| Q&A with Ali Wong |
| Written by TimesSquare.com | |
| Monday, 22 August 2011 01:24 | |
 Comedian Ali Wong is hoot and a holler; you may have seen her recently on the Jay Leno show or in one of her many hilarious clips (such as the parody on American Apparel on YouTube) or maybe you have been lucky enough to see her stand-up live. Wong was voted by Comedy Central as one of 7 Comic's to watch in 2010. Variety Magazine followed on the bandwagon and listed her as one of 10 Comic's to watch in 2011. Let me tell you...if you've never heard her stand-up you're missing something seriously side splitting hilarious! She was brought up in a very open-minded, supportive family in San Francisco. Her mother was born in Vietnam and her father is American of Chinese decent. Growing up Wong said that her family was filled with a lot of raunchy humour which helped her to see that she had a serious knack for making people laugh. Wong also attributes her love for the stage from being in the LCC theatre group (the oldest, longest running Asian one) while in College. Wong now resides in Los Angeles, California. Wong's comedy is honest, truthful, and painfully funny because she says things that we are all thinking but don't have the guts to say out loud. Her comedic inspirations include Eddie Murphy, Patrice O'Neal, Patton Oswalt, JB Smoove, and Bill Burr. Being of Asian descent, Wong roots a lot of her jokes in the culture. One example is when she brought her boyfriend to see her parents and he brought them two oranges (a gift to symbolize good luck) to which Wong said, "You put those back in your backpack, you are NOT bringing my mom TWO oranges...Unless you present them like this [as she kneels ceremoniously]." Times Square had a chat with Ali Wong about her career in stand-up and on television, her advice for newbies in comedy, and her upcoming show at Caroline's on Broadway September 8th-11th, 2011. Times Square (TS): What influenced you to get into comedy? Ali Wong (AW): I think it was the only thing that I was ever really good at. I was just okay at everything else like tennis and student government. I was president of my high school, but once I got to college I decided I didn't want to do this anymore. It was actually when I went to Vietnam; I lived there for a year, I had gotten a scholarship to study there. I had planned to live there much longer, but I missed making America laugh. TS: Tell me about your first time...performing that is...haha AW: I think my first time doing stand-up was at an open mic night in San Francisco. It was at this Laundromat/cafe in a really sad neighbourhood. A place where you get like 5 minutes [to perform] and it went really well. I don't even remember what jokes I did, but I haven't really stopped since that day. TS: How tough is it to follow a comedian who has just "killed it" on stage? AW: It depends; I would say my peers are what I hate following the most. [The ones] I really respect because when they're so good and that I know they're watching me afterwards. That's emotionally difficult. But I think getting laughs is not what I see as difficult. They [other comedians] constantly expect you to write new material. TS: What do you feel is the most critical aspect of stand-up comedy? AW: To do stuff that you truly find funny. A lot of people do stuff just because it gets laughs and they don't really know why. I think people should do material that they themselves can laugh at and find funny. TS: What advice would you give to young comedians starting out in the business? AW: I would say move to New York and to do stand-up every single night. TS: How do you test out your new stand-up material? AW: I am constantly testing out new stuff. I sandwich it between bits that are tried and true. TS: I heard that you want to have your own late-night "Dirty Oprah" style comedy show. What would you name it and what would be the show tagline? AW: Probably called The Wong Show and the tagline would be 'This pussy ain't gonna eat itself.' TS: What kind of guests would you have on the show? AW (laughing): I would want to have celebrity guests. I would die to have the Kardashians on there. Because my show would be about all the stuff women have to do keep fuckable like waxing and shaving...And it's so funny because the Kardashians are Armenian, so I know they have to do a lot of hair removal and have to do a lot to look like that all the time. I would like to talk to them about the nitty-gritty about what they have to do to not look like sweaty, hairy wombats. You know they're gorgeous and I would want to interview them about that. TS: Awesome, so what do you do when you're not working? What do you do in your spare time? AW: I write a lot. I watch a lot of 'Netflix instant watch' [and] I am constantly cooking. And I am really into Zumba. TS: Tell me about your role on "Breaking In." Do you find it challenging to act since stand-up is your forte? AW: I actually find it a lot easier because it's nice to have other people and have their company. It's really fun to have a trailer and to have my hair and makeup done. It's so new right now that it feels like an adventure. And it doesn't feel like a job at all; because it's like playing...you're literally pretending, so I kinda feel like I am a little girl playing house. [And with stand-up] you're really just being an extension of yourself. The only challenging thing about it is memorizing about of words. TS: What would your fans be surprised to learn about you. AW: Ummm...I did a hallucinogen last summer because I don't drink alcohol (but that one's not new)... yeah, I think they will be shocked to hear that. TS: What can people expect from your show at Caroline's in New York? AW: They can expect the unexpected because that's what people always say about me. I look like Pikachu and then say all these things that would never come out of Pikachu's mouth. TS: Haha. Well Ali, that's a wrap! Good luck with your upcoming show. Bet it will be hilarious. For more articles like Q&A with Ali Wong, please visit the Stage Features Section of TimesSquare.com
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