Talking Taiwan23 Marras 2021

Ep 158 | Esther Chen Tries her Fortune at Standup Comedy in Taiwan and the U.S.

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Esther Chen is a Taiwanese American actress and comedian. We spoke about how

she got into doing standup comedy, worked with Jerry Seinfeld, and ended up back in Taiwan during the pandemic. Esther shared how she's had to adjust her standup comedy material to suit the different tastes of audiences in Taiwan, other parts of Asia, and the U.S.

While in Taiwan Esther started doing standup comedy more regularly and got recognized by fans. She also talked about the very Taiwanese experiences of going to see a fortune teller for advice about her career in acting and comedy, and the criticism that she and her family have received from Taiwanese discussion forums in response to her comedy.

**A quick note to listeners about the audio quality of this episode. There were some issues with the first 8-9 minutes of this interview. We tried our best to improve them so please bear with us and know that the issues resolve at around the 10 minute mark.**

Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How she got interested in doing standup comedy
What it was like for her to work with Jerry Seinfeld
How she comes up with material for her standup comedy
Why she moved back to Taiwan during the pandemic and what she did while she was there
Her Chinese Mandarin language podcast 好戲開場: It's Showtime!
How humor in English is different than humor in Mandarin Chinese
How she had to adjust her standup comedy for audiences in Taiwan vs. New York
How her jokes about China were received outside of Taiwan i.e. Malaysia
How she hears Taiwan-related news from Ken and Kylie, the hosts of the 百靈果New Podcast
How she hears Taiwan-related news from Ken and Kylie, the hosts of the 百靈果New Podcast (aka, K.K. Show)
The segment that John Oliver did on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight about Taiwan
Enes Kanter's tweet boycotting the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and the Freedom Shoes with the words "No Beijing 2022" "Move the Games" "No Rights No Games" on them
How moving back to Taiwan during the pandemic pushed Esther to try new things with her standup comedy
How working in Taiwan compares with working in New York or the U.S.
When she's going to be performing standup in New York
How she handles stress and anxiety
The criticism Esther and her family has received from Taiwanese discussion forums in response to her comedy
How her parents have reacted to her work as an actress and comedian
What happened when Esther went to see a fortune teller and asked if she should continue with a career in acting and comedy
What advice Esther has for anyone thinking of doing standup comedy
The standup comedy bit that Esther did about the Atlanta Spa Shootings

Related Links:

To view all related links for this article, click link below:

https://talkingtaiwan.com/esther-chen-tries-her-fortune-at-standup-comedy-in-taiwan-and-the-u-s-ep-158/

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