Hey, comedy fans! If you are in Los Angeles, and looking for some laughs this weekend, look no further than The Comedy Comedy Festival: A Comedy Festival. Co-produced by Disoriented Comedy and JACCC, in partnership with Asian AF, the 2018 edition of this epic 3-day event brings together the best of young, Asian American comedic talent from Hollywood, digital media, and live performance.
"America is not ready for us! We have hilarious and exciting voices," says writer, comedian, and Festival co-organizer Jenny Yang. "No one is waiting for Hollywood to catch up anymore. We have been building our community, strengthening our craft and creating our own platforms. This comedy festival is not just a festival. It's a movement."
This year's festival performers include Manila Luzon (VH1's RuPaul's Drag Race), Jenny Yang (E!'s Busy Tonight), Jake Choi (ABC's Single Parents), Sherry Cola (TNT's Claws), Aparna Nancherla (Comedy Central's Corporate, Late Night with Seth Meyers), Lilan Bowden (Disney's Andi Mack), singer-songwriter Megan Lee, and more. Events include stand up, sketch and improvised comedy, storytelling, and musical comedy.
It's happening October 12-14 at the Aratani Theatre and Japanese American Cultural & Community Center. Here's a rundown of Comedy Comedy Festival highlights:
Picture This!
Hosted by Jenny Yang (E!'s Busy Tonight) and Brandie Posey (Lady to Lady). Aparna Nancherla (Late Night with Seth Meyers), Eugene Cordero (Kong: Skull Island), Asif Ali (TBS' Wrecked), DeeDee Magno Hall (Cartoon Network's Steven Universe), and Shannon Lee (Bruce Lee Foundation).
Asian AF #1
Hosted by Kat Evasco. Christine Medrano and Kiran Deol. Featuring newbie standup comedy by Amanda Suk (Marvel's The Runaways), Sono Patel (Writer, CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), and Mike Bow (Actor, YouTuber, ISAtv Host). Improv by The Comedy Comedy Festival Staff and Room to Improv.
Asian AF #2
Hosted by Ceda Xiong. Jared Goldstein and Yola Lu. Featuring newbie standup comedy by Minji Chang (Buzzfeed, First of All, Kollabcast), and Andrew Ti (Yo! Is This Racist). Improv by K3wlAzN420 and South Asian AF.
Asian AF #3
Hosted by Sherry Cola. Jes Tom. Ellen Wong (Netflix’s Glow). Featuring newbie standup comedy by Hollis Wong-Wear (Flavr Blue, poet and musician). Improv by Out of Towners Improv (Dan Lee, Virgil Shelby, G-Su Paek - Austin) and Stir Friday Night.
Disoriented Comedy
Featuring: Manila Luzon (VH1's RuPaul's Drag Race), and Robin Tran (Comedy Central's Roast Battle), D'Lo (Amazon's Transparent, Netflix's Sense8), Atsuko (HBO's Room 104, Comedy Central Asia) and Jenny Yang (E!'s Busy Tonight).
Asian AF #4
Hosted by Kasu Kusano. Fizaa Dosani and Sierra Katow. Featuring newbie standup comedy by Phil Wang (Wong Fu Productions), Lilan Bowden (Disney’s Andi Mack), Megan Lee (Singer-Songwriter). Improv by Cold Tofu and Miss Golightly.
Asian AF #5: The Diversity Diversity Showcase
Hosted by Peter Kim. Adam Conover (Diversity Showcase Headliner, Adam of TruTV’s Adam Ruins Everything), Kyle Mizono, and Irene Tu. Featuring newbie standup comedy by Peter Sudarso (Actor, Power Rangers), Improv by Number One Son and Sini-Gang.
Asian AF #6: The Armando Show
Hosted by Bri Pruett. Francesca Fiorentini, Ahmed Bharoocha, and Teresa Lee. Featuring newbie standup comedy by Jake Choi (ABC's Single Parents). Improv by Voltron with a very special guest TBA.
The Musical Musical Comedy Show: A Musical Comedy Show featuring Tess Paras
Tess Paras (Host), Danny Pudi, Mary Sohn, Parvesh Cheena, AJ Rafael, JR De Guzman, Lana McKissack, Katie Malia, Kevin Yee, SeventhGrade (Chuck Maa & Geo Lee), and Musical Improv (Jiavani Linayao, Shilpa Das).
Look, depending how you look at it, we're living through some pretty shit times. But sometimes, you just need to laugh, and need to laugh with a big-ass crowd, celebrating the immense talent and diversity of our community. That's what the Comedy Comedy Festival is all about. You don't want to miss this. For further information, and to purchase tickets, head over to comedycomedyfest.com.
