Artwork by Helen Xue
An Evening of Comedy
Flushing Town Hall today announced the return of Crazy Talented Asians & Friends: an evening of live comedy – “We are here. Are you?” on Saturday, April 23, 2022, as a celebratory prelude to the upcoming Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
Highlighting Asian American experiences and comedy talents, this in person event kicks off at 8:00 PM (EDT). Talents with East and South Asian American heritages will share their stories through sketch and stand-up comedy. As actress Sandra Oh once said ‘It’s an honor just to be Asian’. There are so many Asian American stories that need to be heard and comedy is one of the best art forms for sharing them.
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Mr. Otter Lee, who also played Otter Lin on Stephen Colbert Presents: Tooning Out the News, returns to host this exciting live event. He will be joined by stand-up comedians Ann Chunharakchote, Jason Choi, John Hedrick, Dominique Nisperos, Josh Ri’Esgo, Anhtriet Tran, Sabrina Wu, Julia Zhen, as well as Overstep Comedy group. The event will also feature Teresa Ting from Main Street Patrol to raise the awareness of hate crimes that continue to target the Asian American communities.
Please join us o this very special evening event! You can buy tickets or RSVP for the Live Streaming link here at https://www.flushingtownhall.org/ctaf-2022-live-comedy
Recommended for ages 13 and up.
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Otter Lee, from Chinatown Manhattan, is a queer actor, writer, comedian, and VO artist. He can currently be heard on Fairview, a new animated sitcom on Comedy Central. He also performed on Seasons 1 and 2 of Stephen Colbert Presents: Tooning Out the News, an Emmy-nominated political satire cartoon. Otter has performed stand-up, sketch, and improv at such venues as The PIT, The Squirrel Theatre at Caveat, The Knitting Factor, The Magnet, Flushing Town Hall, Buzzfeed, and UCB. Their projects and performances have been written in The New York Times, Time Out New York, AsianCrush, Mediaite, and World Journal. A graduate of NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a degree in acting, playwriting, and history, Otter also trained extensively in the disciplines of classical and musical theatre, improv, and voice acting.
Ann Chunharakchote is a New York-based comedian from Thailand. She has appeared on Asian AF and Asian Comedy Festival in New York City. As a producer of Joy Luck Comedy and Double Threat Comedy, Ann has sold out shows at venues across NY and SF and has been featured on the SF Chronicle. Ann's solo show, Asian Divorce, will make its run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year.
John Hedrick is an Asian American comedian from Maryland that has written for various satire outlets such as The Hard Times and Flexx Mag. He also runs a satire news site for Asian Americans called The Lunar Times. John produces DIY shows around the city under the production name The Shakedown as well.
Dominique Nisperos is a Brooklyn-based comedian who escaped the academy to write and perform comedy full time. A recovering academic she left her career as a doctoral candidate in Sociology and Ford Fellow, to write and perform for the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Funny or Die, The Blue Man Group, Hatched.NYC, and The Goss among others. She now co-produces and hosts Banana Ketchup, a Fillipinx-centered comedy show forefronting diverse voices in comedy.
Josh Ri’Esgo is Filipino comedian and actor born and raised in Queens New York. He started comedy since high school and has been featured on Asian Comedy Festival 2019, Funny or Die, Sirius XM, and Amazon.
Sabrina Wu is a Brooklyn based stand up comedian. She is also currently writing for a new FX series and is set to star as a lead in an upcoming Lionsgate movie, directed by Adele Lim and produced by Point Grey. Previously, Sabrina wrote for DOOGIE KAMEALOHA M.D. on Disney+, and their stand-up has been selected for the New York Comedy Festival, the Women in Comedy Festival, and Laughing Skull Comedy Festival.
Julia Zhen is a NYC based comedian, writer, and performer. You can see her work in The Lunar Times, Reductress, and The Hard Times. See her perform and produce with NYC Shakedown and 24 Hour Kiss Club.
Overstep Comedy is an indie sketch team dedicated to increasing representation in comedy and amplifying the voices of Asian-Americans in entertainment. Pre-pandemic, the team regularly sold out live performances in New York, including shows as a headliner of the first-ever Asian Comedy Festival at the People’s Improv Theater and as a featured act at Sketchfest at the PIT. Overstep has been featured in The New York Times and Time Out New York. The group also writes and produces digital shorts for their YouTube channel.
“This show features some of the most exciting Asian comics in the New York scene! Don’t miss out and come see”