US Comedian Helen Chu Takes to the Beijing Stage for the First Time

Originally born in Beijing, comedian Helen Chu moved to California when she was in the sixth grade and has lived there ever since. Now, she is returning to Beijing and will be performing her first ever Beijing comedy show this Friday (Jun 21) at Greenbox, Nanyang Hutong #6! Ahead of her show, we reached out to Chu to find out more about her comedy journey. 

How long have you been doing stand-up comedy for?
I’ve been doing stand-up comedy for seven years.
 
What made you decide to start doing comedy and how did you get started?
I always loved watching xiangsheng (“cross-talk”) on TV when I was a kid in Beijing. As an adult, I enjoyed going to stand-up comedy shows in San Francisco. I was encouraged by my friends to try it when I was in my thirties, so I went to an open mic and got on stage for the first time. 

What was it like doing stand-up for the first time?
It wasn’t as scary as one would think. I had audited a weekly open mic for about a month, so I knew a lot of the regulars at the spot. When I first went up, everyone was very encouraging and warm. I did well the first time and just kept going. 
 
What have been your best and worst moments since doing comedy? 
Great question! Wow, this one is deep. My best memory would be being invited to hang out at The Punchline (a local comedy club) in San Francisco by three experienced female comics after an open mic after doing comedy for two months. I felt like I got asked to prom by the captain of the football team. I attended a lot of shows at The Punchline and paid USD 35 for tickets when I was a fan. This time, I went to the club with the comics, they said hi to the doorman and pointed to me: “She’s a comic, with us”. In my head, I was so surprised I didn’t have to pay to get in! I walked in as if I was walking down the red carpet. The first person sitting by the door was this comic Dan (not his real name), who I had been a fan of for a long time. I was introduced and shook hands with him. I thought to myself: I’m not going to wash my hands for the rest of the night. Haha, pretty creepy… so I’m not going to mention his real name just in case he reads this. He’s still a pretty popular comic in the US and is my friend. 
 
The worst moment would be listening to a recording of mine at a show, and hearing another comic who was on the same show trash my set even though I killed. He used all sorts of racial and gender slurs and was telling another comic that I was always eager to talk to him, when in reality, I didn’t even know his name. It was scarring because I had only been doing comedy for about four months, and it made me doubt my own conduct, like questioning if I was too friendly to male comics. 

During the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders movement in the US, I did message him and told him how I felt. He apologized and took accountability. He said he bombed even though he had been doing comedy for ten years and just didn’t feel good to see me kill. He should have kept his mouth shut. The exchange did give me some closure. 

What comedians would you say have influenced you most?  
Ali Wong, Trevor Noah, and Dave Chappell. Wong for trailblazing the minority female voice in media and putting us on the map. Inspiring a generation of women to speak up. Noah for speaking about the international citizen experience in a relatable way, and making all of us think deeper about how the patriarchy affected our world view. Chappell for being so brave and authentic about what he believes in. Even when I think he’s wrong, I still hold a lot of respect for him. 
 
This will be your first time performing in Beijing, how do you feel about it? 
Yes, I have not performed in Beijing before!! It’s weird to say this because this is the city closest to my heart as it holds the most amount of happy memories for me in my life. I’m beyond excited to perform here! 
 
Lastly, any words of advice for other budding comedians out there? 
I think standup comedy is a journey to get to know yourself in relation to the world. Jokes aside, writing is very personal. Everyone is unique in his/her own way. I hope more comics see the journey as a collaborative exploration rather than a competition for stage time. The stage is one spot, but having a lot of learning partners in so many spots is a gift this community has to offer. I’ve learned to appreciate the gift and I hope more comics can join me.

Helen Chu will be performing at Greenbox, Nanyang Hutong #6 on Friday, Jun 21 at 7.30pm. Early bird tickets with no drink are RMB 85, early bird tickets with a drink are RMB 110 and tickets on the door are RMB 120. You can purchase tickets by scanning the QR code in the poster above. 

Greenbox, Nanyang Hutong #6
 6 Nanyang Hutong, Dongcheng District
东城区南阳胡同6号

Chu will also be performing a special duo show with her son Evan Ho on Saturday, Jun 22 at 6.30pm at JinShang Yuan, you can read more about it here. 

JinShang·Yuan 金尚源
20 Xinyuanli West, Chaoyang District
朝阳区新源里西20号

READ: Spice up Your Summer: Hot & Spicy Fest 2024 Tickets Now on Sale

Images: courtesy of Helen Chu