By Grace Shin, AsAmNews Intern
In commemoration of Asian Heritage Month, Crazy Woke Asians (CWA) will be hosting a virtual comedy festival on Zoom from May 8th to 10th.
Kiki Yeung, the founder of CWA told AsAmNews that the comedy show was created to provide Asian American comedians with a platform to perform. Yeung said, “I was tired of all the whitewashing in Hollywood and felt there weren’t enough opportunities for us to showcase our talent.”
Since March of 2019, CWA attracted audiences from around the world with the world’s first-ever all Asian solo performance festival. Having performed in large venues like The Comedy Store, The Ice House, and Hollywood Improv, CWA always had a full house.
However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, Yeung said that CWA had to create an online platform for their performers who lost many gigs. The CWA team decided to host their first live Zoom comedy show in April, which turned out “to be a blast.”
“The audience loved it, they felt like they were socializing with people. There is a need for more online Zoom comedy shows.”
Recognizing the need for more Zoom comedy shows, Yeung immediately took action to produce the upcoming Virtual Comedy Festival–this time to raise awareness for coronavirus racism against those of Asian descent by spreading laughter.
“I think COVID-19 racism is horrible and unfair. It’s an excuse for racists to lash out at Asians in general,” said Yeung. “I’m glad CWA can be a voice for the Asian American comedy community to bring awareness for coronavirus racism.”
That is why 90 Asian American comedians and performers from around the world decided to join hands with Yeung.
Kevin Yee, a musical comedian known for his performance in Comedy InvAsian on Hulu and appearance in the Apple TV series Dickinson, said “Representation is so important to showcase. I’m very proud to be spending a weekend with other fantastic Asian artists and friends.”
Yee emphasized how excited he was to be a part of the Virtual Comedy festival as it would be his first time performing on Zoom. “Stand up comedy thrives on audience response and interaction, but we’re in different times now. I’m just grateful that people are able to adjust and find ways to continue the art form!”
He also crossed his fingers hoping “there won’t be any technical issues because my internet is definitely being throttled right now.”
When asked what he thought of COVID-19 birthed racism against Asian Americans, Yee answered, “Obviously I’m disappointed but not surprised by the racism against Asian people. It’s always been bubbling under.”
Yee continued by saying, “But as a gay person as well, I’ve learned that simply existing as a minority can be an act of protest and defiance. So I am currently living loudly and proudly gay and Asian.”
Singer Songwriter, Pattie Lin, also decided to perform at the CWA Virtual Comedy festival because “it’s important for us to celebrate our [Asian] cultures and be proud of our diversity now more than ever.”
Lin told AsAmNews, “I don’t wake up every morning thinking that I’m an Asian female. But I’m often made aware of it by other people’s perceptions and resulting behavior. However, in a line-up full of Asians, we can stand out as who we are as individual artists instead of being the token minority.”
Lin continued to say that “racism against Asians is not new. I think that this surge of coronavirus-related racism has given us a sharp reminder that we need to stick up for ourselves.”
Under the name, #SpreadLaughter fund, CWA Virtual Festival aims to raise over $50K in ticket sales to support the stand up community and contribute to COVID-19 relief efforts. Each performer will be compensated while 15% of proceeds will be donated to Guardians of the Angeles Foundation and Feeding America.
Check out www.crazywokeasians.com for the full schedule and all the details! To donate, visit Vemo @crazywokeasians and PayPal.me/crazywokeasians.
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