While some may have been tucked away on their couch on Sunday evening nursing a case of the Sunday Scaries, the audiences at the Ice House Comedy Club in Pasadena were too busy attending the first-ever “Golden Laughs” program to think of Excel spreadsheets, tedious morning commutes and Zoom meetings.
The inaugural comedy program hosted by “The Sex Lives of College Girls” actress Sierra Katow, not only featured two packed lineups filled with rising comedians that would get any audience roaring with laughter, but also allowed the attendees to participate in the live taping of Tony Shriller’s first-ever comedy special — Shriller was the winner of this summer’s Golden Laughs festival competition. Guests of both shows got a chance to attend Shriller’s set, so if you were at the Ice House last Sunday, keep an eye out on ChimeTV and GoldenTV because you never know if you’ll see a familiar face on screen!
As the first set of guests trickled into the Legacy Room, the comedians from the first lineup, including Terry Bu, Aparna Nancherla, Dylan Adler, Nori Reed and JR De Guzman, took the time to answer some red-carpet questions before the show officially started. Bu spoke on how excited he was to open up the show on a good note, Adler was eager to be a part of the audiences that gets to watch Shriller’s live tapping.“It’s always exciting with the taping, because the audience is so excited to see them and the comic just feeds off that energy, and the jokes land really hard.” De Guzman was on a similar boat, stating, “I just want to see [Tony] shine.”
Nancherla provided some advice for not only Shriller but any upcoming API comedians in general. “Honestly, I feel like the most important thing is just staying authentic for yourself. I think especially if you’re a comedian that fits into a specific identity, people may expect certain types of material from you,” Nancherla said. “You should lead with what inspires you the most, and what you want to share with your audiences more so than any preconceived labels.”
And with that, the first show went off without a hitch. Each comedian bringing their own twists and turns, from Adler’s striking theatrics, Reed’s delightful and dry humor and of course Shriller’s own gut-busting commentary on being Taiwanese versus Chinese. But the night wasn’t over yet! The second show had an impressive lineup as well, which featured comics Ray Lau, Nina Nguyen, married duo Ali Lu & Baldev Sandhu, Ahmed Al-Kadri and Leslie Liao. The performers themselves were even impressed, with Nguyen stating she was surprised to be included, and joked before her set. “When they showed me the flyer, I was like, ‘What? Are you sure that you want me on it?”
Lau himself was glad to see familiar faces on the lineup, admiring the community aspect of the show. “It’s nice that we all get our spotlights, it’s a diverse lineup [and] I’ve come up with a lot of these people, so it’s really nice to share a moment together.”
Lu and Sandhu echoed this, “It’s such a family environment.” Lu said, before Sandhu added, “There’s an understanding, a shorthand and appreciation.”
This familial vibe continued on when the second show actually commenced, the diverse lineup of different comics filling the stage and Shriller returning to do his second set — the laughter continued late into the night. And if you weren’t fortunate enough to see this stellar lineup, keep your eyes peeled for Shriller’s upcoming special, which is on ChimeTV and GoldenTV!
