By JOANNE KAM
So, you think you’re funny, is it? If you’re already making your mamak squad laugh every time you do an impression or have a quick-witted answer that entails a bitchy comeback remark as sharp as Billy Porter’s in the American drama TV series POSE – does this mean you have what it takes to make people laugh?
The allure of comedy is definitely one, that in the last few years, has been getting more attention than any other art form. It has even become a staple competition piece in multi-form artform “Short & Sweet” locally presented by the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, klpac. With the likes of Johor’s very own Ronnie Chieng in superhero film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to Nigel Ng’s super famous “Uncle Roger”, are you our next Malaysian comedy superstar?
If you are the type that yearns for your turn in the spotlight, unfiltered by having to share it with your fellow actors or ensemble, then perhaps stand-up comedy can be your fastest way to make an impression. Can laughter make you famous? Yes! But beware….
Here’s the thing, it is not just a bag of laughs.
There are a lot of tears in comedy, you just don’t see them because they lie between those short seconds of silence when your jokes don’t land and the crowd starts judging you even before your conservative parents get wind of your career choice.
The life of comedy, as I would like to interpret it, is like watching your own death in a kind of silent torture … where the room is so quiet you can hear your own heart beating.