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Having the last laugh
By Nie Xin |
August 24, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Program Code: 0909346130605009
A group of young amateur comedians in Shanghai take their hobby very seriously. They formed a club called Lauphilos and are now systematically working on making people laugh, all while having a good time themselves, writes Nie Xin.
In this city there is a group of young people contributing their time and energy to make people laugh. They named their club Lauphilos in English. In Chinese the name is Xiao Dao, which means laugh philosophy.
Last Friday, the club staged a group show for Qixi Festival which fell yesterday. Ten comedians each gave a five-minute performance. All were Chinese except for one Pakistani who lives in Shanghai. They made jokes and shared stories about "love" to coincide with the Chinese Valentine's Day.
Their upcoming gathering is scheduled tomorrow afternoon.
Once a month, the club holds a group talk show at a wine bar in Jing'an District. Up to 150 people will attend.
"The inspiration of our talk show comes from daily life and we pursue 100 percent original creations," says Mark Wang, co-founder of Lauphilos.
Wang shows an instrument that measures the decibel levels and questionnaires that audience members filled in after watching the show last week.
"Does it look very professional?" asked Wang, laughing. "We need feedback to find out which comedians are more popular and how to improve our club."
The club has about 20 members, including 10 comedians who are popular enough to sell out a venue with capacity for 150 people.
Wang quit his job two months ago as product manager at a multinational chemical company to focus on Lauphilos.
Chinese sense of humor
Lauphilos was founded by Wang and his partner Li Daisong. Both are from Shanghai but met in Canada, where they studied. They both love Western comedy and talk shows and decided to do something interesting in their hometown.
"I remember watching a talk show in Canada and one of my Western friends said to me, 'I don't think Chinese people know humor.' I want to change that impression of Chinese people," Wang says.
In 2010, when Wang and Li founded Lauphilos they invited some well-known Canadian comedians to Shanghai to perform. The feedback was not good. "Many reasons led to this initial failure including the reluctance of the local audience, lack of promotion in the media and mistargeting our audience," Wang says.
After learning this lesson, Wang and Li started to change the way Lauphilos operates. They started to focus on local issues and telling funny stories from their own lives.
"Audiences can relate to the jokes because they have encountered the same situation. That's the most important reason Lauphilos has become more successful," club member Sarah Ye says.
Ye learned about the club through her friend and joined at the beginning of this year. She still remembers her first Open Mic event in which anyone has the opportunity to go on stage and talk for five minutes.
"I loved my first experience on the stage though the audience was rather cold toward me," she says.
Ye realized that the club has many talented comedians so she decided to do something else to help Lauphilos. She is a business analyst in the technology department of a software company in Zhangjiang area and she is also a member of a drama club. This experience has helped a lot with club operations.
More join in
As more people learned of the club on the Internet or through word of mouth, more humorous people started to join. Many of Lauphilos members have overseas living and studying experience.
"I do believe that people with a sense of humor are wise and good at observation. All of our members have a passion for comedy, are fond of expressing themselves and willing to send happiness to others. That's the most meaningful thing to build this club," Wang says.
Open Mic events that impressed Ye are held several times a month and are open to the public. It costs 100 yuan (US$16) each (buy one get one free) and includes a free drink, though people who perform do not have to pay the entrance fee. The ticket revenue covers the venue's rental expense and payment for the comedians.
"We want people to know their performances are valuable and we try to quantify this value," Wang says.
The club also has mini-training sessions to help people interested in being a comedian learn about humor content, presentation skills and acting. Professional tutors are invited to give lectures and seminars.
"I hope that Lauphilos becomes a lifestyle. Young people in this town do not have many choices in their leisure life after their busy work schedules," Ye says.
She says when some audience members participate for the first time, they look very serious, but later relax and end up having a great time.
Ye says they want to develop the club and make it a platform for "sending laughs."
Upcoming Open Mic
Date: Tomorrow, 2-4pm
Venue: City Cellar, 432 Changshou Rd
Tickets: 50 yuan
Reservations and more information are available at
Weibo account: http://e.weibo.com/xiaodaoclub
E-mail: xiaodaoclub@gmail.com
How to become a Lauphilos comedian
Step one: Contact the club via Internet.
Step two: Join an Open Mic event. Make sure your routine is prepared in advance as ad-libbing is difficult.
If you are talented and experienced enough, congratulations, you can be a formal comedian immediately and perform at their monthly talk show. If not, don't worry. Take the following steps:
Step three: Participate in three mini training sessions (humor content, presentation skills and acting).
Step four: Prepare a five-minute routine and take the stage.
In this city there is a group of young people contributing their time and energy to make people laugh. They named their club Lauphilos in English. In Chinese the name is Xiao Dao, which means laugh philosophy.
Last Friday, the club staged a group show for Qixi Festival which fell yesterday. Ten comedians each gave a five-minute performance. All were Chinese except for one Pakistani who lives in Shanghai. They made jokes and shared stories about "love" to coincide with the Chinese Valentine's Day.
Their upcoming gathering is scheduled tomorrow afternoon.
Once a month, the club holds a group talk show at a wine bar in Jing'an District. Up to 150 people will attend.
"The inspiration of our talk show comes from daily life and we pursue 100 percent original creations," says Mark Wang, co-founder of Lauphilos.
Wang shows an instrument that measures the decibel levels and questionnaires that audience members filled in after watching the show last week.
"Does it look very professional?" asked Wang, laughing. "We need feedback to find out which comedians are more popular and how to improve our club."
The club has about 20 members, including 10 comedians who are popular enough to sell out a venue with capacity for 150 people.
Wang quit his job two months ago as product manager at a multinational chemical company to focus on Lauphilos.
Chinese sense of humor
Lauphilos was founded by Wang and his partner Li Daisong. Both are from Shanghai but met in Canada, where they studied. They both love Western comedy and talk shows and decided to do something interesting in their hometown.
"I remember watching a talk show in Canada and one of my Western friends said to me, 'I don't think Chinese people know humor.' I want to change that impression of Chinese people," Wang says.
In 2010, when Wang and Li founded Lauphilos they invited some well-known Canadian comedians to Shanghai to perform. The feedback was not good. "Many reasons led to this initial failure including the reluctance of the local audience, lack of promotion in the media and mistargeting our audience," Wang says.
After learning this lesson, Wang and Li started to change the way Lauphilos operates. They started to focus on local issues and telling funny stories from their own lives.
"Audiences can relate to the jokes because they have encountered the same situation. That's the most important reason Lauphilos has become more successful," club member Sarah Ye says.
Ye learned about the club through her friend and joined at the beginning of this year. She still remembers her first Open Mic event in which anyone has the opportunity to go on stage and talk for five minutes.
"I loved my first experience on the stage though the audience was rather cold toward me," she says.
Ye realized that the club has many talented comedians so she decided to do something else to help Lauphilos. She is a business analyst in the technology department of a software company in Zhangjiang area and she is also a member of a drama club. This experience has helped a lot with club operations.
More join in
As more people learned of the club on the Internet or through word of mouth, more humorous people started to join. Many of Lauphilos members have overseas living and studying experience.
"I do believe that people with a sense of humor are wise and good at observation. All of our members have a passion for comedy, are fond of expressing themselves and willing to send happiness to others. That's the most meaningful thing to build this club," Wang says.
Open Mic events that impressed Ye are held several times a month and are open to the public. It costs 100 yuan (US$16) each (buy one get one free) and includes a free drink, though people who perform do not have to pay the entrance fee. The ticket revenue covers the venue's rental expense and payment for the comedians.
"We want people to know their performances are valuable and we try to quantify this value," Wang says.
The club also has mini-training sessions to help people interested in being a comedian learn about humor content, presentation skills and acting. Professional tutors are invited to give lectures and seminars.
"I hope that Lauphilos becomes a lifestyle. Young people in this town do not have many choices in their leisure life after their busy work schedules," Ye says.
She says when some audience members participate for the first time, they look very serious, but later relax and end up having a great time.
Ye says they want to develop the club and make it a platform for "sending laughs."
Upcoming Open Mic
Date: Tomorrow, 2-4pm
Venue: City Cellar, 432 Changshou Rd
Tickets: 50 yuan
Reservations and more information are available at
Weibo account: http://e.weibo.com/xiaodaoclub
E-mail: xiaodaoclub@gmail.com
How to become a Lauphilos comedian
Step one: Contact the club via Internet.
Step two: Join an Open Mic event. Make sure your routine is prepared in advance as ad-libbing is difficult.
If you are talented and experienced enough, congratulations, you can be a formal comedian immediately and perform at their monthly talk show. If not, don't worry. Take the following steps:
Step three: Participate in three mini training sessions (humor content, presentation skills and acting).
Step four: Prepare a five-minute routine and take the stage.
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