“It’s just strange”
“When you zone out at home, you might not have the same feeling”
“But when you space out in your office, you would feel so good”
One day’s work usually brings me mixed emotions
I like going to open mics in the evening
I really enjoy the several minutes on the stage
The show ends at 9:30pm
And the next day I will continue my work as before
I’m really addicted to it and I feel so excited
I hated my boss
I failed in life
I was going to lose my love
During the COVID-19 outbreak last year, I worked from home
I got up, worked and went to sleep
I was in a quite extreme state
I wanted to find a place where I could talk to others
So I started to go to open mics
“I am one of the few people in the world”
“Who perfectly miss a girl’s every criterion for her future husband’
I’m 31 years old and I’ve been single for a long time
Nearly all my friends have married and have kids now
And they live a different life
I have few people to talk to
I probably look annoying, especially to strangers
If a girl gets on the metro or a bus
She would definitely not choose to sit beside me
And when there’s a seat available, she would move away quickly
“When a girl says I’m cute”
“I see no desire of a female for a man”
“In her eyes”
“But the appreciation of one species for another species”
“It’s like when she sees a dog on the street”
“Wow, look at the puppy. It’s furry and cute”
When I went to an open mic for the first time
I could see the audience in the front row looking at me with their sparkly eyes
That was what I have never experienced
I’m definitely under the spotlight on the stage
But I’m just nobody off the stage
I get on the stage to prove my existence
And in ordinary life I might not need to do that
Now I mainly talk about being single
And how my parents and friends view such a state
And a single man hanging out with married friends
First of all, I want to satisfy myself
I can never get enough of performing on the stage
And I always try to do better
“Legend has it that Cao Cao went to war against the Wu Kingdom”
“Because he wanted to keep the beauties Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao to himself’
“It is obvious”
“That I’m so close to lead to the outbreak of war”
Before I went to an open mic for the first time, I felt so bad because I just broke up with my boyfriend
I also had pressure from work
When I was just hired
My supervisor sat right behind me
Every pore of my body was accepting his signals
I felt quite nervous
And mentally exhausted
I had a lot to say
But I didn’t know who I could talk to
When I was in a relationship, I talked to my boyfriend
After I broke up with him, I felt at a loss
I always complained to my friends
And they probably couldn’t stand it
So in last August
I knew that there were open mic shows in Beijing
And I wanted to have a try
“Excellent, sincere, positive”
“Sexy, patriotic, rich”
“And…”
The audience are strangers
I can really express my real emotions
Some listen to me carefully and nobody boos me
And I don’t need to worry that he will bother me in real life
I see open mic shows as a way to pour out my troubles
And I know many good friends there
I was really addicted to it for some time
I was quite enthusiastic and I went there for five or six times in a week
If you can make an amazing skit
If you can make the audience laugh by making fun of your negative emotions
I had been buried by bad feelings
And I didn’t know how to handle them
But now when I feel bad
I’m like “I will write it into my skit. I need it.”
My debut was when I first came to Beijing for an internship
And I changed my job frequently
And I lost contact with my colleagues after I resigned
Only the open mic performers were always there after I got off work
In my skits, I talk about my life in Beijing, sharing a rented apartment with others
7 people lived in one apartment
And even when a piece of furniture was broken, nobody would fix it as long as it could still be used
That resonated with the audience
“In the interview, my boss knew that I was professionally better than him’
“Then he started to turn to literature”
“He asked me”
“Do you feel like writing a poem when you write codes”
I was a programmer then
I worked overtime every day
And I had full schedules
But gradually
I found I was only a part no matter how hard I worked
And I could be replaced by another if I resign
While as for stand-up comedy
I’m the director and the scripter writer
I can say whatever I want to say
And I can be myself on the stage
So I shifted my focus to the position on which I wouldn’t be replaced
I went to work at 9:30am and got off work at 6:30pm
I had dinner and then went to the club at 7:30pm
The performance ended at 9:30pm and I would chat with others
I went back home at around 11:30
And it was the same the next day
“I think in my hometown”
“It would go like, ‘Rabbit meat is spicy. I really like eating it’
I was enrolled by Beijing Film Academy in September, 2013, and I was majored in acting
I thought I would have a glamorous life in the future
But when I really joined a crew and desired a role
I found that was all fantasy
Sometimes I thought of going back to my hometown
But I didn’t want to be defeated
I was probably depressed
I stayed at home for over a week
And I didn’t welcome anybody to step into my life
I became really emotional
I felt everything was meaningless
Later I knew about stand-up comedy
I often make fun of myself
My acting is terrible and my voice is annoying
“She sounds like calculating”
“She knows nothing but pouting”
I make fun of relationship and my own life
And after the skit, I feel they’re not important anymore
They’re nothing
I offer others happiness
And I feel happy and accepted at the same time
That is a process of walking out of your own world and stepping into the crowd
Now I can’t balance between my work and stand-up comedy perfectly
I feel anxious sometimes
But a voice in my mind tells me
That anxiety is normal
Doing stand-up comedy calms me down
I can accept that I only pass tests in life
By a narrow margin
I’m much happier now
I feel quite addicted to it
It feels like dreaming when I stand on the stage
Whether the audience laugh or not is the only criterion
Now more and more people want to try it
It can be a window of your life
If people with various backgrounds and at different age
They all come to join us
We’ll be provided with a wealth of ideas, which is actually a good thing