If you've already got tickets to watch "Camp Comedy", you're in for a treat. Right beside our homegrown acts of Kumar and Broadway Beng, we'll be having the pleasure of watching two guest comedians from overseas: the fabulously wacky Lounge-zilla and the charmingly subdued Rick Lau, two internationally acclaimed gay Asian comedians. They're both darlings in completely different ways, and I had the luck of snaring interviews with the two of them.
Top: Hong Kong-Australian ex-computer engineer stud next door Rick Lau and Filipino-Californian drama queen Lounge-zilla. For more details on Irene Ang, Kumar and Sebastian Tan, please click here.
Lounge-zilla: 'LOUNGE-ZILLA! - The Armageddon of Queer Cabaret' is an evening of twisted music and politically-incorrect comedy. With the help of my very own 'Scary Manilow' at the keys, I warble about such off-kilter taboo subjects as sex change operations, love triangles, stalking and fag hags. All the songs are original and brutally comic! The show is in-your-face, musically camp and boldly interactive with the audience. Yes, you too can be a guest star on my show!
Rick: 'SunRice' basically follows the journey of a boy, growing up in Hong Kong and having this lifelong dream of getting married and living happily ever after ever since he saw Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding on the telly. Then afterwards, it's about what happens to him emotionally, geographically, sexually and spiritually. It's about childhood, dreams, reality, traveling and finding yourself, told through storytelling and song. A lot of it's based on my own life.
æ: So, how did you guys get started in showbiz?
Lounge-zilla: I suppose you can blame my showbiz career on Andy Movesian. He was also the HOT football team captain and most popular kid in the school! But when I'd show up to watch his football games, all I could focus on were the cheerleaders! They were the real stars of the event! I WANTED THAT! I didn't get picked to be on the cheerleading squad - those bitches - but I did get cast in a few musicals soon after! I was singing, I was dancing, and people were cheering! I had found my inner-cheerleader through performing in theatre!
Rick: I was a bit of a dork at first. Then one day I just made a decision to quit my computer consultancy job and start up with a drama school here. I was 28 years old, and you know how they say an important life decision comes every seven years? I spent a year at NAIDA (Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art), and soon after that I was in the Sydney tour of the nude gay cabaret show, Naked Boys Singing!was quite nerve-racking, but it's great training for an actor, because if you can go up there naked in front of hundreds of people, then you can do anything.
æ: What are the weirdest or most embarrassing experiences you've had onstage, then?
Rick: It was winter when we did Naked Boys Singing!, and sometimes the temperature difference between backstage and onstage was quite big. So even though we had been working out with our personal trainers, and we had lots of porn magazines offstage so we could do a bit "fluffing" before we came on, sometimes we walked on stage and we would suddenly feel a wave of cold air and there it goes - "shrivelling up".
Lounge-zilla: True, every comedian has horror stories! It comes with the territory. I once performed at a huge gay/lesbian convention in New York City - a really big deal - anyone and everyone who is gay in America knows about this event - and the comedy stage audience consisted of mostly homeless people who didn't have a clue what was going on. They were there for the free potato chips and cookies. I don't know how they got in to this high-profile event but when I made them laugh, well, I felt I had really arrived!
æ: How did your family react when they found out you were going into drama?
Rick: Well, growing up as an Asian boy, you're not encouraged to do theatre. And I've got a typically Chinese family, so they nagged me about getting a real job for a long time. But they have seen my cabaret show and they really enjoyed it. Seeing them in the audience was really special.
Lounge-zilla: I come from a Filipino-American family of a mom, a dad and three sisters. Only my mom has had the guts to see one of my shows and, though she's a conservative Catholic Filipina, she loved it! Feather boas, naughty humor, suggestive dance moves - she applauded it all! Of course, I think she has a bizarre form of 'theatrical Alzheimers' because from that day on, she doesn't remember the costumes, the songs or ever being in the audience. She makes a great Chicken Adobo, though and to this day she tells me that I'm her favorite son!
æ: Do you think it's hard for Asian minorities to make it in theatre?
Rick: Absolutely. As an Asian actor the work in Australia is pretty limited. That's why I decided to create my own work instead of getting depressed and waiting for the agent to call me. It generates momentum and it opens doors for you, so a few years ago I was able to take this show to Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Lounge-zilla: I think that's both true and false. Like Margaret Cho, I have to aim for comedy that, in all its truthful offensiveness, relates to everyone, and I've been featured on the covers of some of the biggest newspapers in America - the Washington Post/Express, San Francisco Weekly, Miami Express News, Theatermania.com in New York City - and mostly it's because I'm Asian and I'm something different to look at.
æ: How do you think a Singaporean audience - possibly a little more reserved and virgin to cabaret - is going to respond?
Rick: I've never been to Singapore before. But going back to Hong Kong to do my show in front of other Asians was very special. Until a few years ago, in every country I lived in, I tried to abandon my own Asianness. Now I think we spend one half of our lives running away from home and the other half trying to find our roots again.
Lounge-zilla: I am so excited to perform in Singapore - I've heard so many wonderful things about the city! Mostly, I'm coming for the food. I hear y'all have great 'eats' - I can't wait to stuff my face! And to top it all off, this will be my Asian debut! I'm sure Singapore audiences will love being a little bit naughty with me. And, as with any virgin, I promise to be gentle. And memorable! You never forget your first time!
Date: May 18 - 21
Venue: Zouk, 17 Jiak Kim Street
Executive Producer: Irene Ang
Tickets: Tickets are priced at $42 NETT (inclusive of one drink).
Buy online on Fridae
Show Times - All Nights hosted by Irene Ang
May 18, Thu, 8pm
Broadway Beng + Lounge-zilla (USA/Philippines)
May 19, Fri, 8pm
Kumar + Rick Lau (Australia/HongKong)
May 20, Sat, 8pm
Kumar + Lounge-zilla (USA/Philippines)
May 21, Sun, 9pm
Broadway Beng + Rick Lau (Australia/HongKong)
Booking details
Fly Entertainment Hotline: 6224 3188
Email: camp@fly.com.sg
Outlets
Fly Entertainment: 133 Neil Road (11am to 7pm Mon to Fri)
Club 95: 95 Club Street (6pm to 2am Sundays closed)
Zouk Ticketing Office: 17 Jiak Kim Street (8pm to 3am Sundays closed)
For more details on Irene Ang, Kumar and Sebastian Tan, please click here.