In the first days of December 2022, Jesse Appell, a professional comedy actor from the USA, known as Ai Jiexi 艾杰西, visited Vilnius University to perform the only stand-up show in Lithuania, introducing the unique Chinese comedy genre to the public. The second meeting with the actor was dedicated to those who are learning Chinese and looking for new impulses in this field.
The actor is a Fulbright Scholar Alumni whose research focuses on Chinese humor and performance. He is a disciple of master xiangsheng performer Ding Guangquan, and regularly performs xiangsheng, bilingual improv comedy, and Chinese stand-up live and on TV. Appell creates comedic online videos intended for the Chinese audience; one of these, “Laowai Style,” gathered 2 million hits across several media platforms. Appell’s performances, writing, and commentary on Chinese comedy, media, and culture have been seen and heard in the U.S. on CBS, TEDx, PBS, NPR, and PRI, as well as Chinese media such as CCTV, BTV, and CRI. He has performed Chinese comedy at several venues, including Yale, University of Washington, and Brandeis University. Jesse founded Laugh Beijing in order to use comedy to bridge cultural gaps. Find more information about his work at www.laughbeijing.com.
In the only stand-up performance at Vilnius University's Aula Parva, Jesse A. introduced the audience to the traditional Chinese comedy genre, its history and its significance in popular culture. It was interesting to hear how the xiàngsheng genre emerged in his life, his creative path, his daily routine as an actor, and how he managed to learn (and perfectly learn!) Chinese while living in Beijing for many years. Finally, the actor masterfully demonstrated his unique skills in speaking Chinese rapid-fire languages.
The last part of the event was the most interesting, as participants had the opportunity to ask the actor questions. Jesse A. answered sincerely and shared his rich life experience.
The next day, the second meeting with Jesse A. was for the Sinology students. Here, the actor demonstrated his interest in Chinese language and culture by combining it with his other passion - Chinese tea. Tasting the tea brought by the actor, in an intimate setting we talked about the differences between cultures, the importance of getting to know them, and shared our experiences of the challenges of learning Chinese. Jesse A. was happy to talk about the world of Chinese comedy, the founding of his comedy club in Beijing and the daily challenges of running a theatre.
The afternoon was fascinating with the enchanting taste of 生普洱arbata and funny stories of how Jesse A. got stuck in the US because of the pandemic and how he coped with it.
We hope that this personality and the experiences he shared were a new perspective on his efforts to learn Chinese, and that perhaps you were inspired to continue your studies and find a way to connect your interest in Chinese with your other passions or skills.
For Jesse Appell and his research area, the Chinese comedy genre serves as one of the tools for intercultural communication that helps to understand and get to know others. We believe that his talent for making others laugh in a language other than his mother tongue will continue to fascinate international audiences for a long time to come and we wish the actor the best of luck.
You can watch excerpts from the event on our Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/MD_Yy5XZsIw