Ghetto-Winnipeg Vong is the best comedian Vong that Vong can be
February 3, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I took this week off of work to get some comedy writing done. I’ve been working on my one-hour one-man show for a few months now, and I’m hoping to have it completed before the summer festival season, though I won’t debut the actual show until end of the year at the earliest. I haven’t been making a lot of progress lately, so I was hoping the focus off of my dayjob for a week would help me get a jump start.
This being my debut long-form show, I’ve been thinking long and hard about what I want to present and who I want to be on stage. After some careful consideration, I’ve decided to go back to my roots, the ghettos of Winnipeg. I already have a bit of material written about my life in Winnipeg, but now I want to really dig in deep.
I’m a bit of a chameleon when it comes to my personality. I’m very much different depending on whether I’m with my parents or my family or my friends or at work. Part of this comes from my upbringing, as there were definitely rules applied to how I should act depending on who was in the room (more respect, for instance, is paid to elders and people of authority and so on). The other side of this, though, is perhaps a bit of my comedic playfulness.
Different people bring out different parts of me. I’m more gay with my gay friends; I’m more ghetto with my ghetto friends. This is all common in most people of course, but I think with me it’s a little more pronounced. With individual friends, I tend to almost absorb a bit of their personality and reflect it back in an enhanced way. I didn’t realize this until recently moving in with a co-worker, and I found myself acting differently.
This got me thinking about which version of me I want to bring on stage. The answer is simple: I’m the best me when I’m with my older sister in Winnipeg. She brings out the me that I like best. We have a chemistry and connection that is pretty damn special. I think I’ve also suffered a bit from being away from Winnipeg too long.
Back in Winnipeg, I was able to maintain an incredibly balanced life as far as my friends go. One-third of my friends were straight guys, one-third were female, and one-third were gay. My personality back then had the versatility to appeal to all three demographics. Since leaving Winnipeg, my life has been dominated by my gay friends as well as some women from school, work and comedy. The part of me that appeals to the straight male demographic is slowly fading away.
This brings up the question of whether I am able to go back to that personality on stage while being so far removed from that place emotionally. I’m writing about a period of my life while being in a completely new life in a new city. I’m not sure how possible it will be.
I’m going to continue writing this week and see where it takes me, but I am seriously considering using my summer vacation days to go back to Winnipeg and complete my writing there. I’ll let you all know how it goes.
Hanging out with my friend Linda from the Winnipeg ghetto was fun
January 19, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Tonight I had the chance to hang out with one of my oldest and dearest friends from the ghetto. We talked about our lives now and then, and we had a great time. I’m fortunate enough to have a lot of long-lasting friendships that still feel current. Though we talk about our history, our current friendship isn’t dependent on our past lives and is strong on its own merits.
Some of our conversation reminded me of how I was when I was younger: absolutely fearless and in my own world. I didn’t even remember that I used to carry around a butt pillow (yes, a butt pillow) around the university and would take it out of my bag and sit on it. I was so in my own reality, that I truly didn’t care what others thought. I wish I had that type of total abandon now.
The visit came at a great time, as I am delving into my past Winnipeg life as the centrepiece of my hour-long set that I hope to have completed before the end of this year. I was contemplating whether I should go back to Winnipeg for a few weeks in the spring or summer to help bring back the emotions to jump-start my writing process. I think after tonight, though, I’ve decided to hold off.
I think the best method would be to complete the writing process while I’m alone in Toronto. I would then go to Winnipeg and do a private performance to only friends and family, where I would ask for input.
I used this strategy back when I was preparing for my first ever comedy show in Calgary, Alberta. Since my family and friends know my stories by heart, seeing as how they lived through them with me, I was greatly helped by the comments last time. In fact, the whole part of my first set regarding “magical powers” came from a simple comment from my engineering friend, Erin.
Second City’s Level A improv class, week one, packed with great info
January 13, 2009 by vongsundara · 1 Comment
My first-ever improv class at Second City’s training centre went extremely well. I had a lot of fun, and it’s gotten my creative juices flowing again, which is why I took this class in the first place.
You see, improv is quite the opposite of stand-up comedy. Improv is all about feeding off of an ensemble and going beyond yourself with multiple characters (think Mike Myers) while stand-up is about working on your own to be as believable as yourself as possible.
My class is made up of a dozen students. My teacher is quite hilarious and almost exactly like I’d imagine an improv teacher to be like. She’s very outgoing, talkative and agressive in the best ways possible. There are a couple of students who have already shown a lot of potential, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they develop.
Our first class was made up of a series of improv exercises. We kind of went through all the improv techniques in one day. Over the next six weeks, we’ll be going deeper into each of the techniques, and on our final day we’ll go through all of them again.
My favourite exercise consisted of having to answer questions in tune with a partner, speaking at the same time. My team decided to speak very slowly to try and figure out what the other person was saying. We ended up veering off in interesting directions, and some of our answers ended up being quite funny.
Improv class at Second City has taken over my Sundays, goodbye football
January 10, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I’m excited to start a new chapter of my comedy life this week. Today, I went to take a tour of the Second City training centre, where I’ll be taking improv classes for the next year. My classes will be on Sunday, which is perfect timing since NFL football is coming to an end and my Sundays will soon be open.
At first, I was hesitant to take a class on improv, since it seems to be the polar opposite of what my stage style is. Stand-up is generally about being able to portray yourself and make it believable. Improv and sketch are more about suspension of disbelief and playing many different characters.
I’m still definitely a stand-up at heart, but with my creative juices stagnating as of late, I’m hoping the challenges brought about by improv will help get some ideas flowing through my head and get me excited about comedy again.
Today was orientation day, so I was able to meet the artistic director, Kevin Frank. I thought it was a nice touch that it was someone important as Kevin Frank to be the person leading orientation day.
I’m looking forward to meeting my instructor tomorrow, and I’ll give weekly updates on how my improv training is going. Who knows? Maybe improv will add a whole new dimension that I can bring to stage during my stand-up performances.
Supercute.ca finally back on first page of Google results for “Canadian comedian”
January 6, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Back when I relaunched this website a couple of months back, my web presence was in shambles. I used to be on the first page of Google results for “Canadian comedian” with my first website a couple of years ago. I then went through a phase of transitioning between several different websites. This knocked me off Google search results almost entirely.
A couple of months ago, I made the goal to get back on top and back on page one. This promise to myself was a part of a larger overall strategy to get back to my success in the comedy field that was great early on but has lately stagnated.
Well, today is a HUGE day for me, as I am finally back on page one of Google’s search results for both “Canadian comedian” and “Canadian stand-up.” Go to Google and try searching those keywords, and you’ll see me. Now, Google rankings are fluid, so I’ll have to work hard to keep my current position form now on.
I’m so happy that one of my main goals has come to fruition. I hope this is the beginning of my other comedy goals coming to life as well in 2009.
Clint Eastwood’s performance is the backbone of Gran Torino, a stellar movie
December 29, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Prior to yesterday, I’d only ever seen one Clint Eastwood movie, Million Dollar Baby. I didn’t know quite what to expect going into Gran Torino, but I shouldn’t have been too surprised that Clint Eastwood once again delivers a stellar lead performance as Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran.
There are plenty of sites out there to give summaries, so I’ll jump into my generally feelings about the film.
Surrounding Clint Eastwood’s rock-solid performance are some unknown Asian actors. They do a good job for the most part, though their inexperience shows through in a number of scenes unfortunately, and they are not always believable in their roles.
Read more
A stand-up comedian’s Christmas can be a lonely affair
December 25, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Another year, another Christmas spent alone, thus is the the life of a stand-up comedian. I ended up having a somewhat boring day, but at least there was some great NBA basket ball on television; Celtics vs. Lakers is always a fun matchup (unfortunately, my Celtics lost).
I suppose a bit of loneliness is never too terrible a thing. Being alone today reminded me of the sacrifices I’m making to pursue my career out in Toronto and be separated from my friends and family. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m having a great time in Toronto, but today reminds me that I have to focus on why I am here in the first place, otherwise I’m separating myself from my family for no good reason at all.
I got quite a few updates done to my website. I re-intregrated Twitter feeds and fixed a few of the WordPress and Facebook interactions. I’ve also been researching Podcasting and will be introducing those into my blogs hopefully very soon.
The most important part of today, though, is that I’m finally going to get off my ass and start writing again. I’ve been resting on the material I wrote while in Calgary, and as proud as I am of that material, I know I can be much, much better.
I’m sure everyone makes lots of New Year’s resolutions, but I think my re-dedication to comedy in the new year will stick. All it took was a bit of loneliness to remind me why I’m out here.
Learning through videogames can be effective if done right
December 25, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I’ve been playing Rock Band 2 a lot recently, and it’s really helped my rhythm and has basically taught me how to play drums much more quickly than any other method I can of. This experience got me thinking about learning through videogames in general.
I’ve spent most of my life playing videogames. I think videogames are a great way to learn and can help children use parts of their mind that they normally wouldn’t use. It’s unfortunate that there’s a group out there who feel videogames can only rot minds. Quite the opposite is true; it all depends on the games you play.
My first big game was Tetris. I was absolutely addicted and played multiple versions on my NES and then my Gameboy (and eventually every other system known to man including my DS and Wii). Tetris is a great way to teach kids about spacial relations.
I was a huge role-playing game fan ever since playing Final Fantasy II on the SNES. RPGs are a great way to get kids to read. I’ve never read so much in my life than I’ve read while playing RPGs. On my way to becoming the Winnipeg Typing Champion, I learned to type mainly through typing videogames that my friend coded for MS-DOS and later perfected my style playing Typing of the Dead for Dreamcast.
I could bring out many more great examples of how videogames are a great way to learn, but the latest and greatest examples are music games. Sure, some of the instruments such as in Guitar Hero don’t really teach you much other than finger dexterity and rhythm, though those are important, but some games are so close to reality that they can really help you learn before taking professional lessons.
Playing drums is so close to reality that it’s a good jump start. Nothing takes the place of professional lessons, but now at least when you are at a point to take lessons, you are already fairly up to speed with the basics. I’ve also recently purchased Keyboardmania II for PlayStation 2. I’ve always wanted to learn piano, and now I can learn a few things before moving on to real lessons.
Maybe videogames aren’t the best way for everyone to learn, but it meshes quite well with my learning style. You see, I always avoid getting lessons or being trained when I start something new. I like to have the chance to figure things out for myself and develop my own style before later taking lessons and polishing up my act.
Two clear examples of this philosophy are my typing and my comedy. When becoming Winnipeg Typing Champion, I developed my own style of typing that would not have happened if I followed the standard conventions. I use different fingers for keys than are recommended, and I think it’s because my hands are different than anyone else’s hands, which is true of everyone. There is no one correct way to type, depending on the size of your fingers and the strength of your hands, it can vary from person to person.
The same is true of my comedy act. I took great care in carving out my own style before seeking out feedback from other comedians. I think it’s really helped me shape my own style.
Business humour is difficult to grasp compared to stand-up comedy
December 23, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
So I’ve been in quite a few meetings lately for my day job, and I’m noticing that I’m having difficulty loosening up. In my comedy and around my friends, I’m quite loose, but in the world of Toronto business, I’m seen as quite business-like and somewhat boring too.
At first I thought it was just a case of me getting more comfortable, but now I think there’s an actual divide in humour. The humour I bring to stage is not exactly appropriate for office chatter, and the “business” humour is so far removed from what I find funny that I have difficulty relating.
A co-worker of mine today said it came down to just being more fake. I don’t completely agree. Sure, I certainly laugh along with whatever’s being said, which I suppose is being fake a bit, but I don’t think the business people making the jokes are being fake. I think they genuinely find what they’re saying to be funny.
There’s not much I can do except hope that the humour eventually rubs off on me. Humour is a good way to be disarming and to relate to people quickly. Hopefully I can learn this new style of humour before too long.
Top nine random reflections of 2008, my first year in Toronto
December 11, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
My first year in Toronto has been a wild, wild ride for sure. There are a number of things that stand out, though most of all would be the sporty gay Asians who’ve welcomed me with open arms. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever found a city so initially welcoming in my entire life. Within my first two months of living in Toronto, I was off to Montreal to play volleyball with a great group of guys.
My dayjob has gone extremely well, having been promoted twice since working here. The only part of my life that hasn’t gone according to plan would be my comedy career, though most of that is my own doing by not focusing enough on it.
1. Toronto is the most welcoming city I’ve ever lived in
2. Changing cities means basically starting over in the comedy business
3. Montreal is a great city, but how long will I love it if I go there five times a year
4. Business people are much more in shape than in Calgary
5. Nintendo’s Wii Fit is the best game ever
6. Politicians are kind of hot lately
7. Toronto’s gay community is a lot like the cast of Gossip Girl (in a good way)
8. The more expensive the haircut, the less chance that they’ll shampoo your hair afterward
9. Baskin Robbins is dangerously close to my new house
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