Angel's Work

Being nice is second nature for me. I say “second nature” because at my core, I can be described as “nasty, brutish, and short.” Some are born nice, while others are nice because they’re repentant. I’m one of the repentant.

Although I have other reasons why I aspire to be a comic, doing Angel’s Work is at the top of the list. For me, comedy is a great way to tell God “sorry” for all the dumb stuff I did in the past. Every set is an opportunity to replace pain with laughter. This intent of “doing good” is reflected by my comedy that flirts with the inappropriate from time to time but never crosses the line to shock comedy category. I know the difference between teasing and bullying and I make certain that my comedy does not come off as mean spirited.

In my opinion, the only thing better than making strangers laugh is making them laugh for charitable causes! I hope by now people know that I’m willing to help out in fundraisers. And this is of course leads me to this plug – on Saturday, January 21^st, I will be performing at a variety show benefitting Philippines and the victims of the recent typhoon that devastated the country.

This Benefit for Typhoon Sendong Victims show is extra special for a couple reasons. Firstly, the show is only my second show in front of a predominantly Filipino crowd and I will take this opportunity to dress up my material with some of my tourist-Tagalog. I understand my mother tongue easily, especially if it’s something that my parents would yell at me for doing something I shouldn’t. However, speaking Tagalog is a completely different beast, so the challenge should be fun.

The second reason why I’m looking forward to this show is that it’s going to be inside a church. As I stated earlier, my material likes to flirt with disaster without getting in shock comedy. That said, I’m far from being a squeaky clean comic. Removing the cursing is not an issue because when you listen closely to my material, you will realize that I rarely swear. Part of my effectiveness as a comic is my ability to talk about dirty things without making the audience feel dirty. If my style is blue, it’s more of baby blue.

So, this Saturday night at Broadway Church, I will have an opportunity to perform in front of an audience, some of them with families directly affected by the typhoon. It is my duty to take away the pain (even if it’s momentary) and replace with laughter. I’m planning on using my tourist Tagalog and keeping my set as clean as possible.

Wings, don’t fail me now!