence
I found this article by Filipino point-of-view stand up comedian Tim Tayag to be very useful. I hope it helps…
Most comedians are skilled in delivering jokes. But sometimes they have bad stage habits. And there’s nothing that destroys a funny bit than bad stage management. These are the 3 simple things that I learned that maybe small things but make a big difference in your stage performance. Take it from me, I’ve been performing for 13 years now and counting.
1. Find your light. Some comedians like to make use of the whole stage by walking around ala Dane Cook. But you also have to consider the lighting limitations. If you step out of your light, meaning the audience can’t see your face, you will have a harder time making a connection with them and getting the laughter that you so badly need. So the trick is, to figure out the space that you can move in without losing the light.
2. When you scream for emphasis or lack of a real punch line (sometimes screaming can fool an audience that you’re actually saying something funny even if you’re not), make sure the mic is far away from your mouth. Nothing is more annoying than a comedian screaming into the mic directly and blowing a few eardrums. We understand what you’re trying to emphasize, just hold the mic to the side or at least a foot away from your face when you do so.
3. If you’re the type to take the microphone out of the stand, don’t leave the stand in front of you. It creates a barrier between you and your audience. As soon as you take out the mic, grab the stand and put it to the side or behind you. You want to be as intimate as possible to the crowd without actually taking your clothes off, unless that’s what the act calls for (although I doubt it).
Trust me, with these simple tips you can improve your stage presence. It won’t make you funnier but it can make you look more seasoned as a performer and a speaker.
Original article can be viewed here:
3 quick tips by pinoy comedian Tim Tayag
Jon Santos Shows
Jon Santos
Jon Santos, the closest comedian I’ve seen to pure stand up, is one hilarious impressionist. He wears costumes but actually has his own point of view in his material. He’s very original and multi-talented. I’ve seen him several times and he is a very skilled performer and knows how to deliver a great performance. For the people in Angeles City, he has a show at Holy Angel University on May 8, 2010 @7PM.
Filipino American Comics and Their Mothers
If there’s one thing I noticed about Fil-Am comics is their staple bit about their mothers and how funny they sound with their accent. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I find it a bit hacky when a Fil-Am comedian does this because every Fil-Am standup that I’ve seen has a bit that portrays their mother (or sometimes their father or uncle) talking in this funny way. I’ve seen Rex do it (in fact, I’ve noticed most of his act revolves around this premise: 1st generation Filipino Americans talk funny). I’ve seen Jo Koy do this. And I’ve seen about every Pinoy comic do this.
It makes me wonder, do they get laughs because the situation or the character being portrayed is truly funny or is it just funny because they sound funny when they talk? Now I also understand that they are telling a story from their perspective and it just so happens that their reality is that their parents really have a problem with their “f”, “p”, “v”, and “b”. Call me an elitist, but my parents don’t talk that way. The most that I’ve heard them say that’s remotely similar to this accent is the way they pronounce “menu” and when they refer to a band as a “combo”.
In my opinion, it seems that it’s such an easy way to get a laugh. You could just go on stage and because of the novelty of Pinoy comedians, anything they say with this “funny” accent immediately gets a laugh. Also any Filipino profanity will get you laughter: “putang ina”, “titi mo”, or “lintik kang bata ka”. Maybe I’m being judgemental and a hypocrite, but there’s something about this that bothers me. Then again, it just bothers me when someone just goes for the cheap laugh. Or maybe I’m getting this all wrong. Maybe the most important thing is getting the laughs with the risk of being hacky. After all, people pay to laugh and not to really analyze.
In the meantime, since this for the most part is not my reality, I just try to be as real as possible with the characters in my material and represent them as I see them with a little bit of exaggeration.
4th Annual Hong Kong International Comedy Festival and Competitions
hi comedy fans!
TakeOut Comedy is excited to announce the schedule for The 4th Annual
Hong Kong International Comedy Festival from Oct 6-16!
This year, we welcome back SHECKY WONG (as seen on Comedy Central,
Showtime, MTV)! He helped open our club in Feb 2007 and we are excited
to see his return. He is one of the godfathers of Asian American
standup comics. He has been on the comedy scene since the 1980’s,
appearing on numerous TV shows and on the national comedy club
circuit.
We will also have VIVEK MAHBUBANI (2007 Chinese and 2008 English HK
Funniest Comedian) perform his FIRST English One Man show!
We will as always also have Open Mics, Improv by Peoples Liberation
Improv, a Free Standup Comedy Workshop, and our growing Chinese and
English Standup Comedy Competitions!
We have grown tremendously since our first festival in 2007,
especially our English Standup Comedy Competition! Last year, we had
30 contestants representing 16 countries compete for $20,000HK in cash
prizes! The Finals last year had 9 comics representing 9 different
countries!
This year, we hope to more international as now we have $40,000HK in
cash prizes for the competitions!
If you want to compete, please go to www.hkcomedyfestival.com and
download the application. The deadline is Sept 1, 2010.
THANKS and all details are on www.hkcomedyfestival.com!
cheers and its great to bring more laughter to HK and Asia!
jami:)
TakeOut Comedy Club HK
www.takeoutcomedy.com
(852) 6220 4436
Classic Allan Manalo
Al Manalo, one of the Godfathers of point of view comedy in the Philippines, performs his classic bit on fantasy role playing with his wife on this video. Allan, who started performing the comedy circuit in San Francisco and traveled the road extensively, has contributed greatly to the comedy scene in the Philippines. In my opinion, he is a comedian full of integrity. He lived in Manila for a few years before he returned to San Francisco and until now, his students and fans await his return. I hope you enjoy this classic Al Manalo bit.
Why I Don’t Think Vice Ganda is Funny
“May nag text, insert insult here!” That’s pretty much the formula that Vice Ganda and most run-of-the-mill gay comedians use in their routines. It kinda reminds me of the sketch on Saturday Night Live way back when, where two guys who I think were from Jersey (or could be New York) would just hang out on the street and just make insults by saying, “Hey, Oprah just called, she wants her weight back!” Or how about, “Hey, Donald Trump called, he wants his toupee back!” Which makes me wonder if Vice Ganda actually stole her routine from that sketch and just made it Tagalog.
There’s really nothing original here. In fact, it’s very easy. All you need to do is pick on a physical defect and just milk it. So why is it that Vice Ganda and similar comedians get so much praise for low-brow cheap shot comedy? I’m not sure but I think it has to a lot to do with the media machinery that proliferates and perpetuates this type of insult humor that maybe amusing but doesn’t really enlighten or uplift the type of comedy that Filipinos are known for. But I guess there’s a market for this since people watch this type of crap and consider it stand up comedy.
Call me a hater, which I’m really not because I’m not jealous of Vice’s success. Shit, I wouldn’t want to be successful on those terms doing lousy jokes that require no wit. I could easily do it that way if I wanted to sell out, but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. I have what a lot of these gay comics don’t have – integrity. Now, I’m not gay bashing, in fact, can I even be accused of that since gays are not really a minority in this field of entertainment? I’m gay comic bashing. There is a difference because Pokwang falls under this category even though she’s a woman.
So what am I driving at? Well, I just wish that the powers in the media would give real stand up comedy a chance. It is out there. The Comedy Cartel does it: observational, point of view comedy with actual writing to back it up. But what’s the incentive for these big networks to gamble on this new type of comedy? Why try something new when this old formula of putting a gay comic in drag or maybe a female comic who looks like a gay comic in drag works? I guess there is no incentive until they realize that this next wave of comedy is the next big thing. And mark my words, it is about to explode.
So if you’re tired of the same old insult, shock, mindless comedy, there is an alternative. There is a point-of-view stand up comedy out there that will entertain you without disparaging the audience. On Mondays, there is Spicy Fingers in Greenbelt 2 @8:30pm and on Thursdays there is the Votre Bar near ABS-CBN above East St. Louis that starts at 930pm. Give it a chance, you won’t regret it. And I dare the big networks to have the balls to push and promote this type of comedy.