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ILLUSTRATION
KIT KAT MAINGAT
c h i k k a
l a u g h t r i p
Tim Tayag ‘fesses up about the pitfalls of
performing live for Pinoys, and what it’s
like to crack jokes under the spotlight
It ain , t
easy being
funny
Gulp! You
guys are a
tough crowd
NOT THAT
I’m bragging — okay, maybe a
little — but I’ve been doing stand-up comedy
for 15 years. I’m talking dog years — at
least twice a week of getting up onstage.
I’ve performed for all kinds of people:
from Americans, Chinese, Uzbekistanis,
Singaporeans, Malaysians, Indians, Middle
Easterners, Filipinos and many others (take
my word for it, I’ve performed for quite a
diverse bunch).
But it’s the Filipino audience that is the
most complex and bipolar, like a typical
telenovela
character. Some Pinoys can be
a tough audience and heckle you, but they
can also be the most adoring, like fanatics
trying to touch the Black Nazarene. Okay,
I’m exaggerating.
I find that Pinoy audiences care more
about the personality of the performer than
the actual material being performed. An
analogy would be Filipino movies that are
star-driven rather than plot-driven. After all,
it doesn’t matter that Derek Ramsey does
not look an inch like a struggling security
guard living on minimum wage; as long as
the viewers see him flash his abs and can
imagine being on a date with him, the movie
is an instant blockbuster. That is the Pinoy
entertainment marketing strategy: use the
star’s abdominal muscles to drive the movie.
To illustrate my point, I’ve told a street
joke that goes something like this, “I met this
Filipino abroad and he was in denial about
his being Filipino. He said he was Italiano.
So I said, ‘Oh, so your half Ita (Aeta) and half
Ilocano?’”
Tasteless, right? But the audience
laughed at it, especially after I’d established
that I was likeable, which most focus groups
say I am. But after I told that joke, I hid in
shame from the other comedians because I
sold my integrity for a cheap laugh. And one
of the comedians is really half Aeta.
There are also Pinoy audiences that
appreciate good material when they hear it.
But these are usually the younger college
or yuppie types who are more exposed to
point-of-view styles of comedy. These are
the same people who watch Conan, Leno,
Lewis C.K., and other Western stand-up
comedians. I always strike a balance as a
Pinoy comedian by doing material that is
good, but not too esoteric that only other
comedians would get it. And I show my
audience who I really am right from the start
— a flag-waving Pinoy.
In my opinion, if you want to make it in
Pinoy comedy, you’ve got to be a triple
threat. You’ve got to have good material,
good stage presence where your personality
comes out, and a third nipple. Because no
comedian wants to follow an act with a third
nipple, unless he or she has a fourth one.