Asian Canadian Sketch Comedy Breaks New Ground

by Jason Lee

Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre put on a strong show in its 5th annual sketch comedy competition, Sketchoff Reloaded. Sketchoff is just one of many cultural celebrations happening during Asian Heritage Month, but without a doubt, it is the rarest. Activists, academics, and artists working within the Asian Canadian community have typically reflected on the always-hot issues of cultural identity, racism, and intercultural discourse through political action, critical theory, or art and literature. What has been missing is perhaps the sharpest and most effective mode of analysis – humour. Sketchoff has become the sole outlet for this form of Asian Canadian cultural production in Vancouver.

The brainchild of Tom Chin and Joyce Lam, the idea came to them when they saw the Asian American comedy troupe, OPM, at the Vancouver Fringe Festival. Realizing that Vancouver had no outlet for Asian Canadian comedy despite having a significant Asian community, the pair took it upon themselves to get one started with the help of OPM founder, Leroy Chin. Well into its fifth year, comedian Tom Chin still finds Asians and comedy to be an odd juxtaposition. In his own words, he says, “Asians and comedy, it’s an odd match up, kind of like…O’Brian’s Sushi.”

Four comedy troupes from across Canada and the United States appeared in the show. Each put on a half-dozen sketches within a twenty-five minute time frame, with judges deciding the winning team that would be taking home the coveted Rice Bowl and a $500 red lucky money pocket. Every comedy troupe was faced with the delicate matter of using humour to prod the done-to-death topic of minority stereotypes. On the one hand, they wanted to keep the show crowd-pleasing to the mostly Asian Canadian audience by playing off well-known cultural stereotypes. On the other hand, one could see that every troupe strived to transcend the usual “chop-socky” material and advance Asian Canadian discourse. Their approaches to this challenge varied, as did their results.

Tom Chin, host of the event, started the evening off in a non-judged sketch as a first generation Chinese immigrant involved in an MC battle against a Francophone squeegee kid in a public restroom. The two traded racist insults ranging from “Chinese as bad drivers” to “Francophones on UI.” The audience responded with laughter of the knee-slapping variety, but aside from the playfully ludicrous context of the skit, there was little critical distance to differentiate the ironic racist mockery from authentic racist diatribe. As a minor achievement though, it was compelling to see Asian Canadians re-appropriating their stereotypes for themselves. The subsequent comedy troupes, however, managed to go further and reproduce the stereotypes in refreshing new ways.

The Kupps from Toronto had the difficult task of being the first troupe presenting. It was evident in their various skits that their material was developed for a general audience. They were careful not to make any cultural references that would go over the heads of audience members unacquainted with Asian culture. Within their set, there were some G.W. Bush jokes, some jabs at religious institutions, and a raunchy sex sing-along, but in the end, their act was comparable to a so-so episode of Royal Canadian Air Farce. Their skits took too much time to build up to too weak of a punch-line. And for a crowd that paid a good twenty dollars for some unique cultural comedy unavailable on network TV, one could only wish that the Kupps had included some more Asian Canadian content.

Vancouver’s own Assaulted Fish took the stage next. Their skits were intelligent, and conceptually very creative, with well-written dialogue. In one skit, a Survivor type contest was hosted in the hold of a vessel smuggling human cargo. The refugees faced off in a contest to produce the most brand name garments within a minute as an “immunity challenge.” Assaulted Fish successfully incorporated a raw overview of the human trade industry within the sketch, and it turned out to be a shining example of humour as activism. Another highlight was their skit involving an Asian Canadian tour guide leading a group of Japanese tourists through Stanley Park. The high energy actors perfectly captured the awkward and sometimes condescending moments in trans-cultural communication. And yes, trans-cultural communication can most certainly apply between Asians and Asian Canadians, as the troupe exemplified.

OPM from LA picked up where Assaulted Fish left off and put the crowd in hysterics. Like the previous act, they were able to riff off cultural gags without getting into “same old shit” territory. In one skit, a young interracial couple ― a Korean husband and Filipino wife ― (you were thinking Caucasian man/Asian woman, weren’t you?) fight heatedly over which of them is responsible for the baby’s inherited ethnic traits. It is very fresh, showing that Asians are not a categorically monolithic people, but that racism exists between Asian nationalities as well. Whereas Assaulted Fish did clever comedy, OPM were downright raucous and the clear winners of the night. Judges awarded them the prize.

Cold Tofu from LA capped off the evening, performing some non-judged improv. The multicultural team demonstrated a keen ability to flow into different characters and genres, which made them a hit.

Ultimately, every group had the desire to go beyond jokes on stereotypes. The key to OPM’s success was how they used stereotypes without relying on them or being overly derivative. They took these cultural signifiers to new places by throwing them in wacky contexts, and their skills as actors and comedians carried them the rest of the way.

The Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre’s next production features stand-up comic Phil Nee on Oct. 1st and 2nd at the Roundhouse Performance Centre. More information can be found at www.vact.ca.

This review was written by Jason Lee of Schema Magazine