Personal Performance Review and Recap: Homo Night in Canada 2009
July 2, 2009 by vongsundara · 1 Comment
I had a great time performing at Homo Night in Canada 2009 on Saturday night during Toronto Gay Pride Festival at Buddies in Bad Times theatre in the heart of Toronto’s gay village. I went to see the show last year when my friend and fellow comedian Julia Stretch was performing at the show, and I knew then and there that I wanted to be a part of the following year’s show. Luckily, I was able to secure a spot earlier in the year.
This year’s show was hosted by the always hilarious Richard Ryder, gay comedian extraordinaire. He did a wonderful job of running the show and keeping the energy of the crowd high. I was up first and was definitely nervous. I don’t get so much nervous for the occasion as much as I get nervous for the material I am performing.
The general rule in stand-up comedy is to start with your second-best joke and end with your best and never never never start with new material. Well, I don’t have much choice in the matter since my comedy style is storytelling. I can’t start with something old since all my sets are minimum five minutes long. The set I performed at Homo Night in Canada 2009 was basically ten minutes of all-new material from beginning to end (barring the last 30 seconds of the set, which I borrowed the ending from my Ugly People set).
Anyhow, here’s the video clip, so you can judge for yourselves:
Vong Sundara performs Super Power Bottoms during Homo Night in Canada 2009 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13sBHm6M4Og
The crowd as absolutely amazing. The crowd's reactions definitely added to the performance and helped me feel a rhythm. Overall, I was very happy with the performance. A bigger surprise to me is that the performance taped even better than it played live. After reviewing the tape, I was pleasantly surprised at some of what I missed while on the stage. Sometimes you never know unless you review the tape. I had the reverse happen when reviewing the tape for my performance of The Ghetto Truth at Spirits a few weeks back, so it was good to see the opposite happen with this performance.
I had a couple of audience members come up to me after to mention that they thought I had crossed the line a couple of times during the performance. I wasn't too upset, though, because it's always my goal to offend five percent of the crowd. Any more than five per cent means that I probably went too far, but anything less than five per cent usually means that I didn't say anything with substance that was worth thinking about.
Another quick note before I go: Mae Martin. Last year, Mae absolutely came away as the breakout star of Homo Night in Canada 2008 (at least for me anyways). I was really excited that she came back this year and performed, this time closing the show. Below is a clip of her song Showers:
Mae Martin performs Showers during Homo Night in Canada 2009 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXhrr2txcog
Deciding which set will work best on video is more difficult than I thought
March 22, 2009 by vongsundara · 2 Comments
My spring and summer comedy schedule is starting to get really full, which is a great thing and not something I could have said about my comedy life last year. I end each of April, May and June off with a relatively big show and I have a bunch of off-stage projects on the go, the biggest of which is my comedy video production starting this week.
I have studio time booked with my video producer for this Thursday. The final video will consist of me performing one of my stand-up sets that will then be enhanced with animation and sound effects. It’s difficult to describe, but I’m excited that the project is moving forward.
The biggest difficulty for me is deciding which set will work best in a video format accompanied by graphics and sound effects. Some of my sets definitely lend themselves more to a visual format but may not be the best for a debut video, as I’d like the first video to skew more mainstream (otherwise I’d start the first video off on a skit about the SuperPowerBottoms volleyball team).
I think I’m down to two choices: the set about my sister Anne, which has never yet been performed, and the set about my time as an obituary writer, which has never been filmed or uploaded online. Both sets of their merit for sure.
The set about my sister Anne would probably be the clear choice in terms of what would work for this project, but it is in an unfinished state and hasn’t really been tested for kinks. The obituary skit works well too but isn’t as representative of my comedy style as a whole.
I’ll think about it some more tonight, and I’ll have to make up my mind by Tuesday, as I’ll need all of Wednesday to rehearse and memorise.
Stand-up offers full creative control, improv offers collaboration
March 15, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
As a hardcore advocate for stand-up comedy, it took me a little while to warm up to the idea of improv comedy. If you’ve been reading this blog, you’ll know that I took the Level A class at Second City (which was great by the way).
I really enjoyed the class, and it made me want to look deeper into the world of improv. Despite this, I didn’t quite understand what it was about improv that appealed to me. At first, I thought improv would be a great outlet for me to help improve my stage presence and allow me to add extra dimensions (such as characters) to my stand-up act.
I still feel the same way for the most part, as stand-up comedy will always be my first love, but now I’m beginning to take improv comedy more seriously.
Thinking about it some more, I figured out why I so enjoyed my time with improv: creative collaboration. Now, this is somewhat contradictory for a stand-up comedian to believe, as the best part about stand-up comedy is the lack of collaboration. The entire stand-up piece is the comedian’s alone, no censors or network writers to get in the way. After getting over that initial mental hurdle, I came to realise that I rather enjoy collaborating with others.
I’ll always have my stand-up comedy as my primary form of expression, a place where I can express myself and my views on the world as a whole without dilution, but I must admit that I am going to have to make some room in my life for improv.
I’m still a ways off from forming an improv troupe or anything like that, but I am definitely going to work toward that goal. Stand-up comedy is necessarily a lonely process, but I’m happy to know that I can make some room in my life for some collaboration.
25 Things About Vong Sundara, Facebook’s Cool New Viral Sensation
February 22, 2009 by vongsundara · 2 Comments
This new “25 Things” viral sensation spreading across Facebook is a great example of how social networking can enrich our lives. I’ve learned so much about my friends that I would not have known otherwise. Below are the rules being sent around on Facebook:
“Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.
To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click post.”
Now, I’m going off the ruleset a bit and writing my 25 Things note on my blog instead. Feel free to leave a comment below as you would have on Facebook or comment on my Facebook status where this note will be showing up.
1. I always have a jar of pickles in my fridge to ward off emergency headaches (most headaches are caused by lack of salt or water).
2. I have never learned how to swim despite several valiant attempts.
3. I am lifetime banned from separate gay bars in both Calgary and Winnipeg.
4. I spent the first three years of my life in a Thai refugee camp.
5. I had five bicycles stolen as a child and now refuse to ever ride bicycles again.
6. I shattered my knee in a tragic badminton accident (yes, badminton).
7. I was diagnosed as being clinically obese (over 30 per cent body fat) after gaining 20 pounds following a year of inactivity after the knee accident.
8. My parents’ house in Winnipeg was robbed seven times growing up and another four times last year alone.
9. I’m a huge sports fan. I used to host an annual Super Bowl party in Winnipeg but have been unable to find a new group of sports fans to hang out with since leaving Winnipeg.
10. I wrote the obituary section for both the Winnipeg Free Press and Calgary Herald for many years.
11. I moved to Toronto specifically to pursue my dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian.
12. Everything I speak about including all stories in my comedy routine is true and reflects my actual life and opinions.
13. It’s been almost four years since my last actual romantic relationship.
14. My hero is Leonardo da Vinci because he showed the world that creative ability as an artist and technical ability as an engineer can be complementary and reside in the same mind.
15. I built this entire website myself by taking a week off of work and catching myself up on all the new advancements in the website design and build world.
16. My favourite movies of all time are Beauty and the Beast and Scream.
17. I captain the SuperPowerBottoms volleyball team but am not actually a bottom. I’m actually celebate. I just thought it was a great cause.
18. There was only one white kid in my elementary class, so I never felt like a visible minority growing up.
19. My entire wardrobe is from Club Monaco and Banana Republic (yes, every single piece).
20. I worked as a freelance photographer early in my newspaper career.
21. I compare my current career as Project Manager in Toronto to living a real-life version of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice (it’s really not that far off of reality).
22. I owned and operated the number two Street Fighter website on the internet while I was in high school. I also travelled to different cities to take part in multiple Street Fighter tournaments.
23. I worked as Long & McQuade music store after school in high school and can play alto sax and euphonium (a.k.a. baritone).
24. I had a stalker in university and sent him to jail after discovering he was on Winnipeg’s most wanted list.
25. I am absolutely inept at household duties and have paid people in the past to do my laundry, cook my food and clean my house.
Itsy Bitsy Spider similar to how my website has fallen
November 2, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I’m trying my best to get my website to climb back up the ladder to where it used to be, having thousands of visitors in a month. A lot has changed since my website had that much traffic, and I am learning a lot about how to to get back there. In all this struggle, I’m learning that I am in the same position with my comedy career.
As with my website, I peaked at an incredibly high point in my first year in the business. I was showcasing, working multiple shows a week and was well known in the community (at least the local comedy scene). Now I feel like I am struggling to climb back to where I used to be after relocating to a new city, similar to how my website is trying to rebuild an audience.
Luckily, I’m a patient person, and I believe that once I get back up there, I’ll continue to grow as a performer. I can’t be impatient, or I may risk never getting back to where I want to be at all.
VS
Hallowe’en drag party at millionaire professor James Stewart’s mansion was crazy
November 1, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Damn, that was one hot Hallowe’en drag party. I ended up being the most conservatively dressed person there. I should have known that an all-gay-Asian Hallowe’en drag party would end up hoochier than I planned for.
The party was at James Stewart’s newly built $35-million-dollar mansion. The house was just absolutely breathtaking with a built-in pool and a view to match. There was a full catering staff of half-naked men (and sailors) along with a full camera crew to take photos and film video of our entrances and the rest of the party.
Speaking of entrances, we all had to make a public entrance that was being filmed for a DVD down a winding staircase. I wish I had been more prepared, as my entrance ended up being kind of tame in comparison. Next year, I’ve gotta step up my hoochiness for sure and add some drama to the entrance.
My choice for best entrance, best costume, and best hottie she-male was for Jason Ho dressing up as Chun Li from Street Fighter (which is now suddenly relevant again as Street Fighter IV will be hitting store shelves soon). Jason didn’t end up winning the award at the end of the night, but I think he really deserved it.
VS
I hope I never suffer through writer’s block, please please please
October 27, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I’ve been fortunate enough to never suffer through writer’s block. I can probably attribute this to the fact that I generally only write when I feel inspired. It’s not that I sit down for long sessions while I’m inspired, but I instead write down little notes when an idea comes to my head, and when I do have time to write, I go back to my notes and get down to work.
I now have a huge backlog of great ideas that I have to organize before I can go ahead write new comedy sets. In total, the job of organizing should take me about 40 hours. For some reason, I can’t get passed this block. It’s not so much writer’s block as it is writer’s procrastination.
I took this past Friday and Monday off partially to work my way through the backlog, but I can unfortunately report that I haven’t actually done any work organizing. I know to be great at comedy, I have to put in the time doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes. It’s just that when I look at the mountain of organizing, I get a bit weary.
Oh well, I won’t beat myself up, as the days off are gone now. I’ll simply have to split up my workload and do a little each night before going to bed.
VS
Costume hunting to transform into Gossip Girls’ Blair Waldorf for Hallowe’en
October 27, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Today was costume shopping day. Hallowe’en is right around the corner, and I’m excited to be dressing up for the first time in years. I’ve been invited to a drag party at some rich guy’s mansion. For those who don’t know, a drag party is a party in which all guests have to dress up as the opposite sex.
I just found out that the party is going to be mainly young Asian boys dressing up as girls, other than the party’s host of course. It sounds a little strange when I put it that way, but I am not going to pass up an opportunity to party with most of Toronto’s Asian hotties, whether they’re dressed as women or not.
With the help of Jason Ho, I was able to find the perfect brown-haired wig. Once the wig was found, I decided on my costume: Gossip Girl, specifically Blair “B” Waldorf (see photo below). Her signature look is preppy New Yorker accessorized with the back-in-style headband, which I still need to shop for.
I’ll be blogging straight from the party on Friday night with photos.
VS
Waking up is so hard to do, luckily I have a night job
October 20, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I am not a morning person in the least. I’m not sure what it is about mornings that so disagrees with me, but I can’t for the life of me kick my own ass out of bed before 9:00 a.m.
This morning I was supposed to try and start earlier at work but I barely made it on time. Luckily, my job doesn’t begin officially until 10:00 a.m.
It has gotten so bad that my friends are making fun of my morning grogginess. The photo below was taken as I lingered in bed at a friend’s house in Montreal.
I suppose my being a night owl is helpful as a comedian as shows often run late into the night.
Finding balance between dayjob, comedy career and gay life
October 19, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Striking the right balance between the different aspects of my life has always been difficult for me. I’m the type to concentrate solely on one project and sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture. For instance, it has been months since I have been on a comedy stage.
The four major aspects of my life are my dayjob, my comedy career, my gay life and my ghetto life (family and straight friends). At any one time, one of the four aspects of my life can fall off the radar. For instance, this summer I was concentrated so much on advancing my career at my dayjob that I kind of lost track of my friends. Most people wondered where I had disappeared to during the summer.
At different points in my life, I’ve tried to take a different approach and try to change the way I live my life, but it has never worked out too well. I work best when I just go with the flow of what interests me at the moment. This is how I work best creatively, and I only hope that my friends will get used to me disappearing at times while I concentrate on different aspects of my life.
Coming up shortly will be a much more prominent role for my comedy life, especially now that my website has launched. There is so much to do now for sure. The biggest project being my writing a one-hour show for next summer. I’ve basically got to sit down and devote the time necessary to getting it accomplished.
VS
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